How to Deal with Social Media Withdrawal and Smartphone Addiction
Though it may seem contrary to everything you’ve ever learned about addiction, in fact there are supplements and plant medicines that can make withdrawals and detox from any object of addiction including social media or smartphones much easier.
Plan to take the supplements listed below at the recommended doses, 3 to 4 times per day (to provide a steady supply of nutrients to your brain) for up to 6 months. Six months is how long it will take to up-regulate the dopamine receptors and heal the brain completely.
During this six-month treatment period, you will need to develop new routines and hobbies that exclude the use of social media and smartphones. Consider purchasing a flip-phone or getting a land-line. And also consider removing social media apps from your smartphone and computer to make it more difficult to access these apps. You don’t have to get rid of your social media presence yet, but you should make it more difficult for yourself to just log-in anytime you want. Create resistance for yourself so you can slow yourself down should you be tempted to log into these apps over the upcoming months while your brain is healing.
How Do These Supplements Work to Cure Addiction?
Addiction is a human behavior that happens when dopamine and norepinephrine levels become low in the brain. It doesn’t matter what you’re addicted to--maybe you have an addiction to meth, your smartphone and social media, as well as porn. That’s okay. These supplements will help you overcome all of your addictive behaviors by making your neurotransmitters more balanced in your brain and in your body.Taking these supplements will not change your emotions, but they will make your emotional responses less physical in that your body may not respond in the same way to the desire to visit a social media site. You’ll find that instead of reacting physically by taking action to a desire to visit social media or to misuse your smartphone that you notice the desire and then have the opportunity to think about whether or not you want to use it.
It’s vital that you come up with a list of things you’d rather do with your time than sit on social media all day or scroll through endless feeds on your smartphone. It might be difficult to come up with this list at first. Start taking the supplements listed below and make that list during the first 3 days of your treatment. You’ll begin to feel the effects of the supplements within 4 to 24 hours after taking the Mucuna pruriens and amino acid supplements. Again, your emotions won’t change, but you’ll feel the oppression from the addiction begin to lift and you’ll begin to feel like you have the energy to explore new options...a telltale sign that your brain is producing adequate quantities of dopamine again.
Please read this information about Mucuna pruriens to better understand the difference between the dopamine precursor known as L-Dopa and the synthetic pharmaceutical Levodopa which doctors sometimes call “LDopa” as a colloquial name. There is a lot of misinformation and confusion about these very different substances online.
NOTE: If you’re addicted to more than one thing, be sure to use the whole spectrum of supplements listed below to overcome your addiction. In particular, you absolutely must have adequate levels of vitamin B6 and magnesium for your body to be able to convert Mucuna pruriens into dopamine in the brain.
Neurotransmitters Precursors: What You Need to Know
- The supplements below provide neurotransmitter precursors that your body would otherwise have to get from your diet during the withdrawal process.
- Neurotransmitter precursors are substances that must be present in the body to make a given neurotransmitter (examples of neurotransmitters include: dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, glutamate, and GABA).
- Neurotransmitter precursors make it easy for your body to make the neurotransmitters you need to feel okay with the world as you work to overcome an addiction.
- By taking the proper doses of neurotransmitter precursors (which are typically amino acids or natural amino acid derivatives), you can reduce withdrawal symptoms during the early stages of quitting an addiction, increasing the odds that you’ll be successful.
- IMPORTANT: Avoid refined sugars during the first 6 months of your anti-addiction protocols. Refined sugars deplete dopamine levels in the brain quickly. Instead, choose foods with low-glycemic index NATURAL sweeteners like coconut palm sugar, stevia, monk fruit, or honey. Avoid artificial sweeteners which also trigger neurotransmitter imbalances. Read product labels and avoid stevia products that contain artificial sweeteners as well. Choose natural, pure products to sweeten your food!
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The supplements that you’ll find most helpful in overcoming any addiction are:
- Mucuna pruriens - 6000 mg per day (taken every 4 hours)
You must take Mucuna with a B-complex vitamin and zinc for the body to convert it into neurotransmitters that will diminish withdrawals. Taking this supplement gives your body what it needs to make the most important addiction-related neurotransmitters: dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Mucuna pruriens can be used to overcome a methamphetamine addiction as well as addiction to other substances as well.
- N-Acetyl-Cysteine / NAC- 100-600 mg every 4 hours
NAC (N-Acetyl-Cysteine) is an over-the-counter antioxidant that helps the body regulate the levels of glutamate in the brain. And glutamate can be converted into GABA, the relaxation neurotransmitter. These two neurotransmitters (glutamate and GABA) balance neural excitement with neural relaxation. Taking this supplement at doses between 100 to 600 mg several times throughout the day will help you control any obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors that you have. And it will reduce your anxiety-related symptoms if you have smartphone and social media detox withdrawal symptoms.
- L-Theanine - Take this supplement as-needed.
L-Theanine has a calming effect on the brain and body. It influences the production of serotonin and dopamine in the body and it enhances your mood, reduces cortisol levels in the body (cortisol is the stress hormone), and also stress levels, making it easier to rest and relax during withdrawal from social media. Green tea contains L-Theanine and you can also drink green tea throughout the day to support the production of dopamine in the brain.
- Multi-vitamin (take 1 dose per day in the AM)
Take a high-quality multivitamin that contains both zinc, and vitamin C.
- Magnesium (take 400 mg in the morning and 400 mg right before bed)
Magnesium will not only relax your muscles and facilitate all the chemical reactions in your body, but also those that are necessary for you to overcome addiction. It will enhance your athletic performance and your heart health. Most Americans are deficient in Magnesium. So taking a high dose can cause diarrhea at first, but it can also relieve constipation. Cut back on the dosage at first by 200 mg if you get diarrhea when taking Magnesium. Increase the dosage later after your body has adjusted to having enough of this super-essential nutrient.
- Vitamin B Complex (take 1 dose per day in the morning)
Choose a high-quality vitamin B complex product that contains at least 25 mg of vitamin B6 in every dose. Without the proper amount of B vitamins, your body won’t be able to make use of any of the other supplements you’re taking for social media and smartphone withdrawals. B vitamins are an important part of overcoming any addiction!
- Amino Acid Complex (take 1 dose daily and take it at a different time of day from Mucuna pruriens )
The Super Balanced Neurotransmitter Complex supplement was designed to combat addiction. It provides you with a high dose of vitamin B6, a vital nutrient in overcoming smartphone and social media addiction, along with an array of other amino acids that help your brain build neurotransmitters that have been scientifically proven to help in the process of overcoming addiction. The Super Balanced Neurotransmitter Complex supplement contains amino acids that will help your brain make neurotransmitters that will also relieve any depression or anxiety that you have in relation to your social media addiction.
- Amygdalin (Take 500 mg of this supplement at night, right before bed).
Amygdalin will help your body and brain rebuild neurological structures that may have been depleted as a result of addictive behaviors. This is an essential cancer-prevention nutrient with miraculous healing abilities that were discovered by the same doctor who invented chemotherapy for cancer, Dr. Sugiura. Amygdalin is used in high-doses at many holistic cancer treatment centers as a curative agent for many different types of cancer and some experts even believe that amygdalin-deficiency is the root cause of most types of cancer. Taking this supplement is a great way to prevent cancer in addition to making your brain healthier during social media and smartphone withdrawals!
- Lugol’s Iodine (Purchase the 2% Lugol's solution and start with 1 drop on the wrist every the morning, adding 1 daily drop every 7 days until you get to 20 drops total per day.)
Lugol’s iodine contains all the nutrients your body needs to produce thyroid hormones and also reproductive hormones in the proper quantities. Lugol's iodine increases your norepinephrine levels (a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in preventing addiction relapse). If you consume items that contain bromine like commercially produced breads or soft-drinks like Gatorade or Mountain Dew(check the ingredients on your bread and soft drink products for BVO’s - bromated vegetable oils) or if you swim regularly in a pool that’s sanitized using bromine (rather than chlorine), your iodine levels may be dangerously low. Low iodine levels can cause obesity, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, fibromyalgia-type symptoms, and mood problem. And it can lead to breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, or any type of thyroid or reproductive organ cancer. You may break out in a rash when you first start using this supplement as the bromine leaves the body. This rash can last for up to the first month or two of using the Lugol's iodine. The rash will go away completely with continued use of iodine, but if you are exposed to high-quantities of bromine, you'll get a rash again as the bromine is leaving the body.
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- Honokiol/Magnolia Bark - (take a 400 mg dose 1 hour before bedtime)
Magnolia Bark is a remarkable plant medicine that will help you sleep. It has the amazing ability to change its shape in the brain to provide your brain with whatever it needs to rest during smartphone and social media withdrawal. Individuals who are addicted to opiates can use Honokiol to overcome their addiction. Honokiol interacts with the opiate receptors in the brain, but it is not itself an opiate and it is not addictive.
- L-Tryptophan - (take 1500 mg 1 hour before bed)
This is the amino acid in turkey that makes people feel sleepy after a big Thanksgiving dinner. L-Tryptophan is another serotonin precursor. You can take up to 15 grams of L-Tryptophan to relieve insomnia, but most people take between 1000 and 5000 mg before bed to help them sleep. DO NOT TAKE THIS SUPPLEMENT if you’re currently taking prescription anti-depressants.
- Melatonin - (take 3 mg 1 hour before bed)
Melatonin will help you sleep. It is produced in the brain from serotonin when the body is exposed to total darkness. It will help you maintain adequate serotonin levels in the brain to help you avoid depression during the daytime hours. FINAL NOTE REGARDING ALCOHOLISM and ALCOHOL ADDICTION: If you are struggling with social media or smartphone addiction as well as alcohol addiction, consider taking Kudzu, a plant that is related to Mucuna pruriens. Mucuna and Kudzu are in the same plant family, but Kudzu has special qualities that make it especially appropriate for alcoholism. Kudzu protects the liver and, according to scientific research, alcoholics who are given Kudzu at high enough doses will drink 20% less alcohol even if they have no intention of quitting their addiction. So this is powerful medicine! It can be used with Mucuna. If you have a problem with alcohol addiction, follow the above protocol and add a 500 mg daily dose of Kudzu into the protocol. Raise this dose by 500 mg per week up to 6000 mg for 6 months to overcome your alcohol addiction.