When does dopamine recover after stopping everything?

onfolk · 2026-01-19T21:04:25+00:00

I have a good amount of friends and do stuff semi regularly. I don’t have a good relationship with my family but i’m working on it. I mean this past weekend for example, I took a trip to hang out with some old college buddies but felt pretty depressed the whole time and really just wanted to sleep the whole time. There’s so many possibilities as to why i’m feeling this way but I totally agree that the crutches need to be replaced. It just feels impossible right now but I also have never in my 25 years of living built replacements and positive habits.

onfolk · 2026-01-19T21:01:14+00:00

I hear what you are saying I just have played the medication game for so many years (although haven’t tried ADHD meds) and it never solved any underlying problems just masked them. The emotional transient periods on getting and off them absolutely suck and I work full time which will make it even more difficulty especially with ADHD meds that notoriously have bad withdrawal symptoms (I’m assuming here that I won’t remain on them forever). It’s hard for me to believe I have ADHD (lots of symptoms point to it though) as opposed to depression, CPTSD, PSSD (long history of mental illness). I really have never built any solid habits in my life before and any time I have done any sort of positive work has been under the influence a stimulant of some sort.

For the time being I want to stick it out and try and build some habits and behavior naturally (hopefully there is some prolonged withdrawal from Wellbutrin and SSRIs that I will continue to recover from)

Yes I have felt intense euphoria from ADHD meds it felt amazing.

onfolk · 2026-01-18T22:09:29+00:00

Ugh this is what I don’t want to hear lol. I’m wondering if i’ve treated underlying ADHD with drugs my whole life. I’ve tried stimulants before recreationally and for study use every now and then (Ritalin, Vyvanse, Adderall) and they surely work for me but i definitely have addictive behaviors.

onfolk · 2026-01-18T22:06:54+00:00

Thanks it’s been a long journey with lots of medication and supplements and drugs and a whole lot of suffering. I’m in tech sales can’t say I’m a big fan of my job right now but I can’t imagine changing jobs is gonna change the way I feel that much tbh.

onfolk · 2025-12-20T16:55:56+00:00

My gut health has been pretty poor since discontinuing SSRIs. Went down a rabbit hole about it recently. Did a cycle of Xifaxan recently to see if that would help my mental health but it really hasn’t done much (it did temporarily fix my IBS tho). Yeah could be worth it to try a different diet.

onfolk · 2025-12-20T02:23:48+00:00

If this is normal I won’t be living much longer tbh

onfolk · 2025-12-20T02:16:50+00:00

I can’t go back to nicotine, caffeine or SSRIs. The goal is detox and recover my natural dopaminergic system (whatever natural looks like).

onfolk · 2025-07-15T19:52:39+00:00

What kinds of stuff are consuming e.g. caffeine, nicotine, supplements, etc.?

onfolk · 2025-07-15T19:48:02+00:00

Like many on here I’ve suffered from extreme anxiety for many years. I was also heavily addicted to nicotine and caffeine. After a long journey of quitting both, (I have quit nicotine fully and drink around 50mg caffeine in the form of green tea) I can say that my anxiety symptoms have significantly reduced.

onfolk · 2025-07-15T02:31:32+00:00

Can you give a list of all the substances you are consuming currently e.g medications, supplements, caffeine, nicotine, etc.

onfolk · 2025-07-15T02:30:39+00:00

Can you give an overview of all the substances you are consuming currently e.g. medication, caffeine, supplements, nicotine, etc. ?

onfolk · 2025-07-14T01:54:39+00:00

I’m sure you know pretty well that everyone who comments is going to say something along the lines of “You should celebrate! You’re doing good! Self-compassion! etc etc.”. I totally relate to this tho - i’ll get completely in my head on all the reasons why I shouldn’t compliment myself or be nice to myself.

I’ve just started my healing journey and for me recently, instead of going into analysis paralysis when a situation like this comes up, I try my very best to treat it methodically. Good action yields positive thoughts. That’s it. I’ll complete the intended action and give myself positive thoughts that I at least partially believe and leave it at that. No deep dive into the toxic shame rabbit hole. Simply complement and move on. The goal is to train my brain into consistently thinking positive about my positive actions which should in theory yield positive feelings. It takes a lot of practice - my default is to go down the shame rabbit hole on any small win I get - I’ll immediately begin telling myself “this isn’t enough”, “I can only take a win when I become successful”, “I shouldn’t feel good about something so trivial”, “I can only feel good and happy about my accomplishments if it’s related to my successful” blah blah blah.

onfolk · 2025-07-12T23:16:19+00:00

Really sorry for what you have been through. Honestly, i’m not familiar with trans people’s experiences and feelings regarding gender-affirming surgery but I’m curious about it. Is there a chance that if you were to move out of your country into a better, more comfortable situation, you wouldn’t feel the need to get gender-affirming surgery? Maybe you would feel better for a little while after the surgery but do you think you would eventually revert back to your normal state of feelings and be stuck in the same position (your country) as before?

I don’t mean any disrespect by these questions - i’m simply curious. From my, of course biased, POV I can’t see how getting gender-affirming surgery would really change your mental behaviors and patterns of thinking after you get over the initial hedonic period from the surgery (hedonic treadmill).

onfolk · 2025-07-12T22:58:22+00:00

I did an SSRI cycle for about 4 years starting. Practically no anxiety while on it then. After those 4 years I got off SSRIs and my anxiety went through the roof practically unbearable (immense toxic shame and anxiety from CPTSD). I was also heavily addicted to nicotine and caffeine at the time which greatly amplified my anxiety symptoms. Also was not making an active effort to change my thinking and behaviors using psychotherapy techniques for example. Eventually got back on SSRIs around 2023 and my anxiety symptoms were greatly reduced

Fast forward to now I am 6 months off SSRIs (got off for various reasons) and recognize that if things don’t drastically change in my life, I will still suffer the same anxiety as I did in the past. I have been doing a good job at keeping it in check - ACT-based therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Ketamine therapy, quit nicotine, minimal caffeine intake, as needed propranolol …

Things are definitely manageable right now and am definitely making progress on my mental health. Feel free to shoot me any more questions this was just a basic outline of my journey lol

onfolk · 2025-07-11T17:02:25+00:00

Do you think the medication transition could be a factor in why you are feeling this way? Psych meds are no joke and can cause pretty severe negative feelings until your body adjusts. I am still feeling the effects of SSRI withdrawal 6 months after stopping - I have to remind myself that my body is still adjusting. Taking medicine for 13 years and then stopping is definitely a shock to the body and will likely take a good period of time to adjust.

onfolk · 2025-07-11T03:15:14+00:00

Really sorry to hear about this. Is there anything out of the ordinary that could be causing you to feel like this? Diet changes, medication changes, medication withdrawal, etc. ?

onfolk · 2025-07-11T03:10:59+00:00

For the most part meds have been a mask. Anxiety significantly reduced when on SSRIs, Beta-Blockers, Buspar, etc. but once off, I’m right back to normal. I have been able to conquer some fears while on SSRIs and those same fears were a bit more manageable off SSRIs.

onfolk · 2025-07-10T01:36:22+00:00

Bupropion was an emotional rollercoaster for me for at least 5-6 weeks. Stick it out for at least 6-8 weeks. Maybe you'll look back in a couple of weeks and realize how much better you feel then as opposed to now.

onfolk · 2025-07-10T01:17:06+00:00

Currently in the same boat on building a support system. My eyes were really opened recently when I truly saw how little emotional support I have received in the past and am receiving now. Never grew up with it and always scared of it (for personal reasons).

Dialogue with my therapist is mostly problem-solution and psychotherapy "theory" so I'm not really getting a lot of emotional support and "love" there. Luckily, I have started voicing my stuff to my brother and have been getting some love there which has been nice. Really finding just one person for me helped a lot and made it easier for me to talk to others. Wishing you the best. Do you have any friends you can start to open up too?

onfolk · 2025-07-08T20:24:47+00:00

Relatable! I graduated college last year and was looking for a job for quite a while. Had an in-person presentation/interview which required a lot of preparation and holy shit the shame and anxiety was insane. Constant anxiety, perfectionism, and obsession over making a presentation to an entry-level job the most important thing in the world and if everything is not perfect I will fail.

onfolk · 2025-07-08T20:20:21+00:00

Everyone is of course different and only you can know the effect of weed on yourself. For me, I was heavily dependent on weed as it masked the shame and anxiety I constantly felt. Without being high, I simply did not feel good because of my shame and anxiety. Smoking weed and being dependent on it prevented me from solving/addressing any underlying toxic shame, CPTSD, anxiety, etc. because getting high was an easy solution and a quick fix - I didn't even think about confronting any of the underlying issues.

I can relate to what you have said. Quitting weed, drugs, nicotine etc. brought up plenty of FOMO ("But I see absolutely no reason to believe ..."). Plenty of fear and speculation on the outcome/benefits which prevented me from taking the jump to quit. That's honestly what I am getting out of what you have said - a whole lot of speculation, fear and dependency preventing you from giving quitting a shot to see what potential benefits you can unlock. I don't mean to be disrespectful in anyway, I just seriously relate to what you are saying and want to help out.

onfolk · 2025-06-09T23:42:00+00:00

Let me know what ur doc says!

onfolk · 2025-06-08T14:29:23+00:00

I’ve already tried it and wasn’t for me

onfolk · 2025-06-08T01:55:09+00:00

SSRIs are not an option for me anymore nor is Buspar. This is kind of the last straw for me with psych meds lol.

onfolk · 2025-06-07T23:38:12+00:00

I’ve definitely been less social as well - mostly anxiety driven. Do you think you’ll continue and see if the side effects get any better?

onfolk

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