The Laws of Dopamine: Understanding How To Leverage Dopamine To Win

Dopamine is a misunderstood molecule. Dubbed the “pleasure molecule,” many think it’s responsible for the good feelings we get from rewards.

But this narrow view misses the mark.

Dopamine isn’t just about pleasure—it’s the driving force behind motivation, balance, and even seemingly unrelated processes from motor control to skin appearance.

To truly understand dopamine, we need a framework.

Enter The Laws of Dopamine, a set of principles that distill the absolute truths about this molecule into something both practical and profound.

I’ve filtered everything I’ve learned in my time with addictions, recovery, having a dysregulated nervous system, and just being a curious human.

Below I outline the laws and in an effort to add value, give actionable steps to win off of understanding each law.

The Zeroth Law: Ubiquity

Dopamine is everywhere.

Most people associate dopamine with motivation, pleasure, and rewards, which is correct to do, but its role goes far beyond.

Too low dopamine? Say goodbye to motor control (Parkinson’s).

Dopamine plays a role in damn near everything in you—skin health, growth and repair of hair follicles, immune function, hormonal regulation, and…

pain processing.

Which leads us to the next law.

Actionable insights from The Zeroth Law of Dopamine:

• This law sets the stage for an understanding and respect of dopamine’s pervasiveness, which allows us the insight and drive to take better control over it.

• Baseline dopamine insurance, better than any supplement—sleep, sunlight, fitness, nutrients.

The First Law: Absolute Balance

For every spike in dopamine, there is a trough.

Dopamine is governed by a pain-pleasure balance: any time you experience a rise in dopamine (like the rush of achieving a goal or scrolling social media), your brain must eventually bring it back to baseline.

It does this by creating a trough—a dip below your normal level of dopamine.

This balance also works in reverse. Painful experiences, like a cold shower or intense workout, can temporarily boost dopamine levels as your brain compensates for the discomfort.

There are no shortcuts, cheat codes, or free meals with dopamine. The laws are strict.

Actionable insights from The First Law of Dopamine:

• Endless pursuit of quick highs only chains one to the need for further stimulation to avoid the trough. But the avoidance of the trough only creates a bigger, more painful deficit.

• Ideas:

  • Limiting high-stimulation activities that require little effort (porn, video games).

  • Engaging in a daily ‘painful’, effort-based activity to achieve dopamine spikes (exercise, cold water, things that generally suck).

The Second Law: Tolerance

Overindulgence breeds dissatisfaction.

Dopamine is subject to the law of diminishing returns.

The more you expose yourself to high-dopamine activities—binge-watching, junk food, social media—the less sensitive your brain becomes to its effects.

Over time, you need more of the same stimulus to achieve the same level of pleasure.

Ever scrolled Instagram too long? At first it was exciting, but after a while, you found yourself chasing that high and coming up empty.

Repeat this cycle for long, and the brain will downregulate its dopamine production in response—leaving us feeling like shit.

Actionable insights from The Second Law of Dopamine:

The antidote? Periods of dopamine rest, sometimes called “dopamine detoxes,” where you reduce or eliminate overstimulation. This resets your baseline and allows you to find joy in simpler, more meaningful activities.

Idea: Cycling high-dopamine activities (e.g., occasionally doing the workout without pre-workout, as much as it suckkks).

Third Law: Anticipation

Dopamine surges not from having, but from wanting.

The highest dopamine spikes occur during the pursuit of a reward, not after achieving it.

Think about the excitement of planning a vacation versus the letdown after it’s over. Ordering a cheeseburger delivery only to be dissatisfied with the meal itself. Having sex but realizing the pursuit of such was the most exciting part.

Dopamine drives us to chase goals and promises, but the molecule itself isn’t designed to deliver lasting fulfillment. It simply keeps us moving forward.

Actionable Insights from The Third Law of Dopamine:

• Gamifying goal progress and using rewards to achieve goals. Coffee in exchange for a cold shower. Friday night pizza and movie night with your ole lady in exchange for a week of progress on your business. Whatever you indulge in, linking it to effort positively reinforces the effort itself.

• Redirecting energy into pursuits that align with long-term growth rather than short-term gratification.

Mastering the Laws of Dopamine and Getting Out of Anhedonia

Dopamine, you double-edged sword you. You drive us to achieve great things, but it you also trap us in cycles of depression and numbness (anhedonia is real).

By understanding the laws of dopamine—its ubiquity, balance, tolerance, and anticipation—we can better navigate the highs and lows of life (and ensure a greater majority of life is on high, or at least moderately enjoyable).

CT, I Feel Like “F*ck It” Towards Everything

From someone who’s experienced it, here’s what to do when you’re experiencing anhedonia (a big dopamine deficit).

• Assess what caused or is causing a deficit (are there any high-stimulating or super-normal activities you engage in?). We’ve gotta cut that shit out of our lives, or begin weening away from it.

• Recover dopa. In a bind:

  • Cold water—studies show 250% increases in dopamine for several hours to follow, without the crash commonly experienced with things like coffee, cocaine, and screens.

  • NSDR: shown to replenish and increase baseline dopamine levels—by 65%).

  • Tyrosine-rich foods, the fuel used by the brain to manufacture dopamine.

• Time and space: the brain takes time to recover and heal. Cutting the stimulation will allow this (easier said than done, articles to come on that…).

Mastering dopamine is not about avoiding it—it’s about understanding its rules and using them to your advantage.

Next Steps:

If this resonates with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you noticed the laws of dopamine in action in your own life? What strategies have helped you maintain balance? Let’s dive deeper together—comment below or share this with someone who could use a fresh perspective on DOPE.

Thanks for reading,

CT

Bogota, Colombia | December 2024