Dr. Belaveshkin

📖Possible Potentiating Effects of Combined Administration of Alcohol, Caffeine, and Nicotine on In Vivo Dopamine Release in Addiction-Related Circuits Within the CNS of Rats Biomedicines 2024 Nov 13;12(11):2591. Chronic caffeine exposure potentiates nicotine self-administration in rats Psychopharmacology (Berl) 1999 Mar;142(4):327-33. Hypothesizing Music Intervention Enhances Brain Functional Connectivity Involving Dopaminergic Recruitment: Common Neuro-correlates to Abusable Drugs Mol Neurobiol . 2017 Jul;54(5):3753-3758.

The Sum of Pleasure. Walking through the city, I often notice a striking pattern: in sports betting and lottery kiosks, men sit holding a lottery ticket and a betting slip, with a lit cigarette in one hand and a cup of sweet coffee or a glass of alcohol in the other. It’s a perfect real-world example of what I call the sum of pleasure. 🫣This term describes the synergistic effect of combining multiple stimulants—both chemical and behavioral—that target different levels of the dopamine system: sensory, emotional, cognitive, and metabolic. When these layers of stimulation overlap, the resulting dopamine release doesn’t simply add up—it can amplify in a nonlinear way. This is why certain combinations become so powerfully reinforcing and deeply habit-forming. 🟥A well-studied example is the pairing of caffeine and nicotine. Caffeine, by blocking adenosine receptors, increases dopaminergic activity, producing both reinforcing and psychomotor-enhancing effects. Nicotine blocks dopamine reuptake and increases its release into the synapse, driving its own strong reinforcing and psychostimulant properties. 🟥When combined, caffeine and nicotine create a synergistic dopamine surge—higher than the sum of their individual effects—especially in the nucleus accumbens and striatum. This doesn’t just intensify the “hit,” it increases the addictive potential of both. Smokers, on average, consume 1.5–2× more caffeine than non-smokers. In animal studies, caffeine not only speeds up the acquisition of nicotine self-administration but also increases total intake. 🟥 In human studies, higher caffeine consumption predicts higher smoking frequency. Among adolescents, heavy intake of coffee, energy drinks, or sugary beverages is linked to a 2–2.5× greater likelihood of smoking and a 4.6× higher chance of vaping. Negative effects also stack. Smoking plus alcohol, for example, increases depressive symptoms beyond the level seen when each is consumed alone. 🫣Other real-world “sum of pleasure” combinations include: Smoking + alcohol + endless scrolling on social media. Eating+scrolling. Sugar + caffeine (especially in energy drinks). Ultra-processed foods containing sugar, refined carbs, salt, fat, and flavor enhancers—all designed to hit multiple dopamine pathways simultaneously. Loud music + alcohol + smoking. Online shopping + fast food. Watching reels + cookies or alcohol. Add yours? Practical rules to protect your dopamine system ✅1. The Squeezed Lemon Rule. Think of your brain’s dopamine capacity like the juice inside a lemon. The more you “squeeze” it by stacking dopamine sources, the more you get in the moment—but you’ll have less left for everything else. This is why after a heavy “sum of pleasure” session, activities that normally bring joy can feel flat and uninteresting. ✅2. The “Don’t Mix” Rule. Avoid stacking pleasures habitually. Take one source of enjoyment at a time, slowly and mindfully. This way, your brain learns to appreciate individual stimuli without requiring the exaggerated spike from multiple simultaneous inputs. ✅3. The Flow Rule. When building a new habit that feels challenging, strategic stacking can help—at least in the early stages. For example, music has been shown to extend workout duration by 10–20%, increase motivation, and reduce perceived exertion. Pair caffeine + music + exercise, and you can accelerate habit formation and make the process more enjoyable. ✅4. The Golden Mean Rule. There’s an optimal range for stimulation. Too much can raise anxiety, lower focus, and actually reduce pleasure. High caffeine doses, for instance, can impair performance in activities like crossfit. Even the presence of an especially attractive person during a workout can paradoxically decrease enjoyment of the session, likely by shifting attention and cognitive load away from the activity itself.

How to lose a war. The anti-vaxxer movement in the United States is not simply an internal matter, but also a consequence of a lost information war. This war began in 2014 — in the form of an informational anti-vaccine attack by russian trolls and bots, inflating anti-vaxxer sentiments, undermining trust, and polarizing the discourse. According to research, these were millions of messages at a high frequency — on average, a russian bot wrote about vaccination 22 times more often than an ordinary Twitter user. The scale of the anti-vaccine war was large and systematic — not only the main bot factory, the Internet Research Agency (IRA), but also each intelligence service had its own bot factory that specifically attacked and undermined trust in vaccination in the United States. According to a State Department report, these platforms were News Front — FSB; New Eastern Outlook — SVR; Oriental Review — SVR; Rebel Inside — GRU. All of this happened with the complete indifference of the U.S. authorities. It would seem that the topic for an information war was chosen rather strangely. How many other controversial issues are there in society? However, the target of the attack was chosen very precisely. A vaccine is a rare medical product that a person receives not because they are already sick, but because the state and medicine say: do this now to prevent a future risk. At the same time, it connects the individual, the state, and the larger system. It is mandatory; it immediately connects several powerful identities: parents → children → care → body→ injection→fear → medicine → state → freedom → personal choice. It has an unusual property: personal experience proves almost nothing (a headache pill relieves a headache), while a vaccination has no effect — you need trust that you have avoided a possible problem. Therefore, an attack on vaccination makes it possible to attack not just one fact, but also the epistemic system and trust in the state as a whole. It is not simply “this is a bad vaccine,” but “Do not trust doctors, universities, pharmaceutical companies, regulators, statistics, and official sources in general.” And this is precisely what makes it potentially much more valuable for destabilizing the very system of knowledge production and trust than, for example, an ordinary political lie about some specific event. ☝️This is exactly how the “gateway conspiracy” works. Just as it is enough to punch one hole in a ship and it begins to sink, it is enough to believe in one conspiracy theory, and this leads to a subsequent strengthening of the general tendency to believe in conspiracy theories and to the acceptance of new, completely different theories and lies. 🟥One absurd belief can become a gateway: once a person accepts one falsehood against the evidence, the next falsehood faces less resistance.Moreover, studies specifically tested the direction over time, rather than simply the correlation “people who believe in one theory usually believe in others.” 🤔The monological belief system model suggests that developing a belief in one conspiracy theory will cause them to be more likely to believe in others. Events unfold as follows: first lie → acceptance of a false explanation → change in the criterion of what is considered possible/credible → the next lie encounters less resistance. 🚩Therefore, the anti-vaxxer discourse is not simply a discussion. It is a war of annihilation, an information attack aimed at undermining states, the will to live, and the ability to think rationally. 📗Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate Am J Public Health 2018 Oct;108(10):1378–1384. 📗Russian Twitter Accounts and the Partisan Polarization of Vaccine Discourse, 2015–2017 Am J Public Health 2020 May;110(5):718–724. 📗Vaccine misinformation types and properties in Russian troll tweet Vaccine 2022 Feb 7;40(6):953-960. 📗Does Developing a Belief in One Conspiracy Theory Lead a Person to be More Likely to Believe in Others? Volume55, Issue4 June 2025 Pages 554-564

7. Be a missionary of your ideas, values, and beliefs. Tell people everywhere what you do and why you do not do certain things, and why they are important to you. Be a mentor, teach, spread, and plant the seeds of these ideas and values. https://belaveshkin.substack.com/p/see-no-evil-hear-no-evil-speak-no

Criticizing is easy and pleasant, especially when a person is wrong. Angry condemnation, public ridicule, and debunking propaganda, conspiracy theories, incorrect treatment methods, and misconceptions seem important and useful. But is that really so? Real facts and observations suggest the opposite. By ridiculing and criticizing, we spread harmful ideas and memes and make their supporters even more convinced of them. 1. Reinforcing misconceptions. Research shows that after people encounter opposing views, opponents often become even more firmly entrenched in their original views. Especially if it happened publicly, confrontationally, and with ridicule. As Juvenal correctly noted long ago, “opinions are like nails: the more you hammer them, the deeper they sink.” Therefore, you did not ridicule the lie—you only convinced the other person even more that they are right. 2. Spreading lies. The more often you reproduce lying memes, the more widely they spread. That is why lies and propaganda are often deliberately absurd—it’s a feature, not a bug. By challenging, ridiculing, and discussing them, you only stretch the lie to a new audience and charge it with even more emotion (like a Trojan horse), carrying it where the lie itself cannot get. The more absurd the lie, the more deeply it can hook you emotionally — and the more deeply you may remember it. It doesn’t matter whether you laugh at it or hate it. You’re helping it stick. Frequent repetition only increases trust and improves recognition. “There’s no bad publicity except an obituary notice.” What should we do? 1. The first medical principle — do no harm. Maintain mental hygiene. Do not allow evil or lies to pass through you. Do not spread them, do not make things worse. This is a very ancient Buddhist rule of mental hygiene: the metaphor of the three monkeys opposing evil: “Do not look at what is wrong, do not listen to what is wrong, do not say what is wrong.” Support and call things by their proper names — this is not true. This is evil. 2. Do medical triage. Choose those whom you can still help, where your efforts will be effective. Where the “crystallization of delusion” has already occurred, you are powerless. But where there is a willingness to talk, where there is hope — that is where you are needed. You can persuade people offline, but talking to bots carries the risk of becoming infected yourself. 3. Identify the need. And then find how to satisfy it in a better, healthier, and more effective way. A person does not consciously and deliberately choose to be wrong; they are looking for a way to satisfy their needs, often following innate instincts and cognitive biases. Recognize the need — and offer a whole spectrum of ways to satisfy it instead of a black-and-white “right-wrong.” 4. Find another Self. When propaganda or beliefs become fused with a person’s identity, they are difficult to separate. A core belief is absorbed uncritically and is not questioned; a person “merges” with it, and changing or challenging a cultural dogma means breaking that connection and “losing oneself.” After all, these are not simply views — they are part of one’s identity. Therefore, when persuading someone, it is so important to separate the person’s identity from their misconceptions and show that they are more than those misconceptions. 5. Show them a cool tribe they can join. Often, an opinion or position is not simply a personal choice, but a marker of belonging to a certain “majority” where it is safe and where you are recognized as one of their own. Show them that there is a cooler “majority.” 6. Make changing one’s mind less painful than persisting in it. Tell your own examples from your life, when you were fooled, did not want to admit it, and were glad to “come to your senses.” Give historical examples of when people were deceived by propaganda and used. Create a feeling of joyful “Hurray, now I know how it should be, and finally I am no longer doing it wrong.”

🤍 Hugs aren’t the only way to stimulate oxytocin ✓ Eye-to-eye contact ✓ Affectionate touch, massage & holding hands ✓ Warm social interaction ✓ Giving and receiving compliments ✓ Expressing gratitude ✓ Deep personal conversations ✓ Laughing and singing together ✓ Synchronized movement and shared activities ✓ Caring for others ✓ Interacting with babies and children ✓ Playing with dogs ✓ Looking at cute babies, puppies & kittens ✓ Positive social interactions online ✓ Romantic intimacy and affection

Acceptance therapy. “Fate leads the willing and drags the unwilling.” — Seneca, Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 107 Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt. Author: Hugo Lederer. Title: Das Schicksal (“Fate”). Year: 1905.

Absurdity is a weapon. When you drag propaganda or lies into your feed “just to laugh at them” or to say, “Look at these idiots,” the idiots are you. The more absurd the lie, the more deeply it can hook you emotionally — and the more deeply you may remember it. You become the Trojan horse: spreading the lie yourself and reinforcing it with emotion. It doesn’t matter whether you laugh at it or hate it. You’re helping it stick.

If you pick up an ordinary lottery ticket, it looks harmless compared to injectable drugs — but it can cause comparable harm. People have long noticed the corrupting influence of gambling: Plato and Aristotle criticized gambling as a vice leading to loss of self-control. In the Sigalovada Sutta, gambling is named as one of the causes of a person's downfall and is viewed as an activity that intensifies greed, attachment, and suffering. Gambling is explicitly prohibited by the Quran (5:90–91) as "an abomination from Satan's handiwork." It is no coincidence that in 1878 the US Supreme Court declared lotteries "a game that strips a person of their moral character" — but later, money won out anyway. Why does the brain support risk-taking for uncertain reward? Evolution shaped the brain so that uncertainty itself intensifies motivation. In nature, resources are unpredictable, and if behavior extinguished after every failure, many animals simply would not have survived. As a result, uncertain reward became a powerful stimulus: the brain perceives unpredictability as a potential threat to survival and sharply amplifies dopamine-driven motivation. This persistence is useful when we are mastering a skill. For example, learning to throw a ball into a basket: the first attempts fail, but the brain notices improvements — we miss closer and closer, receive a dopamine signal of progress, and maintain motivation. In a game of chance or online betting, things are different: the outcome does not depend on previous attempts, so a "near miss" is merely an illusion of progress, not learning. From a neurobiological standpoint, gambling is the exploitation of the learning mechanism based on variable reinforcement: the brain begins to strive not toward winning as such, but toward the state of uncertain anticipation, which is accompanied by dopamine releases and can gradually become compulsive. And this behavior is spreading extremely widely: casinos, betting, crypto, predictions, slot machines, sports betting, lotteries, the stock market and much, much more — all the way to the algorithms of the infinite feed in social networks. The main problem is not simply the loss of money or time. It is the deformation of personality. Prolonged stimulation by easy dopamine destroys character, makes a person impulsive, reduces self-control, coarsens, leads to burnout, loss of interest in family, hobbies, and work, and diminishes empathy. As was wisely observed, "one of the greatest misfortunes that can befall a person is winning at the races in one's youth." Easy dopamine and the voluptuous anticipation of easy dopamine are the rust that eats away at a person's character. In the end, the casino always wins, and you always lose. Instead of taking more risk on a screen — take more risk off of screens: go traveling, develop a skill, meet people, launch your own projects, start relationships. Where you apply real effort, learn to endure uncertainty, cope with the frustration of rejections and defeats, and develop skills — that is where your brain will be rewarded with good, useful dopamine.

10 ideas for how a mirror can benefit your health ✅1. Mirrors and body image. Body image and mirror therapy. Mindfully looking at yourself in a full-length mirror (mirror exposure, ME)—nonjudgmentally, in the present moment—can reduce body dissatisfaction ✅2. Mirrors and self-reflection. Mirror practice can increase self-compassion, reduce self-criticism, and develop the habit of looking at yourself with approval. ✅3. Mirrors and facial expressions. A mirror allows you to practice facial expressions. This is beneficial for your facial muscles and helps you learn to express your emotions more accurately. Make funny faces in front of the mirror—it is good for you. ✅4. Mirrors and expansive poses. Expansive poses (when you take up more space—for example, standing with your feet wider apart, arms raised, and chest forward) reduce the effects of stress and increase confidence. ✅5. Mirrors and exercise. Training in front of a mirror can be useful when practicing a skill, when the mirror helps you avoid dropping your head during squats, or simply motivates you. A mirror shifts attention to an external focus, which increases the amount of effort you exert when training alone. ✅6. Mirrors and productivity. Mirrors in the office can increase employee productivity, enhance self-awareness, reduce biased judgments, and help people maintain better workplace ergonomics. If you are talking on the phone, try doing it in front of a mirror. ✅7. Mirrors and social interaction. Mirrors increase self-awareness and promote socialization. Mirrors can also benefit couples—from looking at yourselves together and hugging in front of a mirror before leaving the house, to sharing moments in the bathroom in the evening or during sex. ✅8. Mirrors and interior design. Mirrors help make spaces appear larger and increase the amount of light in a room, which is beneficial for health ✅9. Mirrors and rehabilitation. Mirror therapy is effective for restoring movement after stroke and for relieving phantom limb pain. ✅10. Mirror fasting—when mirrors can be harmful. Mirrors can sometimes increase anxiety, worsen concentration.

Nothing predicts future behavior as much as past impunity. We know there are two ways to destroy a nation: punishing the innocent and not punishing the guilty, and recently we have seen both simultaneously. This exchange was a double impunity – Putin was not punished for persecuting political prisoners and was not punished for ordering a hitman to kill people. The release of a serial killer and his heroic acclaim is a powerful signal of support for impunity around the world. Impunity is an extremely underestimated factor in crime; even the public perception of an increased likelihood of impunity increases the frequency and severity of crimes. 👐Two thousand years ago, our Paphos proconsul Marcus Cicero noted, "The hope of impunity is the greatest inducement to do wrong.” Studies prove that impunity predicts the risk of all types of offenses. For example, drivers are deterred from violations not by the size of the fine but by the certainty of punishment (cameras). In countries where fewer crimes are punished, the number of crimes increases. 🚩 And an increase in the percentage of investigated cases and the proportion of punished criminals leads to reduced crimes. An increase in impunity by just 1% increases the frequency of violent crimes by 1.4% (according to other data, an increase in impunity by 10% increases crimes by 5%). The higher the perceived corruption, the weaker the perceived rule of law, the more the crime rate rises. 🚩The correlation between impunity and crime is found in all countries. An increase in impunity precedes a rise in crimes. For example, the destruction of trust in courts and impunity for authorities preceded an explosive increase in domestic murders in Venezuela. In the Philippines, when the dictator, under the pretext of fighting drugs, began killing without trial and accountability, the growth of unpunished murders led to a surge in other crimes, with robbery and theft increasing by 20-30%. In contrast, the number of drug-related crimes did not change. 🚩In Honduras, impunity for murders reaches 95%. The same is true for criminals – avoiding punishment for a crime makes them highly likely to commit the next, more severe crime. A vicious cycle arises – when impunity becomes a societal norm and permeates all layers of society, victims are afraid to report crimes because the perpetrator will not be punished, and the criminal is only emboldened by his impunity. ✅Conversely, in countries where criminals are inexorably punished, with a high detection rate and low impunity, the number of murders sharply decreases. In our 21st-century world, ‘holding perpetrators accountable’ and ‘ending a culture of impunity’ have become central. Importantly, the frequency of murders is not related to the severity of punishments for them but is related precisely to impunity. Therefore, maximizing accountability, starting with the smallest crimes and violations, is crucial to reducing crime. As rightly noted, nothing predicts future behavior as much as past impunity. ✅Impunity attracts people with the dark triad traits, and it is their cherished dream. For example, Trump openly envies Putin and Xi that they “can kill people just like that.” That’s why they seek power—for the sake of impunity. Only society’s ability to punish criminals can stop predators. Naomi Klein rightly noted: "The powerful feed ideology to the masses like fast food while they dine on that most rarefied delicacy: impunity." 📖Relationship between police efficiency and crime rate: a worldwide approach 2013 European Journal of Law and Economics 39(1) The United Nations Principles to Combat Impunity: A Commentary Frank Haldemann (ed.) et al. Homicide and impunity: An ecological analysis at the state level in Brazil October 2009 Revista de Saude Publica 43(5):733-42 The Age of Accountability: The Global Rise of Individual Criminal Accountability, Amnesty in the Age of Human Rights Accountability: Comparative and International Perspectives Cambridge 2012

— This is the hottest summer of my life. — Don't worry. It's also the coolest summer you'll experience for the rest of your life.

Excessive information does not just fail to improve decision-making; it can worsen it. The abundance of information can be a surrogate for behavioral change, tricking us into consuming information rather than engaging in the desired behavior. ✅Health podcasts and health For example, heavy consumption of health-related podcasts doesn't correlate with increased physical activity or implementing healthy habits. Instead, it correlates with neuroticism—the higher the neuroticism, the more podcasts consumed. The more anxious and nervous you are, the more you watch health podcasts because of hypochondria. Research indicates that while health and wellness podcasts attract listeners who seek information, these listeners often do not follow through on the advice. There is a clear gap between consuming health information and applying it daily. ✅Cooking shows and obesity The more frequently a person watches cooking shows, the higher their likelihood of obesity, as they consume more ultra-processed and high-calorie foods. Watching cooking shows, which ostensibly promote home-cooked meals, can lead to poorer eating habits. Viewers of these shows are more likely to purchase and consume ready-made meals and processed foods, resulting in less healthy dietary patterns. Just 10 minutes of a cooking show stimulates overeating at the next meal. ✅Pornography and sexual satisfaction Frequent consumption of pornography reduces sexual satisfaction, increases the risk of sexual disorders, and decreases the frequency of sex for men. Interestingly, the effect can be different for women. 🤔What does this mean? Our brains love novelty. The new information provides a dopamine rush, making us crave more. However, the novelty trap creates an illusion of change while worsening our decisions and health, often leading to the opposite of the intended effects. It's critical to focus on actionable behaviors rather than just consuming content. 📖Viewers vs. Doers. The relationship between watching food television and BMI Appetite Volume 90, 1 July 2015, Pages 131-135 Why people listen: Motivations and outcomes of podcast listening PLoS One 2022 Apr 6;17(4):e0265806. Porn use and men's and women's sexual performance: evidence from a large longitudinal samplePsychol Med. 2023 May; 53(7): 3105–3114.

No, I didn’t kill the children by taking way their food and medicine. It was all the people who didn’t provide them food and medicine after I took the food and medicine that killed the children: https://muskdeathcount.com/

Non-caloric sweeteners can interact with sweet taste receptors (T1R2/T1R3), which are expressed not only in the mouth but also in a variety of tissues throughout the body.

The principle of the golden mean. The tendency to swing to extremes in the search for truth has long been recognized by people. Buddha explained this using the metaphor of a musical instrument, asking, “Tell me, will music sound if the string is too loose?” — “No, teacher.” “And will we hear music if the string is pulled so tight it’s about to snap?” — “No, teacher.” Buddha continued, “The music you wish to draw from yourself will only emerge when the strings are neither too loose nor too tight but perfectly balanced in the middle. Know that excessive tension leads to excess, while too much relaxation results in weakness. Find your balance — only then can you achieve your goals.” This principle applies to improving your health as well. There is always a golden mean, optimal performance or resilience point, and the lowest mortality risk. The golden mean may differ among individuals depending on their genetics and lifestyle. It can be determined empirically by calculating the optimal load that yields the most significant benefit. Here are a few examples: ✅1. Dopamine. Low dopamine is associated with apathy, low mood, abulia, and reduced physical activity. High dopamine, conversely, manifests as mania — hyperexcitability, euphoria, and inappropriateness. In the first case, increase dopamine to reach an optimal level; in the latter, reduce it. ✅2. Iron. Low iron stores ( too low ferritin) reduce endurance, slow growth, cause hair loss, impair tissue repair, and lead to other issues. Excess iron in the body (too high ferritin) increases oxidative stress and elevates the risk of dementia and cardiovascular disease. In the first case, iron supplements are used; in the second, blood donations are used. ✅3. Green tea. Even one cup of green tea daily provides benefits, containing about 100 mg of epigallocatechin. It might seem like more is better, but consuming 800 mg or more of epigallocatechin can damage the liver and raise liver enzyme levels. ✅4. Ultraviolet light. Lack of ultraviolet exposure can lead to vitamin D deficiency, increasing the risk of several diseases and raising blood pressure. Excessive ultraviolet exposure accelerates skin photoaging and increases the risk of skin cancer and melanoma. How do you define the middle way? Is it easy to find balance?