Addiction

Gardening has many health benefits.

Oh, the illusionary and all too persuasive frequency of worry. I know this one well. I remember walking into the living room when I was eight years old and the news was on. The news channel was reporting on global warming. Here I was 8 years old, born onto a planet that was going to cook itself into a slow and painful death?! I was horrified. I didn’t sleep well for months. My stomach hurt. My thoughts were consumed and thus began my first episode of a lifelong relationship with worry, the all too disempowering frequency of “what if.”

Nomophobia: The fear of being away from, or completely without your smartphone. Sound familiar? I winced when I first heard this term in a discussion about smartphone addiction because of how strongly I can identify with this. While ‘nomophobia’ has yet to work its way into official scientific vernacular, awareness of this issue has fast-tracked this term into everyday usage.

The word “dopamine” gets thrown around a lot these days, especially with the rise of mental illness. After experiencing some depression myself, I decided to do some research on the science behind this neurotransmitter and some ways we can keep our levels in check. 

Dopamine deficiency is often classified as feeling unmotivated. You’re not necessarily sad, you just don’t feel as excited about things as you used to, maybe even a little bit numb.