One of the common problems that most of us have these days is dopamine overdose. With all the infinite scrolling apps (be it Instagram or TikTok or whatever the new one is) constantly giving our brains a dose of thrill or frustration or jealousy or sadness, it is very important to recognize the fact that our brains need detoxification too.
Just like our bodies flush out the toxins during the detoxification process, it's also vital to do the similar exercise to our brains. Mental toxins most often get unnoticed and constant mind clutter can cause several problems like lack of focus, depression, unhappiness, fatigue, stress etc.
So don't wait for that perfect new year or birthday resolution, and simply start with the detox process today just like how we don't wait before eating food when hungry. To help you with that journey, here are few simple tips that anyone can easily follow.
1 - Remove apps from your phone's home screen
A very simple and yet super effective method in the mind detoxification process is to reduce the consumption of information 24X7 from our phones. Our brains are not designed to work with the amount of context switching that current apps like Instagram or TikTok have. So instead of saying reduce your screen time, here are couple of tips that you can easily follow.
Adjust the phone home-screen such that none of those infinite scrolling apps are present on home screen. This way you don't have 'that' app staring at you the moment you unlock the phone.
Disabled most of notifications for the social apps or infinite scrolling apps.
2 - Get a hobby
The best way to counter our addiction to phones or couch (loading our brain with constant feed of information) is by finding a nice hobby that we enjoy. For some people it's playing with their kids and for some people it's exercise and for some others it's nice walk in nature or playing golf. Whatever it is, as long as there is some physical activity included you are good.
Only you can decide what hobby works best for you. A big no-no for a hobby is sitting in-front of laptop or phone again and watching YouTube or playing video games or browsing Reddit.
3 - Start Meditation
There is a reason our mind is often referred to as the monkey mind. The random thoughts in our mind constantly jump around without any effort from us and it's very easy for us to get distracted from the actual priorities.
Meditation is an effective method to help calm your mind and achieve the focus you need from the constant distractions. When you practice focusing on that 'one thing' during meditation, you become more mindful over time and your mind slowly adapts at focusing on what is important by flushing out our mental junk. Just to be be clear, Meditation is a long process and don't expect magic in a week or 2 so be patient with the process.
You can find our simple guide to get started with Meditation here
4 - Slow down and let go
As a famous quote says something in the lines of: The fastest way to complete a task is by slowing down. It is is important to slow down in our life at least once in a while. One method that works well for breaking the pattern of our unconscious behavior is STOP (Stop, Take a Break, Observe, and Proceed). Practicing this method makes you more mindful overtime and helps with the detoxification process automagically.
What's more easier said than done - leg go. We have to release the thoughts and emotions otherwise they can cause complications over time. With practices like daily Meditation, this skill kind of comes naturally. However, don't expect changes in a day or week but be patient and you will reach your goal soon enough.
5 - Acknowledge your emotions
We all think we are very strong mentally when it comes to emotions. But that's not necessarily the plan our brain has for us so, it is very important for us to acknowledge the pain from the emotions. There is nothing right or wrong about your emotion but they simply are there. If we try to outsmart them by ignoring those, they become rotten like few years old beer.
A good tip that helps in this regard is practicing mindfulness which would help you separate yourself from the emotions.
6 - Spend time outside
Mother nature usually has remedies to everything and that includes dissolving the negative thoughts. Make a habit of mindful walk in the natural world around you. You don't need to find a mountain all of a sudden but anything that's around in your neighborhood will do. Even spending time in your backyard garden is a great start.
Nothing beats the feeling of a fresh air, smell of the vegetation, songs of the birds, and sounds of water flowing.
7 - Consider cutting down toxic people
I know the article title says simple tips but this may or may not be that simple to follow. Yet, I included here as this tip is very critical - having a toxic person in life is worse than not having anyone at all.
How do you know if your friend or person is toxic one? Just a simple test would do. If you feel worse about a situation or yourself after being around a specific person then you have your answer. It's easier said than done to cut down your friendship or relationship but toxic people simply add no value but add unnecessary thoughts in your mind (which itself is already a monkey brain). So if possible, cut them lose but if that's not possible for whatever reasons, at least reduce the time spent with them.
8 - Consider volunteering
And finally, when you start giving instead of taking - the mind automatically transforms to a different way of expanded views. This may not necessarily be the one size fits all so pick whatever activity that suits your lifestyle. Simple acts of doing community service or donating blood etc. moves you in the right direction.
That's all from my and hope this was helpful to you. Peace !!!
On a side note, if you have any other ideas or suggestion please leave them in the comments below for helping other readers.