Everyone could do with a little pick-me-up from time to time when life begins to feel a little heavy, but the idea that there’s a formula for happiness has long been debated.
However, Gen Z thinks it might have the answer as a trend begins to unfold on TikTok – so-called ‘dopamine menus’ which are a list of daily activities or moments that spark happiness.
The trend has seen a surge in popularity on social media as a way to prevent ‘doom scrolling’ or TV binges by having a list of natural dopamine boosters that don’t involve technology to hand.
TikTok and Instagram creators have been sharing their takes on the trend that shuns tech and celebrates simple pleasures, with clips of flowers, candles, brisk morning walks, freshly baked pastries and colourful knits appearing in video montages.
Dopamine menus can appear just as lists, or are sometimes split into groups of starters (quick dopamine hits like natural sunlight or a favourite snack), mains (time-consuming activities like baking or journaling), sides (ways to enhance boring tasks such as household chores or revision, such listening to music or a podcast) and desserts (dopamine hits that should only be indulged in every once in a while, like binging a TV show or checking in on social media).
@happyolivestudio shared clips of a hand-crafted journal full of stickers, doodles and notes on her favourite things
Creator @lucygeorgina.g shared a snapshot of her fail-safe activities for a dopamine hit involving latte art and baking, while @happyolivestudio shared clips of a hand-crafted journal full of stickers, doodles and notes on her favourite things.
Meanwhile, London lifestyle influencer Matilda Bea shared a list of her most joyful activities, including ‘bubble baths at home’, ‘planning holiday fits’, ‘hosting dinner parties’, ‘a well-stocked fridge’, ‘weekends with friends,’ ‘open-top drives’, ‘girls nights’, ‘doing my make-up,’ and ‘fresh sheets’ among others.
For @filipagm_ it was much of the same, with baked goods, coastal scenes, bright flowers and painting in her roundup.
The soundtrack to many of these TikTok roundups is an audio clip from US podcaster Payton Sartain, who unpacks the trend in an episode of her podcast Note To Self, titled ‘Building a dopamine menu’.
‘I’ve basically just discovered the concept of a dopamine menu, which is basically your go-to list of things you can do to feel good throughout your day so you don’t default to doom-scrolling on social media,’ the voiceover says.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter made in the brain and a vital part of the body’s reward system. Those who struggle with low dopamine (for example, people with ADHD) will often chase quick fixes in the form of social media scrolling, snacking or shopping – also known as ‘high-stimulation behaviour’.
The result of indulging in high-stimulation-behaviour is that after the initial high, we’re likely to experience a crash, as clinical psychologist Ellen Littman PhD explains: ‘Dopamine-deficient brains experience a surge of motivation after a high-stimulation behaviour triggers a release of dopamine.
‘But in the aftermath of that surge and reward, they return to baseline levels with an immediate drop in motivation.’
The idea of a dopamine menu is to curb those cravings for high-stimulation activities and end the high-and-low cycle. Natural sunlight, spending time with a loved one or pet, relaxing with a book, meditating and exercising are all known natural mood boosters.
Creator @lucygeorgina.g shared a snapshot of her fail-safe activities for a dopamine hit involving latte art and baking
London lifestyle influencer Matilda Bea shared a list of her most joy-inducing activities, including ‘bubble baths at home’, ‘planning holiday fits’, ‘hosting dinner parties’ and ‘a well-stocked fridge’
For @filipagm_ it was much of the same, with baked goods, coastal scenes, bright flowers and painting in her roundup
‘By having a list, we can proactively choose positive mood-boosting actions rather than turning to habits that we know aren’t helping us be the person we wish to be,’ Dr Sophie Mort, Mental Health expert at Headspace and clinical psychologist told FEMAIL.
‘This approach can improve emotional well-being by building a sense of control and balance, helping to stave off feelings of boredom, anxiety, or depression.’
While it may look like a fluffy TikTok moment, psychologists are backing this trend.
Bella von Nesselrode here, a Member of the Complementary Medical Association, works alongside neuroscientists and psychologists and has shared how there’s a lot of excitement around the concept of a dopamine menu as a way to combat negative dopamine-seeking cycles.
She told us: ‘Psychologists who treat the ADHD community are recommending that it is wise to have a dopamine menu of things you can turn to, for a more natural and well-earned source of dopamine.’
Dr Sophie Mort also says it’s a valuable tool for those who can easily fall into procrastination habits.
‘Procrastination often stems from the tendency to seek immediate gratification through less productive activities,’ she explained.
‘We can tackle procrastination by breaking down a task into manageable chunks and then rewarding completing each chunk with something from our dopamine menu.
‘Or, if we are struggling to motivate ourselves to even get out of bed and get close to the task, we can choose something off the dopamine menu that will give a boost, so then we can get into the headspace of doing the required task.’
The ‘dopamine menu’ was coined by US YouTuber Jessica McCabe in her 2020 video ‘How to Give Your Brain the Stimulation It Needs’.
The ‘dopamine menu’ was coined by US YouTuber Jessica McCabe in her 2020 video ‘How to Give Your Brain the Stimulation It Needs’.
Jessica explained on her channel ‘How To ADHD’ how dopamine menus can be used as a tool for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to find healthier ways to get a dopamine hit without quick fixes.
After the success of Jessica’s video, which has been viewed nearly two million times, the dopamine menu trend grew in popularity on ADHD forums and subreddit threads like r/adhdwomen.
But while the idea of a dopamine menu might seem simple, Reddit user HarrietGirl notes that it’s important to remember it could be a struggle at first.
‘The important thing to remember is that at the beginning, none of it works,’ she explained on the r/adhdwomen thread.
‘Your brain is desperate for the quick, reliable fixes it knows about. So you have to keep returning to the menu and training yourself to remember what you like.
She continued: ‘It won’t work all the time, I regularly slip back into all-dessert days. It’s the nature of the beast. But I can always pick my menu back up and work on training myself back into it when I go astray.’
Rachel Morgan-Trimmer, founder of neurodiversity company Firebird, explains how a dopamine menu can help those with ADHD in particular, telling FEMAIL: ‘For those of us who are not blessed with a balanced cocktail of brain chemicals, seeking out dopamine can help us to feel normal.
‘The stereotype of ADHD is that we’re always chasing dopamine for a high, which is why we might do extreme sports, take risks, or abuse substances. But in fact, many of us with ADHD seek dopamine to feel normal, as our balances are off in the first place.
‘A dopamine menu can guide us toward those activities which not only give us that much-needed dopamine boost in the first place, but which also help nourish us in the longer term. Examples might be cooking a nutritious meal, going on a bike ride or even just getting stuck into a good book.’
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