Dopamine = Pleasure | Dopamine ≠ Satisfaction

Dopamine is a chemical messenger (neurotransmitter) in your brain that is released in the reward system of the brain. The reward system is activated when we have a pleasurable experience, which can then be motivating and lead to habit formation. For example, if you get positive feedback after completing a task at school or at work, your brain gets a burst of dopamine = pleasure = wanting to do that action/behavior again. Dopamine plays a key role in many other neural functions (movement, mood, learning, attention, heart rate), but we often talk about a ‘dopamine hit’ when we want to feel
pleasure and motivation. Things that might trigger a release of dopamine are broad- popular choices might be shopping, dancing, sex, drugs, or doing anything that you find fun and pleasurable. Sometimes the trigger of motivation for these pleasurable things results in things like addiction.

However, dopamine DOES NOT equal satisfaction!

Because dopamine is associated with the reward and motivation system, it does not get triggered when we finally get what we want. In other words, it’s the ‘wanting’ signal, not the ‘having’ signal. This is an important differentiation because the more we seek out ‘just’ the feeling of pleasure and reward, it can actually decrease our ability to appreciate and experience satisfaction. This is well researched in the field of substance abuse (e.g., tolerance), but can be applied to ‘regular life’ as well. Take our children, for instance. How many children talked about how bored they were a day after the holidays? Or will ask, after a long day of fun, “what’s next?” Children and adolescent brains aren’t fully cooked, yet. Their brains are very sensitive to seeking out the reward systems (dopamine), but not as good at ‘settling’ for satisfaction.

How can we build satisfaction?
- Work on gratitude for what we have
- Spend time with loved ones and friends
- Find community
- Set goals
- Work towards growth
- Have fun
- Find humor
- Identify and acknowledge the high points of you day
- Practice mindfulness