Do You Have Low Dopamine? | Dr. Daniel Amen

Dr. Daniel Amen lists common signs and symptoms relating to a dopamine deficit.


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[saltyshannonigans]

Living with a narcissist can also make you have all of these symptoms and more. I developed multiple auto immune problems. Severe depression, anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, confusion, ptsd, heart problems and more.
It's called a Slow Kill.
I just got yelled at by the narc for sorting laundry.
Get away as fast as you can.

[Portia]

I love how they start telling me about it, but they don’t tell you how to fix it😂

[Frankieloodles]

I wish my drs had known this. Been on antidepressants for years. Turns out I had adhd the whole bloody time

[triciapeacock]

@doc.amen so the logical follow up to this video is essential; please post an informative reel detailing: a) what causes low dopamine; b) how to naturally raise low dopamine; c) is there a diagnostic test to assess for low dopamine; d) Tx for low dopamine. Please please and thank you 🙏!!

[debbyc]

Ty for being a great doctor. I took your Amen Test about 35 yrs ago, began Adderall and started a job because the meds helped. I just retired from my job and will forever appreciate your website which helped me be productive and support my family. God bless sir!!!

[nunovurbiznis]

I need both. I’m tired and anxious at the same time. I sleep all day and can’t sleep all night. I can’t work. Yet if I don’t I’m gonna run out of money. I know that can make things much worse but it’s like I’m frozen stuff and don’t have the motivation to do what I need to do.

I used to be so successful. I’m just depressed all the time.

[appletvaccount]

My dopamine is so low, even the morgue is sending me sympathy cards

[rebekahdavis]

I've had low to no dopamine reward since BIRTH. You can even see the disgust in my face as a baby lol

[Squid]

The dopamine systems are very complex though. It’s not just that you’re inherently lacking dopamine, you yourself could be the culprit of your dopamine disfunction. Too much screen time, lack of exercise, allowing yourself to be stuck in a negative state of mind, all in short “fry” the system and cause disfunction over a period of time

[mirr]

Wondering how to fix dopamine deficiency? Lock your smart phone in a draw. Turn off your computer/games console/TV. Go outside and walk a long distance. Pick up a book and read, preferably non-fiction. Work hard at something that you may find rewarding, like learning a language or a musical instrument.

[Beccanator]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for the distinction. I’m ADHD, and often have felt like I have struggled with depression on and off pretty much my whole life, I did have seasonal affective disorder, living in the Pacific Northwest due to the lack of sunlight, but now that I’m in Southern California, there’s really no excuse to feel so shitty and low in Energy sad and unmotivated! Thank you for giving me this distinction because from now on when I feel “depressed, ” I will instead tell myself OK I need some dopamine and take steps to increase it. 🙌

[christinerobinson]

I have much more motivation and energy since I stopped eating carbs. Keto has helped me drop weight, cleared away the brain fog, gotten rid of eye floaters, and loosened the gout in my big toes so that I can bend them again without pain. Best of all, it has eliminated my continual torturous cravings for sugar

[xxkxx]

I wondered why my SSRIs didn't touch my depression for years and the moment I started Vyvanse (for ADHD) I suddenly felt happy 😂❤

[janetrowe]

I got mine from trauma in childhood mental abuse..more I research I find my answer

[deanner.]

I have an appointment at the Amen clinic for help with my adult Adhd. Finally getting serous about proper treatment rather than letting my general MD treat it. I’m expecting big results!

[rachels_fyi]

This is why the question: "How do I get more" is the wrong question. Dopamine is way more complicated than "how much" you have. There's a tonic pool of dopamine, and there are pings of dopamine that come in the moment in response as a reward to "winning" something. The small pings of dopamine are then stored and BECOME the tonic pool of dopamine. But, the small hit of dopamine now is compared to the pool, and if the pool is large (you made a lot of dopamine in the past and you didn't get rid of it), then the small hit right now doesn't look that important to your brain. If you have a small tonic pool of dopamine (the sum of all recent past hits of dopamine), then that small hit of dopamine right now is going to look big to your brain. Therefore, what matters is HABITS and how much dopamine you make, generally, and then whether you get rid of it. So, that's why people do "dopamine detoxes" where they, first of all, stop scrolling through social media on a screen (go look up all the different ways that your brain makes more dopamine). Take a vacation from dopamine-producing activities, go through a little withdrawal. Eat boring food. Eat less food and fewer times per day. Now, does food start to taste better and feel like a bigger reward?! Duh! So, when people list out all the things that give them "more dopamine" it's true, and yet by going out and doing those exciting things and eating more exciting foods, etc. you are only creating a bigger problem. And, probably the biggest problem for anyone reading this is tied to the screen, youtube, social media and all the exciting things that happen on a digital screen. And, the worst time to look at screen is first thing in the morning. (And, serotonin is much more complicated than most people think, too. So, until you understand it, proceed with caution.)

[Miss_PANDAS]

This was me. I had somnolence and slept 16 hours a day. When I was awake I was chronically fatigued and couldn't concentrate on anything. I dramatically changed my diet and lifestyle and now live normally. Our environments are poisoning us and making us sick.

[SuzanneU]

I'm so pleased to hear this! I got the serotonin runaround with no improvement. Started on Bupropion - and woke up into a whole new beautiful world I'd never known before.

[JoeSmith-ynqv]

Awesome, I presented this to my doc and we increased mine. Thank you for expressing the symptoms so clearly.

[pcburke]

I need 1 cup of dopamine. I fight to think clearly. It takes time to catch the "jist" of a problem