My studies have come to an end and I woke up in a times of pandemics.
Locked up in the house I was wondering about depression, which started
to affect more and more people around me. At that time I wasn't in good
mental condition myself. It pushed me even further to deep dive into
this subject.
As a biochemist I focused on molecular side of depression
and other disorders of a similar origin. For months I have been reading
the literature and statements by people affected by this disorder. At
some point I got to the heart of it - to DOPAMINE.
It turns out that we
wouldn't be able to live without this neurotransmitter. It is a kind of
motivator for us. Because of it, in the morning we get out of bed, we
have a desire for breakfast and above all, we have the will for
self-development.
However, the effects of dopamine are not exclusively
positive. Our brains can become addicted to a certain level of dopamine,
making us want more of it at less and less cost. In such case, we talk
about so-called 'fast dopamine', which we obtain in a number of ways.
I
focused on the widespread problem of social media addiction. Scrolling
through videos on Tik Tok, getting likes on Facebook and other similar
platforms is highly addictive to our brains.It works like a drug, we
want more and more, unfortunately it becomes not enough, the tolerance
increases and it exacerbates the bad feeling. We start to feel less
motivated to achieve our goals, which affects mood and can lead to
anxiety and eventually to depression.
From this my vision of dopamine
was born - woman sucked out of life who, despite her devastation, still
chases the carrot.