What is a dopamine menu? And how do you create your own?
We love a good TikTok trend. Last week we were all about being very demure, very mindful; the week before that we went cucumber crazy, and now the latest trend to take over our FYPs is a surprisingly wholesome trend, which we are so ready to adopt as summer comes to an end - the dopamine menu.
It's essentially a carefully curated list of things that bring you joy in your day to day life, like baking, making your bed, exercising, and everyone from A-List actors such as Eva Longoria, to TikTok faves like Matilda Bea have been sharing their dopamine menus on the app.
But what exactly is the trend and where did it come from? Here's your 101 on all things dopamine menus, including how to create your own.
Where did the dopamine menu trend come from?
The concept of a dopamine menu has been around for a number of years (more on that later) but it really took a surge on TikTok this summer.
TikTok creator Payton Sartain created a video about creating a dopamine menu to stop herself from doomscrolling and the voiceover she uses in the TikTok has since been used by other creators on the app to detail their dopamine menus, and is likely the sound you'll most hear associated with the trend.
In the video she says: "I recently discovered the concept of a 'dopamine menu' which is basically your go to list of things you can do to feel good throughout your day, so you don't default to doom scrolling on social media."
TikTok users have then used this sound to accompany TikToks of their dopamine menus which are often picture galleries of things that make them happy such as going for a coffee, fresh bedding, bubble baths, cold plunges, and fresh flowers.
And others have also created TikToks of them actually creating their menus on paper and showing the different activities they picked to give themselves a dopamine boost.
So what is a dopamine menu?
As previously mentioned, dopamine menus have actually been around for a number of years and are also often referred to as dopamenus.
Just a quick science lesson here: dopamine is the feel-good hormone and is released when your brain is expecting a reward.
Those with ADHD often have lower levels of dopamine and so in 2020 Jessica McCabe, who runs the YouTube channel 'How to ADHD', created the dopamine menu in her video 'How to Give Your Brain the Stimulation It Needs' as a way for those with ADHD to help themselves get the stimulation their brain needs to get more dopamine, instead of doom scrolling on social media for three hours.
A dopamine menu works particularly well for this as when you're already low on dopamine it can be hard to motivate yourself to pick an activity that will increase your dopamine and so having the menu takes the hard work of having to pick for you.
And so a dopamine menu is essentially a list of activities you can do to avoid the doom scrolling while getting your dopamine levels up.
How do I create a dopamine menu?
Ok so dopamine menus are broken down into different categories and here's you can create your own.
You need to start with the 'starters' which are quick and short activities that will only take a few minutes, but can boost your dopamine.
Examples of starters can be: dancing to a favourite song, having a snack, doing one minute of star jumps or hugging a pet.
Then comes the 'mains' which are more time consuming activities, that would take a good hour or so to do.
Examples of mains can be: baking, painting, journaling, going for a walk, doing a jigsaw puzzle or planning a trip.
There's then the 'sides' which are activities you can do while completing more boring tasks.
Examples of sides can be: listening to music, playing a podcast, light a candle, playing an audio book.
Desserts come next and these are activities that you indulge in once in a while, but not too often as you may often not feel good after having done them.
Examples of desserts can be: scrolling TikTok, checking social media, watching TV.
And finally there are the specials, which like on a restaurant menu are things that aren't always available to you, but feel really good to try when they do.
Examples of specials can be: Book a holiday, going to a concert, paying to get a massage or your nails done.
To create your own dopamine menu pick activities you enjoy doing for each of these menu sections. Write them down in a journal, keep a note in your phone or stick them somewhere you can see them, so you've got the opportunity to dip into an activity that will boost your mood when you need it.
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