Well, here I am again, with a second take.
Last time I tried posting daily on this blog, it was almost a year ago, about 8-9 months. I was trying to organize everything and I ended up getting addicted to Animal Jam. So that happened. I'm almost at the tail end of things, I just need to give some of my big items to others so I feel less connected and pressured to the game.
I am going to try a dopamine detox. At least I think I am. I just deleted Reddit, YouTube, Clash Royale, and many other games off of my phone. I haven't had Clash Royale off of my phone for probably... 6 years, maybe for like a week at one point. I am just trying to get less addicted to things and get my dopamine from better places.
Here is a chart I just made.
So... Here's the thing. I just want to clear my brain of everything I'm addicted to and live life. I could cut out more... Idk. Let me share what I am most prepared for and worried about, or just go through each one.
I want to write and journal, like I am here. It will get me writing and help me write a book or screenplay this year. I want to eat three meals a day instead of two, and eat healthier if possible. I might cheat a bit though, everyone online says not to have junk food with dopamine detoxes but I might still have it slightly.
Running, I want to run everyday for 10 minutes. I have been doing it for about 5 days now with one break and it's been alright.
Cleaning is just an option.
YouTube work is the biggest thing, I want to do better on YouTube, and if I clean up my life, I can do that. Also reading is an option, we'll see.
Let's talk about the biggest stuff, and this post is just so messy, but I don't care.
No games. I have been addicted to a variety of games for... My life, but it's really just gotten out of control since the beginning of 2022. So that's a year and a half that I've sort of lost. Games would be all I think about for the most part. The biggest problems are Adventure Communist, Clash Royale, Storm Wars, Town of Salem, Clash of Clans, Paladins, and more... I guess. I just get addicted and it just sucks up all my time. Oh, and Minecraft and Animal Jam. Actually, let my qualify. Minecraft, Animal Jam, and Storm Wars are the biggest culprits. I love all of these games but they just haven't suited my goals and dreams.
Storm Wars I have escaped. I was playing about 3 hours a day at my worst from summer of 2022 to late 2023. Animal Jam helped me escape it, but it was arguably worse. I got deep into Animal Jam. I wasted my entire Winter Break on it, which latched me on even more. It was all I did for certain days, and when I almost escaped and quit in February 2023, I decided to go for all pink collector's items, which was something I deeply regret. If I had quit, I could've just had the items I had and been happy, but now I have a large, unfinished collection that will never be completed, and all my resources are into it.
Luckily, I have almost escaped Animal Jam, I think I will do it. I have checked the Discord servers less. I feel lucky. At my prime, knowing what I know right now, I still don't think I could've quit. But now the damage has been done and I can.
On top of that, there's YouTube and Reddit. YouTube has been sneaky, I've never really judged my time on it but I spent the last 1.5 years on these both as well. So TODAY, I deleted Reddit and YouTube from my phone, and deleted their bookmarks from my laptop, so if I want to access any of these, I'll have to go through the steps. However, for the first time, I am willing to let these go. I have gotten addicted to many subreddits and YouTubers over the years, but right now, I'm at a point where I'm not... Addicted to any particular one at the moment. I will miss the Pokemon Go and Brawl Stars subreddits, and a few select YouTubers, but I'm willing to let them go. The image of me just watching and consuming motivates me.
I was watching a YouTuber called Hyphonix who is probably the person I watch most now, and I will miss him, maybe I'll pop in at certain points when he streams. Probably not, hopefully. But he was talking about how much he profits off of TikTok, but also how toxic the app is. People just scroll, and scroll, and mindlessly consume and waste their life away. I have always felt glad that I never got TikTok, but I am now aware that I still have been suffering from the same things. Reddit, YouTube, Storm Wars, Animal Jam, and Minecraft are my TikToks.
I haven't talked much about Minecraft, and that's because I recently joined a survival server and got very addicted. I was playing 5 hours a day back in May, and for a week in June, I played maybe 12 hours a day. It was a lot. I have lately been playing about 2 hours a day, partially because the server has slowed down. This may be my lucky break. However, I love the people in the server and I can't ditch them as easily. That's what makes things hard.
In Storm Wars and Animal Jam, I met so many people, and I have almost all of them still added if they ever want to reach out. Unfortunately, I have to let things go. And I wouldn't of let these people go back in the day, but now I can. However, with Minecraft, I can't. These people have done a lot for me and I enjoy them. So I'm going to lurk in Discord... At the risk of ruining the dopamine detox. I can't just cut things off.
HOWEVER, I can still make a play. The server will have a new update soon, and I will resist playing very much, but probably check it out. The only thing is, when the End releases, I'll be tempted to play, but I think that's okay. If I can just play Minecraft like... A bit, when necessary, that's healthy and okay. But right now, I have been grinding money for ranks, and I just decided that I don't care. The server also just feels broken right now and a reset seems possible, which worries me and makes me want to invest less time. So right now, my rules are that I can check it once a day, and claim my daily reward keys, and that's it. I can't even use the keys. We'll see how it goes, but if I just do this, then I can stock up a lot and reward myself for staying off.
Also, things like no movies or Netflix will be interesting. I watch things with my girlfriend and I watch things to learn screenwriting so we'll see. Maybe I'll just do different things with my girlfriend, and do different things with my parents. I guess that's the play.
We ALSO have no music, which I didn't think I would do when I first heard about it. I have an hour long drive to my girlfriend today, and an hour long drive back tomorrow, and it will be so boring without music, but the detox has to happen. The big thing about music is it is at the point where I have to have it while driving. So will just resist and my own thoughts will come in, and maybe I can brainstorm about writing or something. Idk.
One big worry is boredom. Everyone I see who has done a dopamine detox has noted that it is boring, especially the first few days. It is very important that it is boring, I think. But I am not looking forward to it, and I somewhat doubt that I'll be able to do it in a way.
That's all in my brain right now with this post, going to start a second one.
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