Rebalancing Your Brain: Florence Divet ☀️’s Strategy for Overcoming Digital Overstimulation

In a recent LinkedIn post, Florence Divet ☀️ explores the pervasive issue of overstimulation in modern life and offers a practical framework for regaining control over our attention and well-being. Drawing parallels to the scientific understanding of pleasure and pain, Divet outlines a clear, actionable protocol for individuals struggling with what she terms “dopamine bullies” – the constant stream of readily available pleasures that can lead to irritability, anxiety, and a diminished capacity to enjoy simpler things.

The core of Divet’s message, informed by the work of Dr. Anna Lembke, author of “Dopamine Nation,” is that our brains are not “broken” but rather “over-rewarded.” This constant influx of high-dopamine stimuli, whether from endless scrolling, constant snacking, impulse buying, or continuous messaging, forces the brain into a compensatory state. As Florence Divet ☀️ notes:

“Every time you slam it with a big dopamine hit Your brain compensates by pushing you back with the opposite: Irritability, Anxiety, Restlessness, ‘Nothing feels fun anymore’ This is just biology.”

Divet emphasizes that this is a predictable biological response, not a personal failing. To address this, she proposes a six-step protocol designed to “rebalance” the dopamine system.

The Six-Step Dopamine Reset Protocol

1. Identify Your “Dopamine Bully”

The first step involves pinpointing a single behavior that has a significant hold. Divet lists common culprits such as excessive scrolling, sugar consumption, pornography, shopping, alcohol, gaming, or even constant email refreshing. She challenges the common self-deception, stating, “If you’re thinking ‘it’s fine, I can stop anytime’… Perfect. Prove it.” The key is to select just one area to focus on initially.

2. Implement a Reset Window

Divet suggests a “reset window,” starting with a manageable seven days of clean distance from the chosen behavior. While acknowledging Dr. Lembke often recommends longer periods (up to 30 days) for more profound resetting of reward pathways, Divet advocates for a realistic starting point. She cautions against “bargaining” or allowing “just a little” of the behavior, as this undermines the reset process.

3. Add Friction to Bad Habits

To make indulging in the problematic behavior more difficult, Divet recommends adding “friction.” This can involve practical steps like deleting apps, blocking websites, logging out of accounts, placing phones in different rooms, or not keeping trigger foods at home. She champions this strategy, asserting, “Willpower is unreliable. Friction is undefeated.” This method aims to create barriers that discourage impulsive engagement.

4. Embrace “Healthy Pain”

In a counterintuitive but crucial step, Divet suggests that when cravings hit, one should intentionally engage in mild discomfort, which she terms “healthy pain.” This could be as simple as doing 20 squats, taking a cold shower, going for a brisk walk, tidying a space for five minutes, or practicing slow breathing. This is not about punishment but about restoration, rebalancing the pleasure-pain seesaw.

5. Practice “Urges Are Waves”

Divet advises adopting the mindset that urges are temporary waves that will eventually pass. She quotes the practice of observing cravings without needing to act on them: “I don’t have to obey this feeling. I just have to watch it.” By giving the urge ten minutes, individuals can often find it diminishes significantly.

6. Re-learn “Boring Pleasure”

The final step involves rediscovering the satisfaction found in simple, unadulterated pleasures. As Florence Divet ☀️ points out:

“Your dopamine system heals when you return to simple rewards: ☀️ sunlight, 😴 sleep, 🥘 real food, 🚶‍♀️movement, 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 connection, 📚 deep focus, 🎶 music without multitasking.”

Initially, these simple rewards might feel underwhelming due to withdrawal from easy highs, but Divet assures readers that they will eventually feel good again. She concludes by framing dependency as “dependency with better branding” if one cannot imagine a week without a particular behavior. The call to action is to pick a “dopamine bully,” create friction, and hold the line for seven days, repeating the process to reach the recommended 30 days for a significant rebalancing of the nervous system.