"The more fun you're looking for, the more unhappy you'll be" - Do not ever read this article. #1

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I found a great article a few weeks ago from that, the
a kind of article that makes you think all day and question yourself! I had to write an article on it to tell you about it. Some people will say to themselves, too long for me or I'll read the end directly to see if it's interesting, Well, this article is about you!!

It was a Monday evening, I walked home and the more I looked around, the more I realized the phenomenon. Whether it's in the subway, on the street, then in the elevator...
….
Pleasure is slowly killing us.

And you'll finally understand why.
I'll even explain why your grandmother is not addicted to cocaine, but to opera space.

To begin with, we have to make things clear and be honest, we often confuse two things: pleasure and happiness.
Many people mix the two, thinking that pleasure leads to happiness or even simply that these two notions are the same and unique thing.
If so, I advise you to read the rest carefully...
They are in fact two totally opposite mechanisms, and they do not have the same purpose or the same impact.

Backbone

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The American neuroendocrinologist Robert Lustig is famous for his work on sugar addiction.
In his latest book he distinguishes between pleasure and happiness:

Pleasures are brief, instinctive and material, and individual.
Pleasure pushed to the extreme leads straight to addiction.
Whether it's substances or behaviours. »

For example, when you buy the new iPhone, watch porn or eat a chocolate cake, it's a pleasure.
On the contrary, happiness is long-lasting, spiritual and linked to social interactions, like spending time with loved ones. This does not satisfy an immediate desire.
It is, in fact, the feeling of being one with the world. But unlike happiness, pleasure can make you unhappy.

Photo taken during the Black friday

The pleasure kills.

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That's a bit of an excessive way to put it.
But for Robert Lustig the problem is real and the quest for pleasure can really interfere with the quest for happiness.
And the reason is simple and scientific, and depends on the action of two molecules: Dopamine and serotonin.

• Pleasures trigger dopamine..
• Happiness depends on serotonin

Dopamine stimulates the "reward circuit" and can lead to addiction.
When you indulge "Dopamine excites neurons, and when neurons are too excited, too frequently, they tend to die."

Admit it's itchy, those little numbers right in the middle.

It is the phenomenon that is used on social networking platforms such as Facebook or Instagram to encourage you to post and read articles.

The next time you need a larger dose, to have the same effect, because there are fewer receptors to occupy.

This process repeats itself endlessly until your receptors are exhausted.
To arrive at a time when taking a dose will have no effect on you.
It's called the phenomenon of tolerance.
And when neurons begin to die, it's called addiction.
Are you starting to understand?
Serotonin is responsible for the feeling of contentment and fullness. It doesn't addict or kill your neurons.
Serotonin is an inhibitor, it's not exciting.
It slows down these neurons instead of stimulating them, and allows you access to a constant well-being.

The heart of the problem.

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And that's where it gets interesting.
The more dopamine you create, the lower the level of serotonin is going to drop. In short, the more you look for instant pleasure the more unhappy you will be.
In a society based on instant pleasure, that's frightening. And we may wonder if we are not condemned to be unhappy. The truth is that today we are literally overwhelmed by information and our curiosity is constantly stimulated in all areas of our life: advertising, cinema, internet, video games, TV newspapers, dating applications...

Everything is done to arouse your curiosity by offering you maximum pleasure. An almost instant pleasure with the development of digital technology.
And the media have understood this well, you are becoming more and more demanding, and that much faster.

And this results in a multiplication of products and outputs less and less spaced between models. Information reduced to the absolute minimum and much more striking. No more albums, or singles, place to mp3.
Pleasure has simply changed our relationship with time.
Believe me, you didn't finish hearing about addiction.

But now you're probably wondering what the fucking dopamine is for, what's its real function?

Explain to me I'm lost.

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Our little dopamine has many functions. She is mainly responsible for the pleasant sensations, our motivation and above all our curiosity about things.
It makes you an adventurer in need of knowledge, and motivates you to explore the world, to learn by yourself by associating a positive or negative emotion.
But it also strengthens the neural connections, making them faster, and helps us learn what we need to do and not do in a sustainable way. It should be noted that the stimuli that motivate us most are those that are new: the unexpected.

To summarize: When you feel curious about something useful or not, you are rewarded with a dose of dopamine, which drives you to know more.
Bravo you have just understood how soap opera and clickbait work.

She's not that bad, actually.

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In fact it's like everything else, the main problem is the way we use it.
As we have just seen, dopamine is used to reward your curiosity through learning, i. e. to become a better person. Today, when you watch porn or eat ice cream or wander through social networks, you forget the essential thing: the added value, what it brings you.

However, dopamine plays an essential role in our emotional stability.
When we lack dopamine we may feel demotivated, bored, depressed or even anxious.
It is also possible that we may be able to feel anhedonia, i. e. you no longer feel any pleasure, it is that we find ourselves in a depressive state. So don't go from one extreme to another.

A votre santé.

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So a few tips that seem obvious but which we often tend to forget:

• Enjoy simple things. Go on a trip and discover things that will make you growing up.
• Don't try to be famous on social networks. If you're talented, we'll find you.
• Enjoy yourself moderately. Remember that true pleasure is in rarity.
• Draw; sing, write, create for yourself and not for others.
• Buy less useless things, and remember your childhood where you marvel with nothing.
  
  

LOVE

Bonus : My real name is Adrien

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You can also read one of my latest articles on the Fake porn phenomenon:
How an idea coming from porn is likely to change the face of the world.