Why you've stopped enjoying the things you used to love—and 3 ways to reset your brain

Think of life as your favourite dish gone awry - we've added far too much salt, and now our palate won't settle for the natural flavour of everyday experiences. 

Occupational therapist Catalina Hoffmann, an expert in brain training and cognitive development, explains that the overstimulation we're constantly exposed to leaves its mark on minds and bodies. 

"When the extraordinary becomes routine, the brain adjusts its expectations and needs an even bigger stimulus to produce that dopamine 'hit'," explains the expert. "And in the context we're talking about, that doesn't lead to social progress, but rather to constant comparison and irrational consumerism."

What is hedonic adaptation? How your dopamine baseline shifts

As Hoffmann explains, "This type of adjustment is called hedonic adaptation, and it happens because the brain's reward system adapts to repeated stimuli in order to prioritise what's new and relevant. That's why experiences that at first spark real excitement or motivation produce a smaller and smaller response as they become habitual."

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The expert stresses that it's important to understand that the brain produces dopamine when it encounters something it finds interesting, pleasurable or valuable. "This is actually a very clever mechanism on nature's part, as it encourages us to explore, investigate and seek out new things, which allows us to evolve. But it can also cause everyday experiences to lose their subjective value and stop being a source of enjoyment," Hoffmann warns.

Why daily life feels boring when your brain is overstimulated

In the long run, our specialist says, this can lead to dissatisfaction, a growing need for ever more intense stimulation and a reduced ability to enjoy life's small daily pleasures. As a result, our minds are left cluttered with negative thoughts, comparisons and a level of self-demand that's simply impossible to sustain. 

"On the other hand, learning to value everyday experiences tends to foster a more stable and lasting sense of wellbeing," she encourages. 

3 simple habits to retrain your brain for lasting happiness

If your goal is to see the world through a fresh lens and stop day-to-day worries from overwhelming you, Hoffmann confirms that our brains have "an astonishing capacity to adapt, for better or for worse". She adds: "Training it allows us to choose or steer the direction that adaptability takes."

Among the habits that can help are:

• Reducing exposure to excessively intense and constant stimuli — for example, by cutting back on tablet use. Avoid reaching for your phone during every pause or spare moment — for instance, on the tube, or while waiting for a friend at a café. Instead of turning to screens, pay attention to your surroundings, or choose to read or write by hand.
• Practising mindfulness or meditation, paying deliberate attention to everyday sensations or activities. 
• Building in activities with gradual rewards, rather than those offering instant gratification. For example, exercising, reading or painting all give us that reward, but not instantly — it comes after a while, and in a more measured way.

 "Many people find that, after a while spent reducing overstimulation and paying more attention to everyday moments, they start experiencing those simple activities as rewarding once again," says the expert.

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Ultimately, the goal, according to Hoffmann, isn't to give up extraordinary experiences, but to stop them becoming the only benchmark for satisfaction. "When that happens, a walk or a simple conversation can feel insufficient simply because the brain has grown used to comparing itself with far more intense stimuli," she notes. 

Regaining the ability to enjoy the everyday means learning to pay closer attention to what's already part of our lives. Sometimes, the biggest change begins the moment we stop chasing constant stimulation and start valuing the little things again.