Episode 25: Dopamine menu for stay at home depressed moms. Postpartum mental health

are you familiar with the concept of a dopamine menu?

The social media trend is to create a list of things that can raise your dopamine since a lot of us experience low levels in the fall which leads to anxiety and depression. I think a lot of people could relate to this, but as moms, especially stay at home moms of young kids, feeling depression or dealing with full blown depression is excrutiating.

I wanted to share my dopamine menu,

1. Movement. I love walking in the morning, doing pilates on youtube, or just other workouts. Movement releases endorphins and makes me feel better overall. I always try to remind myself that an object in motion continues in motion. And object that starts stationary has a harder time getting into motion. SO start the day moving and I know I’ll feel better all day.

2. Putting my phone onto do-not-disturb- and putting it into a drawer. I just focus on my kids or my chores and I get stuff done.

3. Reading books. I joined a book club a few months ago and not only have I loved reading the books again, but I also adore the women in the book club. We meet once a month and its possibly my favourite day of the month.

4. Nutrition is another thing I focus on. Every day I try to tune in to how my body is feeling, I make sure I’m getting lots of protein and I take my vitamins and supplements daily. Another thing I’m adding in is green tea ideally daily but not always. Its a slower release of caffeine so I stll get a pick-me-up without the crash.

5. Light a candle. My favourite candle store is called little ritual candle co.

6. The next one is really random, but its just push ups into downward dog. If I’m getting stressed or I’m feeling like I’m putting roots down into the couch, I roll onto the floor, do a push up, and then push back into downward dog. I think it forces me to breathe or something, but I’ll do it a few times and I suddenly have clarity. IT might be “I need to go to bed.” or “I haven’t had enough water.” or “I need fresh air.” but it just always works.

7. Listening to podcasts always makes me feel better. My therapist and I made the connection that I always want to consume content, so if I dont want to scroll mindlessly I need to prioritize a podcast. I used to think I could only do a podcast on my walk, but knowing that its podcast of doomscroll has allowed me to throw it on in the house. If my kids are watching a show or listening to music I’ll play it through my airpods.

8. Last one: doing the task I’ve been procrastinating. Its usually something like clarifying my finances, doing laundry, or cleaning the bathroom, but once I do it I feel just a relief and to be so dramatic, I have a fresh outlook on life.

That’s my little dopamine menu. I look at that when I feel myself slipping into dark chaos. Whenever I feel so unmotivated or when I want to close my eyes and pause everything, I do at least one of these things. I will also say that drinking water every time you feel sad also helps.

What do you think of this idea of a dopamine menu and what are you putting on yours?