You experience it while playing the newest edition of your favorite video game. You notice it after a good run or workout. Whether you’re gardening, painting, meditating or even savoring the first spoonful of an ice cream sundae, that feel-good chemical is being activated.

Regardless of what you do to feel good, dopamine is involved. The hormone is connected to your brain’s reward system, and gives you a sense of pleasure. This, in turn, can be the motivation to pursue activities that make you feel good —or even great.

But did you know it’s possible to experience a lack of dopamine? Experts say that certain types of media, food and activities can disrupt our dopamine balance.

This is because dopamine plays a central role in addiction. In short: When we do something that’s feels good, dopamine instructs our brain to do more, reinforcing the behavior. The end result can be a dopamine deficit, which causes us to need more of our reward — not to feel good, but to stop feeling bad.

The classic “offenders” of alcohol and drugs can cause this disruption, but so can sugar, addictive social media and video games.

Experts say the best way to deal with a dopamine deficit is to do a cleanse. Try a month without the activity or source of dopamine. Four weeks is the average amount of time it takes to reset reward pathways in the brain. Yes, you’re going to feel worse before you feel better. Give it 10 to 14 days, and the disconnect between dopamine and the stimulus will dissolve.

After abstaining, reevaluate whether you can do this activity occasionally. It’s all about moderation.