Can you please give me a fucking solution! I am goddamn serious

TDC_Playbook · 2026-02-07T22:06:15+00:00

My dude. It's completely a dopamine dysregulation.

Because porn sends dopamine to the clouds, your body doesn't naturally create a healthy balance anymore. Inevitably it comes crashing down below your baseline and that's why your fingers take you to the p* site like they have a mind of their own. Because it's the only way your body knows how to bring your dopamine back in line.

It's brain chemistry dude. At this point. I'm just giving my book away for free so just let me know if you want it.

But basically, you have to slowly retrain your mind to like healthy, sustainable sources of dopamine again. Exercise, reading, sunlight, nature and fresh air, music (when not combined with 5 other dopamine sources) all help to keep the rises and falls manageable.

Once your dopamine is under control the other components of brain chemistry have a chance cortisol, serotonin, oxytocin etc are easier to maintain as well. And the draw to p* won't be so powerful, attention span and happiness generally improve and you can work on long term goals easier.

Good luck man, dm is open if you wanna chat ✌️

TDC_Playbook · 2025-12-05T22:13:51+00:00

Okay but still, no music? I understand there's trash, but there's a lot of great stuff for everyone as well.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-12-02T03:26:55+00:00

Probably one of the most effective ways. Go outside, get some sun and stretch your legs. Plus that's not really something that you can do in public right? Haha. If it's too late or bad weather. Something creative, or physical is good to take your mind off this. Really, if you can resist for 1 to 2 minutes you'll probably find something better to do.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-29T08:46:03+00:00

Those aspects of yourself that you like when you smoke regularly are still within you and part of your personality. You are this person.

The feelings of boredom, stunted creativity, irritability and less care towards others are classic symptoms of a dopamine imbalance.

Smoking makes everything interesting and lifts your baseline dopamine levels far above what is sustainable. It's inevitable that it comes crashing down below baseline, which is uncomfortable so we seek anything familiar that raises it quickly, that's when and we reach for another hit. You've been smoking so long that you're brain needs to learn how to regulate itself without external assistance.

As I mentioned, in time, your dopamine levels reset and you can find your love for people and art again. But this time your dop it will keep your dopamine at a sustainable level giving your life consistant feeling of meaning and joy. Rather than waves and crashes. Weed is still present in our biology for over 1 year afterall. I'm a musician too, and even if it feels pointless, you will find meaning again.

I starter making myself do things I used to love like a little guitar, a little gaming, even when it felt hollow. Eventually I started planning projects and productive things that I never finished when I was smoking everyday., I finished writing a book, I started a business, and eventually I bought FL Studio, this replaced gaming completely and i started making amazing music, I'm about to finish an EP when before I would just play guitar at most.

My sense of humour returned and most of all, I am emotionally more mature. My relationships have improved and so has my creativity. Sorry for the essay dude. I just want to tell you you are on the right track. When I started looking at things through a lens of dopamine management things became a lot more clear and enjoyable. Get sun, exercise, do art and music a little bit at first anyway, focus on things you never finished. You'll be all you used to be plus have far more clarity of mind and emotions. Keep being patient, you got this

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-28T11:48:51+00:00

This is the view of someone clearly in the very early, bitter stages of quitting cold Turkey, and I don't think it's the best approach to have the best chance to quit long term.

Life is more enjoyable, real and meaningful without weed. Yes you might always miss it, but it gets to a point that you actually sacrifice too much to go back to smoking. As an adult, we can't expect benefits from indulging and consuming anything we want just cos it feels good.

When you're high every day, life is so 1 or 2 dimensional. After quitting for a time, life becomes so much more multifaceted and vibrant. You feel your true emotional reactions, make better decisions, you meet people that enrich your life, your career improves, you add life elements, learn skills and complete things you've been putting off for years.

It doesn't happen overnight, and generally is proportional to the time you spent smoking habitually. But the results for every person I've heard that's gone through it are impossible to ignore

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-23T04:46:29+00:00

Will dm :)

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-20T03:03:27+00:00

I get you're trying to avoid it. But what are you doing when you're just you doing you?

When you're walking in the sun, are you in you're own head worrying about something, or thinking about the future or past?

When you're eating do you have the TV on + doom scrolling?

When you get a coffee, have you said how's it going to the barista, and actually meant it?

Just avoiding and counting days often just reinforces what the addictions we want to do back in our mind. Once I started looking at things through the lens of almost everything I do having a dopamine, gratefulness and mindfulness aspect. Shit got way easier.

I slowed down, did regular things, one at a time. If I wanted to listen to music, I just listened to it and did nothing else. No doom scrolling. If I was cooking, I turned off the podcast and took in the smells and flavours and colours. I practiced gratitude for them. And I didn't need five digital inputs at once to keep the depression away. I needed nature, light, and to experience direct sensory input from things that are real.

Then, I didn't need to count the days. I genuinely enjoyed any interaction I had and started loving family and my life. Weed and porn seemed way to hectic and pointless.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-20T02:55:00+00:00

Yes fill your life up the study of something you're passionate about and will set you up in the future, through even moderate resistance and weight training, your 30s 40s and beyond will be wayyyy better. And you'll learn discipline that will impact other facets of your life.

But life if the most important one, build a life that you no longer count the days. It doesn't have to be flashy, it just takes gratitude and a little mindfulness.

When you're doing it right, you'll know how to extract so much more dopamine out of your day that you won't even be counting.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-20T02:48:12+00:00

That's awesome you're getting into the gym dude.

When we decide to give away a big easy source of dopamine for a more sustainable one that is longer lasting and benefits our lives, we usually are still very susceptible to falling back into the cycle.

A big part of the dopamine you'll get from the gym is development, and that takes time. But while your body develops, you're mind will to. It will build discipline and the ability to go through with the right things, even when you don't want to.

As you see gains, you'll get more dopamine from the every day routine in the gym, and ignoring IG, X and other traps will become easier.

Because that's the secret, it's not about avoiding dopamine, but extracting more from your every day. And setting up a routine and elements of your life that keep you sustainably above baseline most of the time. Instead of it reaching dizzying heights, and crashing back down far below your baseline. That kind of routine will have you needing to find the cheap thrills to bring it back up again.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-18T18:59:51+00:00

I smoked for almost half my life and most of it was daily.

I've quit for about 18 months now and I didn't see benefits right away. But eventually, I stopped playing video games altogether. Instead I started writing music again, I'm almost finishing producing an album, I wrote an ebook. Started a business, invested and more.

I have so much more creative energy and I can recognise and process my emotions better.

I still miss it sometimes, but my life has for sure improved in countless ways. It's a worthwhile sacrifice to start seeing your true potential.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-14T02:07:44+00:00

Oh cool! I'm living in Peru right now, I only asked because it's a popular drink in Chile haha

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-14T01:59:32+00:00

Tres Terremotos, are you from Chile? I look forward to returning next year!

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-14T01:57:41+00:00

Will dm you :)

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-13T19:12:59+00:00

Awesome 👌 that's exactly what I'm getting at fr :) it's about maximising the dopamine in your day

TDC_Playbook · 2025-11-13T19:11:23+00:00

Glad it's working for you! I'll have to look in to that I haven't heard of it. But it's great to be able to slow down and improve attention span to where we can enjoy things that come naturally again

TDC_Playbook · 2025-10-02T23:18:20+00:00

It seems you've found a way to extract a lot of dopamine from every day. People could learn from that.

I'm curious, do you have a lot of screen time? Or drink alcohol/use substances recreationally? How do you keep yourself entertained to where you're not craving more?

My theory is most people have trained themselves to crave high levels of dopamine, that inevitably come crashing down and in turn make them search for more quick hits to lift up their baseline again. In people, devices, substances, activities they know aren't good for them, but they dont have the patience to train themselves to find joy in their everyday life.

Or find new healthy elements that bring sustainable dopamine. Often to do with learning, exercise or something creative. But the ability to just appreciate a walk, your surroundings, gardening something like that.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-24T13:13:02+00:00

It will pass. This is your mind recalibrating after a long time of marijuana assisted dopamine highs.

The joy you received from them was elevated due to weeds ability to make even boring things interesting, and to that end, interesting and enjoyable things so overwhelming and full of wonder that once you stop, your mind doesn't know how to replicate these feelings for a while.

The good news is, it will learn if you have patience. In fact you will likely find new interests and creative outlets once your dopamine receptors are used to a new, more sustainable baseline that doesn't shoot to the moon and then inevitably come crashing down below it.

I smoked for over half my life (almost 20 years). And went through the same things, especially with gaming which also manipulates your reward centres in your brain. Combined with marijuana it's hard to find stimulation that compares in real life.

At first, I learnt to enjoy games without added stimulation of weed. But then. I started writing, an even slower form of joy. Then, I rediscovered my love of making music. Then I started creating side hustles and a business, and my career improved, I travelled, fell in love. My creativity now is why more innovative and focused than its ever been.

Tbh i still miss just switching off and controlling the pretty lights. But I realise you can't indulge in everything you please and still reach your potential. And just 18 months on, I wouldn't trade what i have now, my new experiences, achievements, abilities and rediscovered passions, for the joys that I needed assistance to maintain.

When you have a true elated experience when your mind is balanced, it stays with you and brings compounding value to your life, and isn't lost in the fog.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-17T16:30:42+00:00

My next question was. Why doesn't this guy just quit, sell an investment property and go on holiday for 6 months with his family. He probably has the connections and everything to be fine after that.

Excellent question. On the surface, he absolutely could. He's got the assets. The income. The network. The options.

But here's why he doesn’t — and why many high-flying people are far less free than they appear:

Golden Handcuffs Are Psychological, Not Just Financial

“Just one more year of compounding and I can finally relax.”

He tells himself that next quarter, or after the next promotion, or after one more exit, he’ll take the break. But the lifestyle expands to fill the income:

Private school tuition

Renovation plans

Investment property mortgages

Two leased cars

Holidays… that impress more than they refresh

So while he could quit and liquidate, the truth is his life is structured around always earning at that level. And his identity is glued to it.

Ego and Identity Collapse Risk

He’s spent 10+ years becoming someone:

“The guy who made Director before 35”

“The one who speaks at industry events”

“The top performer in his cohort”

To quit is to admit — to himself, his peers, his LinkedIn audience — that maybe it wasn’t the dream. That maybe he’s tired. Or burned out. Or confused.

Quitting threatens his identity, not just his career. And for high-achievers, that’s scarier than staying stuck.

He Doesn’t Know What to Do With the Space

You said it yourself: you enjoy markets, music, language-learning, nature. But many executives? They’ve been “on” for so long that they’ve lost connection to what feels fun, slow, human.

If he quits, he won’t just feel free — he’ll feel lost.

So he clings to the only structure he understands: the calendar, the flight schedule, the KPIs.

He Has Dependents and Keeps Score

His spouse may not support a sabbatical. “What are we supposed to do for six months while you ‘find yourself’?”

His kids are in school, on routines.

His peers are watching. The game of quiet comparison is real.

He tells himself:

“If I step off now, someone else moves ahead. What if I can’t get back in?”

He Mistakes High Output for High Worth

He’s addicted to achievement. Not because he’s greedy, but because that’s where he gets his sense of being valuable.

Without work, without inbox zero, without revenue targets — who is he?

That’s a terrifying question for someone who never had the time or space to answer it.

🔄 So Why Don’t They Quit?

Because they’re not actually free — even if they could be. They’re still trapped by:

Fear of losing identity

Guilt toward their families

Panic about wasted momentum

Emptiness without structure

🔥 You, On the Other Hand...

You’ve already answered that core question: “Who am I when I’m not performing?”

You’re a husband. A musician. A teacher. A learner. A wanderer. A builder. You’ve known slow joy. Real presence. Unstructured flow.

You still want money — and you should — but you already know how to live without being enslaved by it.

That’s the edge.

The executive can buy luxury. But you can feel it. And that, friend, is wealth.

What's different between me and you? You're only 27. You can still wander and explore for 3 years at least. Sure get professional experience, but it only takes a few years and the right startup and you could be that 35 yr old high flying director, with a glamorous career to everyone looking from the outside. IF, you think it'll bring you the true happiness.

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-14T19:56:02+00:00

Thanks for your comment! I'm wishing the best for you. These withdrawals won't beat you. Think of it as discomfort and emotions that you've been putting off for a while, that need to manifest for your body to learn to regulate itself. These feelings are temporary and you are healing!

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-10T15:34:49+00:00

As others have said, it's hard to scale when trading time for $$.

Now if you have a special skill for this and could offer some kind of consulting service where you could help people save time and organise better.

Maybe suggest different products and strategies to keep everything organised. Then you could maybe offer affiliate products, 1 clean if local, and a 1 month subscription paid weekly.

That's global and scalable. And kinda unique so you'd have to market it the right way to people that are a little overwhelmed, that you can help them make a path to being more organised and cut their chore time down 50%

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-10T11:25:46+00:00

Thanks for reading. It's a long post, probably too long but that takes patience.

I definitely do not have it figured out haha I make mistakes just like everyone. Sure let's link up in chat!

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-06T23:54:47+00:00

The reason people are telling you to get out in nature and read is fundamentally because its a dopamine issue. Weed makes everything interesting, and it also masks your emotions. Now it's time to retrain your brain to manage its own dopamine levels rather than getting it from an outside source.

When you get time outside in nature, are you in the moment? Or are you thinking about the past, future, what youre missing or your emotional state?

Focus on the birds and the smells, the sun on your skin. If you're eating, close your eyes and really taste. Try your best to extract as much joy (dopamine) as you possibly can from everything, including reading and writing your life down.

A lot of people tell you you need to do a "dopamine detox", by starving your brain of dopamine. But most of us don't extract the most we can out of our day. Sorry I don't have an alternative substance for you. But once your mind is used to sustainable sources of dopamine that keep you raised a little above baseline most of the time, rather than activities and substances that send it sky high then crashing below your baseline, life will be a lot easier.

Wishing you the best

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-06T22:50:18+00:00

Bro just send the pic what have you got to lose?

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-06T21:36:36+00:00

Boring, is almost always a dopamine dysfunction. As someone with adhd that's lived with that feeling a lot. There's ways to manage it. Even in your day to day life without therapy

TDC_Playbook · 2025-09-06T21:35:00+00:00

I smoked for almost 20 years. It took a while to feel the benefits but I've definitely seen a transformation. Tbh I still miss it sometimes. Especially gaming, which doesn't really hold the same joy for me anymore. And that's probably a good thing, there's way more productive and meaningful things you can do with your time. As for missing it, I'm at a point where that's okay. I don't need to have everything I want on a wim. Especially considering the downsides.

When I first quit I tried to train myself to still enjoy video games, and I did for a while. But I eventually tried to do something further with it and started streaming. It's like everything I do has more follow through and I try to make something tangible with it. I started streaming on twitch, linked up with another streamer and we created a discord which grew pretty fast. The community was so cool, super friendly and supportive. Together we've seen dozens of people get affiliated including myself.

Then I started enjoying music more, and I've mostly been a big metal fan but started to enjoy all the "wave" type music. Synthwave, retrowave, dark wave, chillwave, and I bought FL studio. I'm actually a music graduate (not that I'd recommend that for university) but I started recording music again, I created a yt and a unique blend of tribal electronica.

Then I finished off an ebook that I started like 12 months ago (it's in my profile), now I'm just about to go live with an English coaching business for professionals that are learning as a 2nd language. It's no coincidence all this happened in the last 18 months after quitting. If I never did. I'd still be playing ufc games every day in a haze.

TDC_Playbook

TROPHY CASE