Alfred Dawes | Having a Happy New Year

We say it without really thinking what it means. “Happy New Year”. A warm wish for family, friends, and random strangers we come across at the end of earth’s yearly cycle. However, happiness in our society is fleeting, as each new year comes with its own set of challenges, mostly self-imposed. Every year we set out resolutions of what we want to accomplish, and throughout the year, these resolutions add to our personal development, anxiety or depression.

The top five new year’s resolutions in the US are to exercise more, eat healthier, lose weight, save more money and to spend more time with family and friends. Anecdotally those reasons appear to be similar to those shared in Jamaica. Indeed, the packed gyms in January are a testament to increased health consciousness at the beginning of the year. Fulfilling these objectives can make you happier and healthier, but your happiness cannot be tied to them. Unfortunately, these resolutions are recycled every year because success requires the sacrifice of what we consider to be sources of our happiness.

Much has been said recently about the drug MDMA, better known as Molly. The drug has taken the dancehall scene by storm and its use has sky-rocketed among school children and young adults. Users of the drug describe the feeling as an intense feeling of niceness and happiness. The description of this feeling of happiness is due to a massive release of the hormones serotonin and dopamine, collectively known as endorphins, that are associated with the pleasure centres of the brain. As the hormones are depleted during the high, the user falls in a state of deep depression in the ensuing days. The term ‘Suicide Tuesday’ has been coined to describe this intense depression that follows a weekend of partying with MDMA. Their “happiness”, which was caused by drugs, is fleeting and left them worse off leading to a cycle of abuse to get a high and the crushing regret during the ensuing days of depression. It is easy to scoff at drug addicts for having their happiness dependent on illicit drugs, but what about the rest of us who get our endorphin fix from other socially acceptable sources?

ENDORPHIN FIXES

As societies get more developed and the stresses of life become greater, we turn to endorphin fixes instead of the pursuit of true, meaningful happiness. We don’t realise how much of our daily lives are filled with efforts at getting endorphin bursts to make us feel good and less stressed. The thought of getting a dopamine surge in our brains actually causes our brains to release dopamine. It is that bit of excitement you get when a notification comes in on your phone if usually you spend a lot of time on your device. It is the small rush you feel when you see or smell your favourite foods. Your brain is wired to know that this is how you get your fix. Scrolling through social media is one of the main sources of dopamine fixes as we devour content mindlessly for hours on end. Social media is dangerous because of the opportunity cost in time. Less time for friends and productivity that can lead to making and saving more money. All of which leads to happiness. Yes, more money has been shown to make you happier, at least for a while. Simply sacrificing the short-term dopamine fix from social media can lead to being successful with your new year’s resolutions. The challenge is the willpower to do so. But then again, willpower is an illusion.

The best-kept secret is that food is our go-to drug of choice. The burst of flavours in our mouths leads to the release of endorphins that make eating for pleasure and comfort our favourite pastime, and like with MDMA, can leave us with depression. Endorphins do not get depleted during a meal, but the calories that we pile on while consuming delicious meals and snacks lead to multiple health consequences. The obesity and chronic diseases pandemic point directly to the upsurge in consumption of the so-called Western diet. The high fat, high simple carbohydrate diet that has replaced traditional diets, along with the increase in portion sizes, has fuelled the obesity pandemic over the last five decades.

MUST BE ADDRESSED

Your reliance on food for your endorphin fix must be addressed in order to lose weight by eating healthier. You simply cannot be a foodie and maintain a healthy weight if you’ve not been blessed with favourable genetics. Snacking on salty and sweet foods are sources of calories that can wipe out any caloric deficit from otherwise disciplined dieting and can nullify entire workout sessions. Justifying binge eating because you are stressed or depressed is self-sabotaging. The dopamine fix from comfort and stress eating must be replaced by other sources of dopamine release in order to have a healthy relationship with food. By focusing on the long-term goals, the conversation in your head should be that you are ready to change the relationship you have with food as a source of dopamine. Unless you begin there, your resolutions are in danger.

Gym memberships and prepaid diets will never lead to sustainable weight loss if there is a disordered relationship with food. To begin the new year with the pursuit of happiness-inducing resolutions, you must start off by analysing how your dependence on certain endorphin releasers is stalling your efforts. Only then can you have a happy and prosperous new year.

- Dr Alfred Dawes is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and CEO of Windsor Wellness Centre. Follow him on Twitter @dr_aldawes. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and alfred.dawes@gmail.com.