Week 2

Dopamine Hormone: How to reset our brain naturally

Why have we felt laziness doing something that we should be doing which is so important?

We tend to get caught up easily when browsing information on the internet while lying down,
and doing less important work such as reading other people's social media status, browsing
information that is not related to our needs, playing our favorite online game, or dancing our
body just to reduce tension while we are recording and uploading it to Tik Tok.

Activities like the above are fairly straightforward, and provide instant enjoyment. When the
body performs activities that are fun or happy, our brain will release the hormone of
happiness which consists of several types, one of which is dopamine.

Dopamine is a chemical compound in our brain that has a role to convey stimulation
throughout the body. This hormone affects various human activities, from the ability to
remember to move the limbs. This hormone is also known as a neurotransmitter, which is a
chemical compound that acts as a stimulus (message in the form of stimulation) to nerve
cells, both in the brain and in the muscles. The hormone dopamine is also known as the
hormone controlling emotions. When released in the right amount, this hormone will lift your
mood, so people will feel happier and happier. Conversely, dopamine deficiency will make
you feel bad, and can even increase the risk of depression.

To put it simply, dopamine is a hormone that makes us want something. Its existence
motivates our desire to take action to make it happen. In daily activities, our brain prioritizes
activities based on the level of dopamine generated from these activities. If the activities we
do only produce a small amount of dopamine, then we are less motivated. Conversely, if
there is an activity that produces a lot of dopamine, we will be motivated to do that activity
many times.

Dopamine is naturally produced by our body. Anything related-activity can produce the level
of hormone production. There are several activities that produce high dopamine levels, as
well as those of that produce low dopamine. For example, activities such as studying course
material, doing assignments, exercising, producing work tend to produce low dopamine
levels. Instead, instant entertainment such as watching blue films, listening to music, talking
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about other people's business, burning incense while reciting mantras in the hope of bringing
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in stolen money, asking for solutions to people who are considered sacred, such as a business
that can sell out merchandise, looking for a mate with certain criteria, wanting to do
polygamy, being jealous of everything that other people have that can produce high dopamine
levels. In addition to the instant entertainment above, foods that have high levels of fat such
as Sempol, Cilok, meatball soup, instant noodles, Tahu Campur and sweet and fizzy drinks
can also trigger the production of the hormone dopamine in the human brain in large
quantities and make a person feel euphoric such drugs addiction.

What is the impact?

Our bodies have a biological system called homeostasis, which means that the body is always
trying to maintain a balanced state physically and chemically. For example, if a person
usually consumes one glass of alcoholic drink and he/she feels ‘enlightened’ physically and
psychologically. As a result, the person is inclined to repeat and tends to increase the
frequency and quantity of his/her consumption. The body's desire always adjusts and adapts
to stimuli, and within a certain period of time, the stimulation becomes normal for the body,
so that the level of intention is increasingly higher to react. Just like dopamine, if our bodies
are accustomed to high amounts of dopamine, the body's tendency becomes reluctant to do
productivity, creativity, and useful activities.

The high dopamine levels that flood our brains tend to have a negative impact on the body in
the long run. Instant happiness gradually becomes counterproductive, which makes us less
focused, has no motivation, is unable to be patient and sincere, easily gets carried away by
emotions, is unable to be sensitive to the social environment, is less grateful, lazy to finish
jobs, but tends to be very diligent in doing activities-related taboo.

We, in the end, do not appreciate a working process from time to time because our brain feels
bored and gets stressed. On the other hand, our brain teases our mind and direct us to seek
instant enjoyment like the above examples.

What is the solution?

Dopamine levels in the body must be balanced so that our emotions remain stable and can
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lead a normal life. For that we need dopamine fasting or what is called dopamine detox.
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Dopamine fasting is a hot topic of discussion in the United States. This type of fasting was
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firstly introduced by one of technical workers in Silicon Valley. Dr. Cameron Sepah, a
psychologist from San Francisco who introduced dopamine fasting (dopamine detox) to the
world. "The initial goal of dopamine fasting is to limit the behavior that triggers the release of
large amounts of dopamine, because the release of large amounts of dopamine can lead to
addictive behavior," such an addiction produced by the use of psychotropic drugs.

Do it at least once a month for a dopamine detox / entertainment fast. Detoxify the hormone
dopamine for a moment by refraining from consuming everything that makes us addicted to
doing it over and over again and diverting that feeling to productive, creative, and useful
activities or routines such as cleaning and tidying the bedroom, talking as needed, reviewing
day plans for today and the future, get along with people who are communicative, consistent,
and cooperative.

When we face feeling bored and boredom, our brain begins to return to its natural state as
before. Our body will readjust the required level of dopamine to the size it should be.

Prioritize working with activities that can stimulate low-level dopamine production first
without the burden to completion. Then, you enjoy doing activities that produce low
dopamine levels as a form of high self-esteem. We need to prioritize our obligations at first
completely because all activities that are able to release this hormone in our brain can create
internal motivation which is very beneficial for success. Never give up and keep the spirit
going to maintain the body's chemical balance.

Some people who have been on dopamine detox tell many different things after taking it.
They can feel the essence of happiness, the benefits of religion, and the brain is able to create
perfectly. We, for example, are able to produce works, easily perceive transcendent
knowledge and access sensory, mental and metaphysical experiences. This incident was ‘a
jihad’ in oneself by taking advantage of the opportunity of the mighty power of God. We will
not experience solitude even in the midst of hustle and bustle and we will not feel alone in
loneliness. We are always awakened by the presence of loved ones whom we have been
ignoring, remember all the mistakes we have to fix in the future, and feel protected from
anxiety and fear.
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Week 2

NOTETAKING

Note taking is a writing strategy that can assist you in organizing information and pulling
ideas together. It is also an effective way to pull together information from two or more
sources—your textbook and class lectures, for example. Finally, note taking is a way to
assess your comprehension and strengthen your recall.

Your notes might follow a format such as this:

I. TOPIC  Write it on A4 paper

A. Main Idea
1. Supporting detail  Identify your ID Number and name
a. fact  Write your title
b. fact  Write a paragraph consisting
2. Supporting detail between 6 and 8 sentences.
Do the format here.
B. Main Idea  Space 1.5
1. Supporting detail
2. Supporting detail  Standard margins
a. fact  Arial 11
b. fact  Page your paper
II. TOPIC

Use the following tips to take good notes:

1. Read an entire section and then jot down notes. Do not try to write notes while you are
reading the material for the first time.

2. As you read, be alert for academic thought patterns. These patterns will help you organize
your notes.

3. Record all of the most important ideas in the briefest possible form.

4. Think of your notes as a list of the main ideas and supporting details of a selection.
Organize them to show how the ideas are related or to reflect the organization of the
material.

5. Use words and short phrases to summarize ideas. Do not write in complete sentences.

6. Write in your own words; do not copy sentences or parts of sentences from the selection.
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7. Be highly selective. Unless you are sure that a fact or idea is important to remember, do
not include it. If you are not selective, you will find that your notes are nearly as long as
the selection itself and you will save little time when you review the material.

8. Use an outline system of indentation to separate main ideas and details. As a general rule,
the greater the importance of an idea, the closer it is placed to the left margin. Ideas of
lesser importance are indented and appear closer to the center of the page.

Week 2 instructions

1. Identify the writer’s major ideas of the text by selecting words/phrases to build your fine
sentences;
2. Connect all the words/phrases you have selected to create sentences between 6 minimally
and 8 maximally into a paragraph.
3. Upload your file document to your Week 2 google sub-folder within this week. Failed to
do so will reduce the performance of your writing in this week.

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