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Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by james-bcn on Sunday January 02, 2022 @01:18PM (#29771709)
> There are no cool tricks to improving yourself.

This is bullshit. There are lots of simple tricks you can employ to improve yourself. For example:

>If you want to stop eating sugar

If you want to stop eating sugar, throw it all away, and when you go to the supermarket go when you have just eaten, and avoid buying sugar and sugary products.

This gets recommended a lot, but because it is good - Atomic Habits by James Clear.

Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by ppg677 on Sunday January 02, 2022 @01:31PM (#29771889)
"""If you want to stop eating sugar, throw it all away, and when you go to the supermarket go when you have just eaten, and avoid buying sugar and sugary products."""

So much easier when you live alone. My spouse buys sugary crap for my kids and then I have to resist all the time. Which I can't. Thus I am overweight.

Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by james-bcn on Sunday January 02, 2022 @02:05PM (#29772333)
Well it sounds like you need to discuss things with your spouse. If she doesn't want to stop buying sugary crap, then ask them to put it in a locked cupboard, and them to keep the key.

If your spouse doesn't want to collaborate with you on your goals and things related to your health, then you have some serious discussions to have.

Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by antisthenes on Sunday January 02, 2022 @02:18PM (#29772512)
Here's a simple trick - stop shifting the blame on other people.

I really don't get your defeatist attitude:

1. You don't have the willpower to stop eating sugary stuff

2. You don't have the willpower to have a conversation with your spouse to stop buying sugary crap

3. Barring 1 or 2, you aren't talking to your kids to convince them to stop demanding less sugary stuff or aren't presenting them with tasty alternatives.

I'm sure in response to this I'll get a lot of angry replies to the tune of "it's not so simple" or "I don't have enough time for that" or "willpower theory is a myth".

Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by b3morales on Sunday January 02, 2022 @03:15PM (#29773292)
I agree that will is required; the trick though is recognizing where to apply it. I think 1 is a losing strategy. 2 is an excellent starting point, but it might be blocked by another bad practice of some kind...so maybe that needs to be identified and fixed first. I guess the point is that, like that old joke[0], having the hammer is not enough -- knowing what bit to bang on is also critical.

[0]:https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/03/06/tap/

Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by pizza on Sunday January 02, 2022 @10:34PM (#29777033)
Do you think you could communicate them that it's ok to have treats as long as they stay outside the house? Seems like they don't yet know or understand your underlying need to keep them out of the house.
Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by nine_k on Sunday January 02, 2022 @01:34PM (#29771928)
Talk to your kids :)

Also, suggest lower-calorie snacks.

Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by foogazi on Sunday January 02, 2022 @03:51PM (#29773732)
> Which I can't.

C’mon, just say no

Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by raspyberr on Sunday January 02, 2022 @01:28PM (#29771843)
So the cool trick to not eating sugar is... not eating any sugar.
Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by b3morales on Sunday January 02, 2022 @01:56PM (#29772209)
No, it is two steps before that: re-arranging your day-to-day so that there is no sugar to eat.
Re:Ask HN: How do you avoid dopamine addiction on social media? by Levitz on Sunday January 02, 2022 @06:12PM (#29775156)
No, there is a lot around that, which results in not eating any sugar.

It's really simple and intuitive once you actually think about it. If you found yourself in a situation in which eating sugar was more effort you would be less prone to doing it. Not doing something makes it easier to not doing it afterwards too.

Treatment of any addiction steers right away from the "just don't". It's silly, humans just don't work by simply willing things into place harder and harder, they can either just do things or not, in the former case it's not a problem and in the latter there are things that work and can transition into the former.