Quieten the Monkey Brain

It's constantly trying to fight you

There is a cycle in our brains that happens to us all. This cycle is a reaction to an internal battle between two parts of our brain.

The monkey brain, and the human brain.

Or: the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. Limbic can be thought of as the driver towards short term goals, while the prefrontal cortex allows for long term thinking. It’s what separates us from other animals and their behaviour, it’s what makes civilised society - humans have a more developed layer than other animals.

The human brain grew in layers and the prefrontal cortex arrived at around 2 million years ago, sitting above and in front of the older limbic system. The limbic system, being our ancient brain, is involved in behavioural and emotional responses - focusing on functions to keep someone alive, such as feeding, reproduction, caring for the young and the flight-or-fight response.

Back in caveman times, it made sense to drive a person to eat more calories when more calories were available, as food was scarce.

But in the modern world, food is everywhere, people can easily eat in excess, yet our limbic system still pushes this drive forward.

It is in recognising this battle, and the limbic voice, that we can overcome the monkey brain.

In my own life, I’m starting to draw a line in the sand between the path I want to move down and the distractions that lead me astray.

When I eat well, sleep well, exercise regularly and have a productive day at work, I feel high off life. But that is the point to watch out. It is when we feel life is going well, or when we’re tired, that the limbic system calls out.

Because I feel so good today it’s easy to think one little thing, like weed or snacking on unhealthy food or scrolling social media, won’t affect a thing.

So I do it, and because it’s been awhile I feel a massive hit of dopamine. A lot of pleasure. Maybe I spend too long on social media. Maybe I wake up groggy - overall, not so bad, if it was a one-off.

But the cycle has begun.

When we get dopamine from something, our brains start to crave it. So let’s say the next day I want to spend more time on socials, and so I do because it’s not too bad.

Now - let’s say I do this for a few days. What I’ll notice from doing this everyday is that the second time didn’t feel as good as the first time. And the third time feels even worse.

And that’s because neurologically, I am enjoying it less and less.

What’s happening is the brain adjusts its dopamine baseline downward, so normal activities feel duller. To get the same pleasure, you need more stimulation.

What this also means is that not doing that activity feels worse. If I sat in the same place on a sofa without a screen a few days ago and contrast that to today, my dopamine levels are lower. So sitting with my thoughts is now feeling a lot more boring than it used to be.

So to feel less bored I hop on socials.

The limbic system is the culprit. When you feel good and safe the evolutionary drive kicks in of hey eat now since you’ll have less later, play now, as you may not get another chance.

Now there is a way to break the cycle but it requires bringing your dopamine levels back to the past baseline.

The moment you forget about the argument with the limbic system, is the moment it wins.

Think about it this way, let’s say you had a super tiring day at work and you get home and you know it’s healthier to cook and maybe exercise. But you’re exhausted. That is when the limbic calls out let’s get takeaway and watch tv, and because you’re tired, you don’t argue. It wins. In that moment you feel good (short term pleasure), whereas you may wish you did different later (long term pleasure).

By keeping focus on the internal battle and saying nah that’s not happening, the limbic system quietens down - though this takes time.

For me, it’s gotten to the point with socials where my dopamine receptors feel fried. Where I can feel the craving for social media and when I switch it on I feel so tired and bored but it grips me in.

So how am I quieting my monkey brain? It’s a lot easier to not want to climb the dopaminergic ladder if there’s no phone around. Switching off my phone or leaving it at home or switching it to grayscale reduce how much dopamine I get from it throughout the day.

But I think the main change is noticing the divide in my mind, the internal conflict. Noticing that those thoughts are from an ancient place and I don’t have to follow what it wants.

This has been on my mind recently and I think with so many social media addictions becoming commonplace it’s important to talk about - frying your dopamine receptors with phones and screens literally make everything else worse. It makes it so much harder to enjoy what you usually would.

For me, I’ve been struggling with enjoying my work, which is super odd because I usually love work. But it’s at a point where I can’t let it continue. I don’t know if this is solely due to dopamine but I feel it is a big factor and what I am tackling first.

If your work or hobbies feel dull lately, it might not be them - it might be your dopamine. Give your brain the reset it needs.

This piece is an amalgamation of my own experiences and what I’ve learnt from listening to a YouTuber called Dr K - if you’re feeling similar things to me I’d really recommend checking him out - he has great advice and personally my mind has been blown in every video!