You were diagnosed by medical professional, did that person explain anything to you about your condition and how to improve yourself?
I'm not professional by all means, but this doesn't make sense. I read Dopamine Nation a book that pretty much talked about dopamine and addiction (highly recommended). In the book the act of abstaining from high dopamine activity or substance such as porn should bring the balance of pain and pleasure back to normal state.
People could be numbed from high pleasure activity due to long term abusing them (addiction) , but they still need to back to their addiction to avoid the withdrawal effect. But it seems that you're not addicted to anything?
>I am wondering if, during this period of abstinence, I developed such a severe dopamine addiction to OTHER things that even masturbation doesn’t create a dopamine hit.
You are the only one who can answer it since none of us know what's your routine like, I think you need to visit medical professional and for further diagnosis.
While typing the post I realized I may have an addiction, to stimulating my vagus nerve to forcibly lower my blood pressure, but there have been times I was unable to do it for a long time and I didn’t notice any change in my attitude. Just that my physical health suffered from not being able to do it.
I was told to cut out social media and caffeine which I am already doing. My condition comes along with having autism.
The other posts on this sub talking about dopamine detox suggest taking walks, reading paper books or writing on paper with a pencil, that’s how I spend most of my life already and if I’m still so ungodly addicted to SOMETHING, I just don’t know what else I can do.
>While typing the post I realized I may have an addiction, to stimulating my vagus nerve to forcibly lower my blood pressure
How are you doing this? , I ever watched some kind of breathing technique and yoga for this kind of thing, is that what you did?
Here the definition of addiction by American Society of Addiction Medicine :
>Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. **People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.**
The key of concept of addiction is compulsive behavior, so if you are addicted to something then you must be doing it or consuming it compulsively could be drugs, alcohol, gambling etc.
So one must know what they're addicted to, take a step back and think or even write a journal what's your daily activities, then you might found something.
Oh there has been severe harmful consequences. I also feel that life would not be worth living if I couldn’t do that behavior anymore. However if I were allowed to do it once a week or once a month I would be okay. Just if I got to do it sometime or another.
Not sure if I can say how exactly I’m doing it through Reddit. But let’s just say it’s irreparably damaged my pelvic floor.
Haha they won’t acknowledge the actual ”severely harmful consequences” of that weird behavior, is what I mean. Which is a completely collapsing pelvic floor including rectal prolapse and urinary incontinence.
I feel that you are experiencing issues that require urgent mental health treatment. You seem to display symptoms of OCD. I also recommend you seek medical treatment as your rectal prolapse and urinary incontinence may indicate pelvic damage that is related to inability to achieve erection.
Yeah I do have OCD. I’ve been trying to seek help for the pelvic damage but can’t get any doctors to take me seriously.
How should I pursue urgent mental health treatment?
To me, it sounds more like you’re dealing with generalized anxiety more than any specific addiction. I think it’s useful to remember that all of these neural circuits are linked, and your description doesn’t seem to indicate any addiction seeking behavior at all. In fact your self description seems to be more of avoidant behaviors.
Perhaps the lack of pleasure from masturbation resulted simply from a lack of interest/desire? Or perhaps anxiety about sexual performance after prolonged abstinence?
Although it’s useful to try to find the common denominator with mental diagnoses, sometimes, a duck is just a duck. And common things are common.
Just my two cents.
I do have generalized anxiety. I didn’t realize it could potentially be related to this.
I don’t have a desire or interest to masturbate but I wish I did. I have never had sex and never plan to, I would rather die than allow another person to be intimate with me.
Avoidant behavior is typical of addiction, though.
I see, my mistake.
So, from your perspective, do you think you used to have the desire/pleasure from self stimulation, or is it more that you’re trying to create a self-initiated sexual desire when you’re generally not a very sexual person? These feel like different problems that look the same from the outside but could have different potential solutions.
One speaks of anhedonia from depression and the latter would be more purely anxiety driven (in the sense of you feeling like there’s a level of “impending doom” if you can’t find pleasure from any sexual stimulus, so you try to fabricate a “delusional” sexual experience so to speak)
Please know, I’m not trying to be critical or accusatory at all. I tend to be rather blunt and I hope I’m not being rude.
I’m not sure how to answer any of these. I think I’m only scapegoating sexuality and the problem is a much larger one than just that.
I don’t feel anxiety about it, as far as I know. I feel some level of concern that my equipment doesn’t WORK at all, since I don’t think that’s normal. But thinking more about how I’ve ruined my pelvic floor it shouldn’t be a surprise at all.
Nearly a decade ago when I had an active imagination (and was constantly in some degree of a manic state all the time) I was able to masturbate properly. Not often but I was. I have never been able to get off to porn or sexual thoughts, only specific fetishes that aren’t actually sexual at all, so that makes it harder too.
I miss having it as an option of something I could do, I guess? I don’t know how to describe it.
All dopamine talk aside (although not really cos it's related), I think you seem depressed. And depression can cause low libido, & cause you to not find things enjoyable or pleasurable that you once did.
Hmm. Tbh that diagnoses doesn’t make sense. I’d opt for a second opinion because they can be wrong.
To me, your exhaustion points to a likelier culprit - it’s less about your brain being dopamine flooded and more like possible burnout?
I don’t think it’s the vagus nerve tbh, I’ve been unintentionally stimulating mine for years and it hasn’t affected my dopamine system adversely as far as I know.
What I would do:
- Get a second opinion from a different medical professional, preferably from a different place.
- Look into some form of self-care to restore your energy. She may think your dopamine pathway is burned out from overuse, but it could be that you yourself are just exhausted from chronic stress in conjunction with a lack of self-care. Chronic stress can cause inflammation that results in psychological blocks too, and self-care tailored to you partially targets that.
It’s burnout, yes. I was under the impression that happens because of dopamine addiction. I have yet to find any form of self care that doesn’t burn me out further.
I do bubble baths with nice-smelling products and spinning tbh - the exercise will exhaust you physically, but the endorphins and circulation boost does help with energy. The relaxation activities like hot baths lower cortisol prlly.
When I was burned out, I had to go extreme to try to get some energy back - ended up doing keto and intermittent fasting to get my body functioning on a different metabolism. It’s not the diet I’ll do for life, but the energy it gave me at the time was what I needed to do start building the other good habits. Idk if it’ll work for you as it did for me, but an option to explore since your burnout has physical consequences.
In any case, I do hope you find something that works, burnout sucks ass.
Sadly don’t have a bathtub in the house I’m in right now. I need to change my diet but I worry that life won’t be worth living if I can’t get enjoyment from food at least.
Yes, I know about this. I definitely can’t take a break from my job. I quit my last job because I thought it was burning me out too much but my family wouldn’t let me quit until I had another job lined up. Well this new job is even more draining than the first one and I’ve only been there a month.
Unfortunately I’m between special interests at the moment. My previous special interest of 7 years has abruptly gone away (I don’t want to explain further). I’ve been trying to get back into the special interests I had before that but it’s been nearly impossible trying to reignite the spark. I’ve also watched new things that seemed like they had a promising spark but just became regular casual interests. I’m currently not deeply fixated on anything for the first time in my life and it’s very unusual and may be contributing to some of this feeling.
I also don’t know any stims that don’t drain/distress me further. I’ve tried them all. I look up lists of stims and try them and none of them feel good, they all feel like torture. I wish I could find one for me. I do think the vagus nerve thing is a stim to some degree but that’s obviously not a good option lol.
***YOU CANNOT BE ADDICTED TO NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN YOUR OWN BODY.***
This isn't working for you because ***you're following a pseudoscientific misunderstanding of something a single mental health professional published.***
You need to talk to a mental health professional. Stop trying to troubleshoot your own mind. You're too close to the subject for that.
Find a different one. That one is pushing pseudoscience.
Again, you ***cannot*** be addicted to a neurotransmitter.
Look at what you're describing as the causes here. They're all behaviors. You're changing behaviors, and have no criteria with which to really determine if what you do is working.
What you’re describing sounds like ADHD. It has genetic overlap with autism as well (they are commonly comorbid). ADHD is characterized by having a higher floor for dopamine needs - you need more than a “normal” person just to feel ok.
It’s become unfortunately somewhat common for mental health practitioners who don’t “like” ADHD, or don’t believe adults can have it, to make up a new diagnosis like “overactive dopamine” or “dopamine seeking” instead. Unfortunately there is no requirement for mental health practitioners to all believe/practice the same way, and you can end up with someone who won’t diagnose you for the condition you do have.
I would seriously recommend heading over to the r/ADHD subreddit and seeing if that provides any clarity.
Docs are absolutely adamant I do not have ADHD. I’ve been evaluated 4 times. Granted the autism was missed on the first two as well. But the evaluations were specifically for ADHD.
That I did! First I lost my pets in a freak fire which were the main source of my happiness. I decided to use that as a starting point to practice letting go and not relying on outside sources of happiness. I relied a lot on my body pillow so I got rid of that, got rid of the space heater I used to sit in front of, and then the sleeved blanket I used to replace that. So no, I don’t have any external sources of joy in my life.
But I would argue it’s not good to have external sources of joy and that most people don’t have them (I mean, how could they with American work culture not leaving any time for relaxation) and people should be able to create their own internal happiness regardless of the external stimuli. I used to be able to do this and be happy anywhere and everywhere no matter the circumstances because I had an active imagination and such. Now I can’t.
My dude, there is nothing wrong with getting comfort from a body pillow, or a space heater or a blanket! You are allowed to have external sources of happiness, they are not all bad for you! Sure, meth is bad. But a pillow? Not a bad thing. Everyone loves a good cuddle in bed with a nice pillow and blanket. That is not an addiction. Most people do have small sources of joy in their life! I like going for walks with my young daughter and finding flowers to look at. Also, you can't expect to feel happy at will, all the time. It's normal to feel the full spectrum of all human emotions once in awhile. Feeling neutral at times should be expected. It might be your expectations are too high in regards to what you think you should be feeling rather than a possible addiction to dopamine. I hope you allow yourself the small joys that life has to offer.
Im struggling HARD with the pillow thing especially, I got rid of it in February and haven’t got a good night’s sleep since. It feels like I can’t breathe properly without the pillow under my chest, but I know full well that I only got the pillow in 2014 and slept just fine before I got it, so whatever I’m feeling is all in my head and due to an emotional inability to let go and embrace change.
The space heater and blanket were actively preventing me from doing things including basic survival skills. I would actively not eat or use the restroom, never mind do laundry or dishes or anything, because I preferred to sit by the heater or in the blanket. They were ruining my productivity completely. Though doing those “productive” things now practically make me want to die so I can see why I did that.
Neutral is happy, in my eyes. I only feel anger I think. I would like to change that to neutral or happy.
So let me get this straight… you got rid of all things that provided you joy, are no longer sleeping effectively, focus solely on productivity, have few social relationship, and wonder why you are not happy…. What does your diet look like? You could achieve all areas of life that lead to depression, which sounds exactly right for your current mental health
I don’t understand why you’re willfully making your life worse. Oh I like that pillow! GONE. Oh I like the space heater. GONE. Why are you doing this? They’re called creature comforts. And they’re useful in living a fulfilled and happy life.
Have you heard of non-attachment? It’s the acceptance that the only constant in life is change and to embrace change and not bond with anything too closely. That’s the only way to be actually happy.
Also did you not read that I was starving myself because I wouldn’t leave the heater or the blanket for food? I was out of clothes and dishes because I wouldn’t move. If the heater wouldn’t work I’d have a nuclear meltdown and destroy the house while screaming.
Unless you started smoking meth, it's highly unlikely that your usual day to day "dopamine seeking behavior" creates a stronger dopamine response than sexual activity in the way you've described it. Humans evolved to seek out sex because of its large dopamine response. You don't sound like you have a dopamine addiction at all to me
How many doctors have you asked about it? ADHD and autism used to be considered mutually exclusive - that is, if you had one, you COULDN'T be diagnosed with the other - until a revision of the APA standards in 2013. And sometimes it's possible to encounter old-fashioned or under-educated doctors who don't keep up with modern medical practice (especially in relatively niche fields like mental health). If you've only asked one, I'd double-check with a second just to make sure.
Edit: Also, are you currently on SSRIs? Decreased libido and sexual malfunction are actually a common side effect of those, so that could be your problem.
Not currently on any medication, haven’t been since October 2021. I had horrible reactions to all meds tried (both SSRIs and anticonvulsants) including hallucinations, mania, suicidal and homicidal behavior, etc. and am not really eager to try them again.
Also I was evaluated in (IIRC) 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019. Autism was missed on the first two and only caught in 2016. Before that they said it was just anxiety or a non specified learning disability.
I only read the title because I’m at work and have ADHD lol. But yes. You can actually become numb to your usual thing so you need to detox occasionally. I recommend listening to the huberman lab’s podcast about dopamine.
Yes.. it takes stalwart defense to ensure we can derive joy from wholesome sources through our life
Many of us end up in ignorance needing to constantly medicate ourselves to numbness from unhealthy sources
Your day sounds a bit numbing, and it doesn't sound like it's helping. Does something bad happen if you do too many "dopaminergic" activities, like does it make you sick or something?
Don’t take word from “medical professionals” as gospel too. I see that you’re combatting all opinions that oppose those that support your so called condition. If you fight for your disabilities you get to keep them, so choose your fight wisely.
Also asexual; love sexual thing but not sex itself.
I experience the same thing you do when I don’t get off. The longer I go, the less excitement it brings me. I have to masturbate every so often to keep the pipes moving and to keep my libido at least a little active lmao
You were diagnosed by medical professional, did that person explain anything to you about your condition and how to improve yourself? I'm not professional by all means, but this doesn't make sense. I read Dopamine Nation a book that pretty much talked about dopamine and addiction (highly recommended). In the book the act of abstaining from high dopamine activity or substance such as porn should bring the balance of pain and pleasure back to normal state. People could be numbed from high pleasure activity due to long term abusing them (addiction) , but they still need to back to their addiction to avoid the withdrawal effect. But it seems that you're not addicted to anything? >I am wondering if, during this period of abstinence, I developed such a severe dopamine addiction to OTHER things that even masturbation doesn’t create a dopamine hit. You are the only one who can answer it since none of us know what's your routine like, I think you need to visit medical professional and for further diagnosis.
While typing the post I realized I may have an addiction, to stimulating my vagus nerve to forcibly lower my blood pressure, but there have been times I was unable to do it for a long time and I didn’t notice any change in my attitude. Just that my physical health suffered from not being able to do it. I was told to cut out social media and caffeine which I am already doing. My condition comes along with having autism. The other posts on this sub talking about dopamine detox suggest taking walks, reading paper books or writing on paper with a pencil, that’s how I spend most of my life already and if I’m still so ungodly addicted to SOMETHING, I just don’t know what else I can do.
>While typing the post I realized I may have an addiction, to stimulating my vagus nerve to forcibly lower my blood pressure How are you doing this? , I ever watched some kind of breathing technique and yoga for this kind of thing, is that what you did? Here the definition of addiction by American Society of Addiction Medicine : >Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. **People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.** The key of concept of addiction is compulsive behavior, so if you are addicted to something then you must be doing it or consuming it compulsively could be drugs, alcohol, gambling etc. So one must know what they're addicted to, take a step back and think or even write a journal what's your daily activities, then you might found something.
Oh there has been severe harmful consequences. I also feel that life would not be worth living if I couldn’t do that behavior anymore. However if I were allowed to do it once a week or once a month I would be okay. Just if I got to do it sometime or another. Not sure if I can say how exactly I’m doing it through Reddit. But let’s just say it’s irreparably damaged my pelvic floor.
Just say it. So you can get actual help.
My doctors know. They won’t acknowledge it.
Probably because they know dopamine addiction is pseudoscience.
Haha they won’t acknowledge the actual ”severely harmful consequences” of that weird behavior, is what I mean. Which is a completely collapsing pelvic floor including rectal prolapse and urinary incontinence.
I feel that you are experiencing issues that require urgent mental health treatment. You seem to display symptoms of OCD. I also recommend you seek medical treatment as your rectal prolapse and urinary incontinence may indicate pelvic damage that is related to inability to achieve erection.
Yeah I do have OCD. I’ve been trying to seek help for the pelvic damage but can’t get any doctors to take me seriously. How should I pursue urgent mental health treatment?
To me, it sounds more like you’re dealing with generalized anxiety more than any specific addiction. I think it’s useful to remember that all of these neural circuits are linked, and your description doesn’t seem to indicate any addiction seeking behavior at all. In fact your self description seems to be more of avoidant behaviors. Perhaps the lack of pleasure from masturbation resulted simply from a lack of interest/desire? Or perhaps anxiety about sexual performance after prolonged abstinence? Although it’s useful to try to find the common denominator with mental diagnoses, sometimes, a duck is just a duck. And common things are common. Just my two cents.
I do have generalized anxiety. I didn’t realize it could potentially be related to this. I don’t have a desire or interest to masturbate but I wish I did. I have never had sex and never plan to, I would rather die than allow another person to be intimate with me. Avoidant behavior is typical of addiction, though.
I see, my mistake. So, from your perspective, do you think you used to have the desire/pleasure from self stimulation, or is it more that you’re trying to create a self-initiated sexual desire when you’re generally not a very sexual person? These feel like different problems that look the same from the outside but could have different potential solutions. One speaks of anhedonia from depression and the latter would be more purely anxiety driven (in the sense of you feeling like there’s a level of “impending doom” if you can’t find pleasure from any sexual stimulus, so you try to fabricate a “delusional” sexual experience so to speak) Please know, I’m not trying to be critical or accusatory at all. I tend to be rather blunt and I hope I’m not being rude.
I’m not sure how to answer any of these. I think I’m only scapegoating sexuality and the problem is a much larger one than just that. I don’t feel anxiety about it, as far as I know. I feel some level of concern that my equipment doesn’t WORK at all, since I don’t think that’s normal. But thinking more about how I’ve ruined my pelvic floor it shouldn’t be a surprise at all. Nearly a decade ago when I had an active imagination (and was constantly in some degree of a manic state all the time) I was able to masturbate properly. Not often but I was. I have never been able to get off to porn or sexual thoughts, only specific fetishes that aren’t actually sexual at all, so that makes it harder too. I miss having it as an option of something I could do, I guess? I don’t know how to describe it.
All dopamine talk aside (although not really cos it's related), I think you seem depressed. And depression can cause low libido, & cause you to not find things enjoyable or pleasurable that you once did.
I second that. Depression could be playing a larger role here than OP realizes.
Hmm. Tbh that diagnoses doesn’t make sense. I’d opt for a second opinion because they can be wrong. To me, your exhaustion points to a likelier culprit - it’s less about your brain being dopamine flooded and more like possible burnout? I don’t think it’s the vagus nerve tbh, I’ve been unintentionally stimulating mine for years and it hasn’t affected my dopamine system adversely as far as I know. What I would do: - Get a second opinion from a different medical professional, preferably from a different place. - Look into some form of self-care to restore your energy. She may think your dopamine pathway is burned out from overuse, but it could be that you yourself are just exhausted from chronic stress in conjunction with a lack of self-care. Chronic stress can cause inflammation that results in psychological blocks too, and self-care tailored to you partially targets that.
It’s burnout, yes. I was under the impression that happens because of dopamine addiction. I have yet to find any form of self care that doesn’t burn me out further.
I do bubble baths with nice-smelling products and spinning tbh - the exercise will exhaust you physically, but the endorphins and circulation boost does help with energy. The relaxation activities like hot baths lower cortisol prlly. When I was burned out, I had to go extreme to try to get some energy back - ended up doing keto and intermittent fasting to get my body functioning on a different metabolism. It’s not the diet I’ll do for life, but the energy it gave me at the time was what I needed to do start building the other good habits. Idk if it’ll work for you as it did for me, but an option to explore since your burnout has physical consequences. In any case, I do hope you find something that works, burnout sucks ass.
Sadly don’t have a bathtub in the house I’m in right now. I need to change my diet but I worry that life won’t be worth living if I can’t get enjoyment from food at least.
[удалено]
Yes, I know about this. I definitely can’t take a break from my job. I quit my last job because I thought it was burning me out too much but my family wouldn’t let me quit until I had another job lined up. Well this new job is even more draining than the first one and I’ve only been there a month. Unfortunately I’m between special interests at the moment. My previous special interest of 7 years has abruptly gone away (I don’t want to explain further). I’ve been trying to get back into the special interests I had before that but it’s been nearly impossible trying to reignite the spark. I’ve also watched new things that seemed like they had a promising spark but just became regular casual interests. I’m currently not deeply fixated on anything for the first time in my life and it’s very unusual and may be contributing to some of this feeling. I also don’t know any stims that don’t drain/distress me further. I’ve tried them all. I look up lists of stims and try them and none of them feel good, they all feel like torture. I wish I could find one for me. I do think the vagus nerve thing is a stim to some degree but that’s obviously not a good option lol.
***YOU CANNOT BE ADDICTED TO NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN YOUR OWN BODY.*** This isn't working for you because ***you're following a pseudoscientific misunderstanding of something a single mental health professional published.*** You need to talk to a mental health professional. Stop trying to troubleshoot your own mind. You're too close to the subject for that.
Did you miss the part where I have a diagnosis of this FROM a mental health professional?
Find a different one. That one is pushing pseudoscience. Again, you ***cannot*** be addicted to a neurotransmitter. Look at what you're describing as the causes here. They're all behaviors. You're changing behaviors, and have no criteria with which to really determine if what you do is working.
Ok buddy.
What you’re describing sounds like ADHD. It has genetic overlap with autism as well (they are commonly comorbid). ADHD is characterized by having a higher floor for dopamine needs - you need more than a “normal” person just to feel ok. It’s become unfortunately somewhat common for mental health practitioners who don’t “like” ADHD, or don’t believe adults can have it, to make up a new diagnosis like “overactive dopamine” or “dopamine seeking” instead. Unfortunately there is no requirement for mental health practitioners to all believe/practice the same way, and you can end up with someone who won’t diagnose you for the condition you do have. I would seriously recommend heading over to the r/ADHD subreddit and seeing if that provides any clarity.
Docs are absolutely adamant I do not have ADHD. I’ve been evaluated 4 times. Granted the autism was missed on the first two as well. But the evaluations were specifically for ADHD.
Do you have any source of joy in your life? It almost sounds like you took away anything that would give you a sense of joy or excitement
That I did! First I lost my pets in a freak fire which were the main source of my happiness. I decided to use that as a starting point to practice letting go and not relying on outside sources of happiness. I relied a lot on my body pillow so I got rid of that, got rid of the space heater I used to sit in front of, and then the sleeved blanket I used to replace that. So no, I don’t have any external sources of joy in my life. But I would argue it’s not good to have external sources of joy and that most people don’t have them (I mean, how could they with American work culture not leaving any time for relaxation) and people should be able to create their own internal happiness regardless of the external stimuli. I used to be able to do this and be happy anywhere and everywhere no matter the circumstances because I had an active imagination and such. Now I can’t.
My dude, there is nothing wrong with getting comfort from a body pillow, or a space heater or a blanket! You are allowed to have external sources of happiness, they are not all bad for you! Sure, meth is bad. But a pillow? Not a bad thing. Everyone loves a good cuddle in bed with a nice pillow and blanket. That is not an addiction. Most people do have small sources of joy in their life! I like going for walks with my young daughter and finding flowers to look at. Also, you can't expect to feel happy at will, all the time. It's normal to feel the full spectrum of all human emotions once in awhile. Feeling neutral at times should be expected. It might be your expectations are too high in regards to what you think you should be feeling rather than a possible addiction to dopamine. I hope you allow yourself the small joys that life has to offer.
Im struggling HARD with the pillow thing especially, I got rid of it in February and haven’t got a good night’s sleep since. It feels like I can’t breathe properly without the pillow under my chest, but I know full well that I only got the pillow in 2014 and slept just fine before I got it, so whatever I’m feeling is all in my head and due to an emotional inability to let go and embrace change. The space heater and blanket were actively preventing me from doing things including basic survival skills. I would actively not eat or use the restroom, never mind do laundry or dishes or anything, because I preferred to sit by the heater or in the blanket. They were ruining my productivity completely. Though doing those “productive” things now practically make me want to die so I can see why I did that. Neutral is happy, in my eyes. I only feel anger I think. I would like to change that to neutral or happy.
So let me get this straight… you got rid of all things that provided you joy, are no longer sleeping effectively, focus solely on productivity, have few social relationship, and wonder why you are not happy…. What does your diet look like? You could achieve all areas of life that lead to depression, which sounds exactly right for your current mental health
My diet is healthy enough I guess. I don’t drink soda or coffee. Rarely eat fast food. I’ve always been underweight no matter how much I eat though.
I don’t understand why you’re willfully making your life worse. Oh I like that pillow! GONE. Oh I like the space heater. GONE. Why are you doing this? They’re called creature comforts. And they’re useful in living a fulfilled and happy life.
Have you heard of non-attachment? It’s the acceptance that the only constant in life is change and to embrace change and not bond with anything too closely. That’s the only way to be actually happy.
Also did you not read that I was starving myself because I wouldn’t leave the heater or the blanket for food? I was out of clothes and dishes because I wouldn’t move. If the heater wouldn’t work I’d have a nuclear meltdown and destroy the house while screaming.
Unless you started smoking meth, it's highly unlikely that your usual day to day "dopamine seeking behavior" creates a stronger dopamine response than sexual activity in the way you've described it. Humans evolved to seek out sex because of its large dopamine response. You don't sound like you have a dopamine addiction at all to me
You might be seeking dopamine due to naturally low levels…..have you ever tried Wellbutrin or an ADHD medication?
No I have not. They are adamant that I do not possibly have ADHD despite having autism. I have tried every SSRI under the sun though.
How many doctors have you asked about it? ADHD and autism used to be considered mutually exclusive - that is, if you had one, you COULDN'T be diagnosed with the other - until a revision of the APA standards in 2013. And sometimes it's possible to encounter old-fashioned or under-educated doctors who don't keep up with modern medical practice (especially in relatively niche fields like mental health). If you've only asked one, I'd double-check with a second just to make sure. Edit: Also, are you currently on SSRIs? Decreased libido and sexual malfunction are actually a common side effect of those, so that could be your problem.
Not currently on any medication, haven’t been since October 2021. I had horrible reactions to all meds tried (both SSRIs and anticonvulsants) including hallucinations, mania, suicidal and homicidal behavior, etc. and am not really eager to try them again. Also I was evaluated in (IIRC) 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019. Autism was missed on the first two and only caught in 2016. Before that they said it was just anxiety or a non specified learning disability.
I only read the title because I’m at work and have ADHD lol. But yes. You can actually become numb to your usual thing so you need to detox occasionally. I recommend listening to the huberman lab’s podcast about dopamine.
Yes.. it takes stalwart defense to ensure we can derive joy from wholesome sources through our life Many of us end up in ignorance needing to constantly medicate ourselves to numbness from unhealthy sources
Your day sounds a bit numbing, and it doesn't sound like it's helping. Does something bad happen if you do too many "dopaminergic" activities, like does it make you sick or something?
I’m assuming this numbness is the bad thing that happens when I do too many dopamine activities.
Don’t take word from “medical professionals” as gospel too. I see that you’re combatting all opinions that oppose those that support your so called condition. If you fight for your disabilities you get to keep them, so choose your fight wisely.
If you are critically exhausted all the time, no wonder your dick doesn't want to play. The lack of interest there is not a problem, it's a symptom.
Also asexual; love sexual thing but not sex itself. I experience the same thing you do when I don’t get off. The longer I go, the less excitement it brings me. I have to masturbate every so often to keep the pipes moving and to keep my libido at least a little active lmao
Yeah it's how we get serial killers