This Study On Torturing Dogs Teaches A Lot About Dopamine
~ They also saw dogs running and jumping towards people ~
Back in 1960, scientists didn’t have much to do. So they decided to electrify dogs.
They tied one of the dogs’ back legs to a device. This device would then shock the dogs.
The first few shocks were the worst for the dogs. They'd piss and defecate themselves. And adopt a submissive body language (tail between legs, looking down, wary, etc). The scientists would then release the dogs. After the first few shocks, the dogs would have a submissive body language for the first few minutes before building the courage to approach people.
During the first shock, the dogs' heart rate was 150 bpm above baseline. Immediately after it, their heart rate dropped to 30bpm below baseline. For a full minute.
And with each shocking session, scientists observed that each consecutive shock made the dogs more resistant to pain. And would recover much faster after being released. Their heart rate also improved. The final shocks barely moved their bpm. And after them, these dogs would have a heart rate of 60bpm below baseline.
Towards the end of the experiment, they also saw dogs running and jumping towards people after being released from the shock. They called it "a fit of joy".
Despite the torture experiment, the studies on dogs provide useful insights into the pain-pleasure balance in the brain.
The dogs got more resistant to pain. Can’t humans do the same?
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”
— Kelly Clarkson (and Friedrich Nietzsche)
In the book Dopamine Nation (grab my book summary here), Dr. Lembke tells a story about a patient called David.
David had a serious addiction problem. He couldn’t survive without Adderall. On top of his addiction, he also had extreme social anxiety.
He decided it was enough. He went to rehab to treat his drug problems.
Out of rehab, he realized he also wanted to fix his social anxiety.
Usually people with social anxiety prefer to stay away from people. Hidden at home, popping a pill every day for 30 years for their anxiety.
They prefer to run away from the pain of talking to others. And that's what David was doing before starting exposure therapy.
The goal of this therapy is to expose people to their biggest fear, in small and incremental doses.
For example, if you’re afraid of heights, don’t book a suite on the last floor of the Burj Khalifa. Go to a 2-story house and check out the porch. Start small like David.
He started by talking to people at work. He went to the kitchen 3 times a day and introduced himself to coworkers. He was also measuring his stress levels before, during, and after the interactions. On a scale from 1 (totally cool) to 100 (worst pain you could imagine).
Like most people, David was afraid to talk to others because he thought they’d think he was a loser and a weirdo. So before the interactions, he was at 100. Sweating and afraid of all the things that could go wrong.
Still, he approached people.
“I stayed in the moment as long as possible, just letting my anxiety wash over me, while also being respectful of their time. The interactions lasted maybe four minutes.”
After talking to people, he felt relaxed. A moment of relief after moments of panic. He did this routine for a few months. It became second nature. Then it was time to step up.
He decided to make small talk outside work. He chose Starbucks. Everything was going well for a few weeks until he spilled coffee on the counter. He felt like an idiot. He wanted to hide in a cave and never come out.
He told his doctor what happened. To David's surprise, his doctor said “Do it again. But on purpose”.
Next day he went to Starbucks and did it again. He felt less like an idiot. Eventually, he got used to it.
Even with crippling anxiety, David still ran towards the (small) pain of having to talk to others. And because of that, now he doesn’t need anxiety pills to live his life.
Facing your fears is not easy. You either face them until you’re not afraid anymore. Or live with them forever.
Choose small pain now to avoid big pain later.
Modern life is built to avoid pain.
Not just life-threatening pain. But all kinds of small pains as well.
Waiting for the microwave to heat your food? Pain.
Afraid of being single forever? Pain.
Uncertainty about the future? Pain.
Waiting in line for coffee? Pain.
TV Show too boring? Pain.
All this pain turns your life into a constant mission to avoid these emotions at all costs.
And how do we avoid them? By entertaining ourselves to death.
December 2023, Spotify released “Wrapped 2023”. People boasting about listening to 50 thousand minutes of music. These are 50 thousand minutes people chose to avoid dealing with any emotions.
50 thousand minutes people could’ve used to talk to their brain. To calm the monkey mind. To figure out what’s wrong (and do something about it).
You can't spend all your time distracting yourself.
If all you do is entertain yourself, 2 things will happen:
It gets harder to feel pleasure. Things that once felt good won’t feel as good anymore. Watching Netflix is nicer than talking to friends. But even Netflix can’t compete with dopamine levels you get on TikTok. So what happens? Netflix gets boring as well. Now you can only enjoy TV Shows while scrolling through TikTok with Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate ice cream next to you.
It gets easier to feel pain. Feeling pain feels extra painful. It’s easier to feel anxiety. Being bored is a death sentence. Being hungry is the worst feeling in the world. Low dopamine activities (like reading) feel like torture.
This is the result of tipping the scale too much to the pleasure side. It’s your brain telling you to cool down. And 99% of people don’t like that.
They want to avoid it. So they seek even more instant gratification.
It's OK to want to feel good all the time. I want that as well. But at some point you have to deal with your real emotions.
Run toward the discomfort you’re feeling right now. Your future self will thank you for it.
Embrace the cold shower
A few weeks ago I started to take cold showers.
Not because I saw some bro swearing by it on Instagram. But because of what I read in the book Dopamine Nation. An entire chapter about why discomfort (pain) makes you feel more pleasure.
You don’t need to shock yourself like the dogs in the experiment above. You can start tipping the scale to the pain side with cold showers.
It’s winter right now in Europe. Every time I did the dishes I felt my fingers blackening and getting gangrene.
Cold water is really f*cking cold water. The first time I took a cold shower I felt like someone just assaulted me. It’s hard to describe the feeling. My brain wasn’t sure what just happened. I was having a nice warm shower and then came a full blast of freezing water. I felt bad during, and a few minutes after (like the dogs).
I’ve repeated the process a few times. Even yesterday when I convinced myself I shouldn’t take a cold shower because I went to the gym I still did it. I can’t say this habit profoundly changed who I am. But I did feel a little high after it. The house is not that cold anymore. The honeydew melon tastes sweeter. Reading a book feels nicer.
And that’s when I realized that a little bit of pain now helps to avoid big pain later. It’s the tax you pay for a better future.
For example:
Feeling bored is painful. But not as painful as being anxious for the next 30 years
Stretching is painful. But not as painful as not walking properly in 30 years.
Going to the gym is painful. But not as painful as weak bones in 30 years.
Talking to people is painful. But not as painful as dying alone in 30 years.
Stop and take a moment to rebalance the plain-pleasure system in your brain.
Acknowledge what you’re feeling.
Take a cold shower. Stretch. Go to the gym. Talk to strangers.
Run towards the pain and tip the scale of our pleasure-focused world.
And when you embrace the pain, everything around you becomes easier.