When you binge on cheap pleasure - scrolling, binge watching, gaming, porn, junk food - your brain's motivational battery drains, leaving you feeling:

Flat.

Foggy.

Fried.

So you chase more cheap pleasure... but you enjoy none of it.

Soon you fall into a dopamine hole; a state where you keep seeking pleasure, but nothing satisfies you, and everything that matters feels too hard.

Why it happens...

When you flood your brain with rapid spikes of pleasure, you're also flooding it with longer spikes of pain.

Because when it comes to pleasure, pain and neurochemistry; there's no free lunch.

Every burst of pleasure has to be paid back.

(I KNOW THAT SUCKS I ALSO WISH IT WASNT TRUE SORRY IM ALSO CRYING WITH U). 😭☠️🫶🏻

That's why cheap pleasure doesn't leave you energised.

It leaves you feeling like you're in a ditch.

Because you are in a ditch; pants off, butt cheeks up... sorry its 22:12 my mind is in a daze because i've decided to start writing this NOW. NOW?! brilliant lewis well done. ok, i'll start writing seriously now.

Your brain does this to maintain balance.

Hence high peaks in pleasure = equal drops in pain.

Here's what a dopamine hole isn't:          

- Not a moral failure,

- Not laziness,

- Not burnout (although it feels like it),

- Not clinical depression.

It’s a temporary neurochemical low caused by overstimulation.

What to do next...

Getting out of a dopamine hole isn't about forcing discipline.

It requires 1-3 days of:

1.) Unplugging from cheap stimulation.

2.) Letting your body + brain recover and resensitise.  

In other words: you need to replace easy decisions = hard life, with hard decisions = easy life.

And to do that, follow this:

The S.T.O.R.E.R Method

Store your dopamine; don't leak it.

S - Stop digging.

A dopamine hole gets deeper the longer you keep chasing stimulation.

So your first move isn't heroic.

It's boring, annoying and the last thing you want to do.

- Close the tab.

- Turn your phone off.

- Put it in another room.

- Block the app.

- Turn the tv off.

- Throw the food in the bin.      

Turn off the source.

You’re not “denying yourself pleasure.”

You’re hitting pause on the things that feel good now but quietly drain your energy.  

T - Tune into the body.

Your mind isn't going to save you here.

Remember: it's fried.

So do something that quickly pulls you out of your head and into your body:

- Hyperventilate - like you're being chased by your ex wielding printed-off text message screenshots - for 30 breaths then hold for a minute.

- Smash out 15 push-ups like a bald maniac in prison.  

- Rush to the toilet and splash cold water on your face.

- Legs shoulder width apart and shake your arms and legs quickly - like they've just been stung by wasps - for 30 seconds.

- Stand up straight then fold your chest towards your legs - hugging your elbows as you bring your head to your knees.

This creates energy and gives your brain a clear cue:

"We're doing something different now."

The key: you won't want to do this. But you have to. Why? It's... it's just the rules. Dopamine hole rules. Look, stop arguing with the rules. DO IT.

O - One small win.

Now you've got a tiny spark of energy.

Treat it like the small embers of a fire and channel it before it fades.

Because when you're in a hole, you have no momentum.

A small win gives you some back.

Do the tiniest task you can find:

- Make the bed,

- Gulp down a full glass of water,

- Wipe your desk with a cloth,

- Hoover the floor,

- Wash up a plate in the sink - then one more,

- Brush your teeth,

- Shower,

- Look around at the room you're in and ask: "what needs doing?".

This isn't about productivity.

It's about telling your brain:

"Direction has changed. We're back online."

R - Regulate with 10-15 minutes.

That small win won't last forever.

But it gives you a little nudge of momentum.

Now stabilise yourself with a low-resistance, high-stability habit:

- A short walk around the block,

- Read 3 pages of a book,

- Put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and sit quietly,

- Stretch for 5 minutes,

- Shave,

- Cook a quick nutritious meal.

These rebalance your dopamine stores naturally.

Think of it like this:

Before you were choosing pleasure-first-pain-later activities.

Now you're choosing pain-first-pleasure-later ones.

E - Engage one target.

Here's where most people go wrong:

They use their tiny momentum burst to "catch up on everything".

Don't.

You won't climb out of the hole in a few hours.

But you can start moving in the right direction.

Pick one objective for the next hour - the one thing that could make today a win even if it's the only thing you do.

Ask yourself:

"If I only did one thing today, with the energy I have right now, what would make me feel accomplished?"

Do that.

Nothing else.

This pulls you out of scattered energy and back into clarity.

Ideas:

- 60 minutes of work.

- A 30 minute walk.

- Respond to all open loop messages/emails.

- Get to the gym and slog through a workout.

Etc.

R - Reflect on the signal.

Every dopamine hole is feedback:

Ask yourself:

- What led me into the hole today?

- Was I tired? Bored? Avoiding something?

- What can I adjust tonight or tomorrow to prevent the dip?

Reflection turns the hole into insight instead of shame.      

In summary:

S – Stop digging

T – Tune into the body (drop in)

O – One small win

R – Regulate with 10–15 mins (high-stability habit)

E – Engage one target (single target for the day)

R – Reflect on the signal

Don't leak your dopamine. Store it.

That's all for this week.

Thanks for reading.

Lew

P.s. you can join the waitlist for my upcoming product here.

P.p.s. took a snapshot in the gym. also bought an electric toothbrush this week. might take some getting used to. also i've been listening to a great podcast called the rest is history today. was learning about the spanish conquistadors and the aztecs/mayas ok im saying too much bye.

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