Credits: Social Media
Examples of a dopamine menu as people hail ADHD self-care method as life-saving
You might have seen the term dopamine menu popping up across the internet, and for good reason, as the latest TikTok trend is being hailed as life-saving by both neurotypical and ADHD people.
Self-care has become a major part of the modern era as people do away with antiquated ways of thinking for an easier, more carefree life. From ditching dates to ensuring you don’t burn out at work, there are self-care methods out there to suit every way of life.
People with ADHD usually use the dopamine menu
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, known commonly as ADHD, is a condition that affects 366.3 million adults worldwide. ADHD and related conditions have seen increased attention in recent years as social media users relate to often vague symptoms that could point to any number of disabilities and illnesses.
Thankfully, for every ill-informed self-diagnosis, methods and techniques are emerging that can help everyone, not just those with ADHD. One such example is a dopamine menu.
The trend is exactly as it sounds and describes the act of putting together a sort of menu that includes dopamine-releasing activities. People with ADHD have a lower amount of dopamine, the happy hormone excreted through activities that make us feel good.
For that reason, each person’s dopamine menu is inherently individual, meaning you can’t exactly copy another person, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be inspired by one.
Much like a traditional menu, dopamine menus are divided between starters, mains, sides, desserts, and specials.
Starters give you a quick boost when you need it, mains are more time-consuming activities that make you happy, sides can be done alongside boring chores and mandatory tasks, desserts make you feel good in the short term but might not be good for you, and specials are once in a blue moon activities.
Examples of a dopamine menu to give you some ideas
While your dopamine menu should be highly individualized with activities that make you feel good, examples can be all you need to inspire great ideas.
Across a range of TikTok videos, popular starter activities included dancing to your favorite song, cuddling a pet, stretching, drinking an iced cold drink, and having a quick phone call with a friend or family member.
On the main course side of things, people are going for runs, cooking meals from scratch, reading a book, listening to a podcast, walking the dog, doing a coloring book, having an “everything” shower, and playing a football game.
Moving on to sides, which can be done alongside normal life tasks, people recommended listening to music, learning a language, leaving friends voice notes, or playing word games and memorization. techniques.
Desserts are the usual things you’d turn to for a dopamine hit like watching a movie, scrolling through TikTok, eating junk food, and playing video games.
Last is specials, which include taking a holiday, going to the spa, dancing at a festival, and purchasing a new piece of equipment.
TikTok’s Victoria (@victoriaharderxo), who posts mainly about habits, shared her dopamine menu last year. Unlike other lists, Victoria broke hers up into times of the day, with morning dopamine activities including journalling, making a fun drink, skincare, and listening to music and podcasts.
Victoria also included weekend-specific activities such as going on a hike, cleaning the house, playing sports, and reading in the park.
