My name is Greg Kamphuis. I am the creator of the Dopamine Challenge, and I am the only person to have done it once before.
The first time I did a dopamine fast I was pretty desperate. I was living in Cambodia and trying to start a website about conscious consumerism. I was (and still am) passionate about the topic, and I had quit my previous job to focus on my project – so I was motivated both intrinsically and financially.
However, I was still failing to put anywhere near the amount of required effort into my project. Instead, cheap beer, weed, cigarettes and not being responsible to anyone was slowly destroying my life.
This was not the first time this had happened. I have been in and out of therapists offices and it has been suggested to me that I have everything from social anxiety disorder to ADHD to bipolar. I have spent several years smoking weed non stop and I have been borderline alcoholic from the first day I moved away from my parents (I am 32 now).
I actually don’t watch too much TV but am a hopeless Netflix binge watcher when I get the chance. I am also lucky not to have too much of a problem with social media or shopping, but that is more of a function of not having active Facebook friends and money.
I also continue to watch pornography even though I am disgusted by the idea of what it is. I consider this a true addiction.
My dream self would be able to have a few drinks with friends, enjoy the occasional movie, have a hot coffee simply for the taste, and generally be able to do things in moderation (with the exception of porn and smoking which I want nothing to do with).
I did achieve a greater level of control from my first fast, but I also learned the importance of finding things that you love doing.
This time around I am going for a totally different me.
I want to be at peace with who I am and what I do. I want to hit some kind of effortless flow. I want to love life.
This time around I am going to develop some good habits that can direct my life. Hopefully, I can also find the source of the fear that leads me to end up inside my head instead of focused on what I am doing.