The concept of a Dopamine Menu comes from mental health and ADHD circles, where therapists use it as a decision-fatigue buster. It’s a tool for when your brain feels stuck, giving you ready-made mood-lifters so you don’t have to think too hard to feel a little better.
Think of it like a café for your nervous system, except nothing costs $12 and no one spells your name wrong on the cup. The point is to have a list of things that give your brain a hit of pleasure and reward because when you’re stressed, sad, overwhelmed, or just feeling “meh,” decision-making gets harder than explaining the MCU timeline to someone who’s never seen “Iron Man.”
Why It Works
Dopamine is the brain’s “yes, keep going” chemical. It’s linked to pleasure, reward and motivation, all of which seem to go MIA on tough days. Having a Dopamine Menu cuts out the mental gymnastics of figuring out what might lift you up, reducing decision fatigue and making it far more likely you’ll actually do something that works.
Building Your Menu
Write down things that have helped in the past, things that make you smile without fail and things you want to try. Make sure there are a variety of time lengths and energy levels.
The only rules:
- Nothing on the menu should feel like a chore.
- You don’t have to “earn” any of it.
- You’re allowed to swap out items whenever you want.
- Low effort (the espresso shot): Light a scented candle, step outside for two minutes of fresh air, savor your morning coffee, pet your furry friend.
- Medium effort (the latte): Go for a walk in nature, journal for five minutes, have a quick catch-up call with a friend, watch the “Sherlock” calling yourself Greg scene for the 17th time (or, you know, your equivalent clip that's guaranteed to make you laugh).
- High effort (the triple shot): Try a new workout class, tackle that creative project you’ve been dying to try or rearrange a room just for the fun of it while blasting some tunes and dancing like no one’s watching.
- Specials (the seasonal limited edition): Dinner and a show, booking a weeklong vacation, splurging on a spa day, finally seeing your favorite musician live (Elvis hologram concert, anyone?).
You don’t have to feel instantly amazing when selecting an item from your Dopamine Menu. It’s meant to help you feel slightly better, enough to crack open the door for the next good thing. Over time, those little choices add up and your bad day slowly loses its grip on you.
So start drafting your menu now. Include the classics, the comfort shows, the guilty pleasures, the weird little things that always work for you. That way, when your next gloomy day shows up, you can place your order, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you’re the one running the kitchen.
