Phasic Dopamine
Catching the Spike: A Dopamine‑Aware Guide for Executives Who Want to Stop Barking, Bullying, and Burning Bridges
This piece has used prompts from Raymond Dolan’s work. Describing my takeaways applied to food and procrastination. Raymond Dolan an influential neuroscientist is best known for pioneering research on emotion, decision‑making, and the brain’s dopamine‑based prediction systems.
His work is foundational for understanding phasic vs. tonic dopamine, reinforcement learning, and how the brain evaluates uncertainty and reward.
High‑pressure leadership environments reward speed, decisiveness, and momentum. But those same conditions also create the perfect storm for phasic dopamine spikes—the sudden, involuntary surges that shove you into motion before you’ve had a chance to think.
For many executives, that shove looks like:
- Barking orders
- Sarcasm
- Rude comments
- Antagonistic tone
- “Move first, explain later” behaviour
This isn’t a character flaw. It’s a neurochemical reflex. And once you understand it, you can work with it instead of being hijacked by it.
🧠 Dopamine Isn’t Satisfaction—It’s Anticipation and Momentum
Dopamine is widely misunderstood. It’s not the “pleasure chemical.” It’s the anticipation chemical—the force that creates momentum toward whatever your brain predicts is coming next.
Two forms matter here:
1. Tonic dopamine
A low, steady background level that keeps you motivated, alive, and able to function.
2. Phasic dopamine
A sudden spike—positive or negative—that pushes you into action before you consciously choose.
A negative phasic spike is especially destabilizing. It’s the jolt you feel when:
- You’re blindsided
- Someone challenges you
- A deadline collapse
- A staff member surprises you with bad news
Your body moves before your mind catches up. That’s the moment executives often regret.
⚡ The Real Problem: Prediction Error
A phasic spike is triggered by prediction error—your brain expected one thing and got another.
When that happens, your system reacts as if you’re under threat.
The spike says:
“Move now. Think later.”
This is great for soldiers and athletes who rely on muscle memory.
But on executive row, it’s a disaster.
🧊 The Freeze: Your First Line of Defense
You cannot stop a phasic spike.
But you can catch it.
The moment you sense the surge—tight chest, heat in the face, sudden urge to speak sharply—your job is to freeze the impulse long enough to choose.
A simple, reliable pattern:
1. One long inhale for a count of four
This interrupts the automatic motor program.
2. Slow exhale
This signals to your nervous system that you are not in danger.
3. Notice the impulse
Not to suppress it—just to see it.
Once you see it, the spell is broken.
Visibility dissolves its power.
🏷️ Labeling: “There’s the Spike.”
Labeling is not therapy jargon. It’s a practical executive tool.
You simply name what’s happening:
- “There’s the shove.”
- “There’s the itch.”
- “My strings are being pulled.”
- “That’s the phasic spike.”
Labeling turns an unconscious reflex into a conscious event.
And consciousness freezes the automatic behaviour.
When seen, the spike cannot operate.
It’s like turning on the lights in a room where something was trying to hide.
🔁 The Hidden Step Before Awareness: Anticipation
Most leadership advice focuses on the gap between urge and action.
But there’s a step even earlier:
Anticipation.
You already know your triggers:
- Staff interruptions
- Surprises
- Delays
- Challenges to your authority
- Last‑minute changes
- Perceived incompetence
- Anything that threatens your timeline or reputation
These are not random.
Your phasic spikes follow patterns.
If you anticipate them, they lose their element of surprise.
And without surprise, prediction error shrinks.
And without prediction error, the spike has less force.
Anticipation is the blueprint.
It lets you see the trap before you step into it.
🌤️ “It Will Pass Like Weather.”
A phasic spike is not a command.
It’s a suggestion.
Once illuminated, it behaves like weather—intense, but temporary.
You can ask:
- “What else could I do?”
- “What are the other options?”
- “Is action required, or is non‑action wiser?”
The moment you see choices; you’re back in control.
🧭 The Goal Isn’t to Stop the Spike—It’s to Steer It
Phasic dopamine is part of life.
It will always surge.
Your job is not to eliminate it but to:
- Anticipate it
- Catch it
- Label it
- Freeze the impulse
- Choose deliberately
This protects your tonic dopamine—the steady, life‑sustaining baseline that keeps you motivated and stable.
When tonic dopamine is preserved, you stay grounded.
When phasic spikes are caught, you stay human.
🔍 A Final Reflection
Ask the most important question of all:
When do your phasic dopamine spikes occur?
That’s the doorway.
Once you map those moments, you can anticipate them.
Once you anticipate them, you can catch them.
Once you catch them, you can choose.
