Social media is at it again, and this time, it centres around discovering happiness. The latest trend making waves online focuses on creating a hormonal balance through habits rather than by simply scrolling along. Called a dopamine menu, these programmes are a personalised list of activities designed to boost dopamine levels, improve mood, and prevent doom scrolling. The concept was popularised by multiple influencers from Jessica McCabe on her YouTube channel How to ADHD,  to Payton Sartain on her podcast, Note to Self. The trend started going viral after actor Eva Longoria shared her own insight on the idea recently. 

Dopamine 101 

“Dopamine, often called the happy hormone, starts to peak from the moment we wake up and gradually decreases as the day progresses,” explains Tejashri Acharya, child counsellor and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner. The menu thus, becomes a tool for mindfulness, aimed towards building healthy 
habits.