The Dopamine Menu: How a Strategy for Those with ADHD Works for Everyone

A list of things to help you get into the groove.

Mina Knows
4 min readAug 28, 2024
Photo by Jhunelle Francis Sardido on Unsplash

We’ve all had those days where everything feels off — where motivation is low, and even the simplest tasks seem overwhelming.

I’ve had my fair share.

And, typically when I had these type of moments, I would automatically find or do something that would help lift my spirits.

One of those is having a cup of expresso. Doesn’t matter what time I had it, I knew by having one, I would get into this mood of wanting to accomplish the world.

This was how I got my push of dopamine.

But little did I know this was a thing, until the other day scrolling on TikTok.

There seems to be a trend happening now where other people are showcasing similar things they do to get a bit of dopamine.

Similar to me grabbing a cup of coffee.

And apparently, there is actually a name for it called the “ The Dopamine Menu.”

It’s a system originally designed to help those with ADHD manage their focus and mood by providing a list of activities that stimulate dopamine, the brain’s “feel-good” chemical.

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Mina Knows

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