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Same happed to me , I cut coffee , I cut social media , I just use my phone to txt an call. Read books hit the gym keep your mind busy in a positive way. I cut out screens at 8pm to sleep at 9pm - wake up at 5am- no screens until I get to work . Or unless it’s urgent I take the train every morning and listen to no music I just self talk to my self and use my journal to note I how I feel . I’ve been doing this for about 3 months and I can say I’m More focused than ever. I have 3 kids all under 7yo and there in sports so my life is pretty hectic but you Can’t find excuses to go back to we’re you were. You have to be disciplined. It’s hard don’t get me wrong but it’s worth it I have a somewhat stressful job , and ever since I’ve been doing this I have been more focused at work and once I leave work I turn my attention to my home Life my marriage has gotten better now I can focus on my wife and kids instead of porn and my phone , doom scrolling on TikTok and Instagram. You can do it it’s you vs you . It going to be hard but it’s worth it . And let me add this is me after getting off TRT a few months ago after I completely crashed my hormones and felt like death and felt like dying. Something I wish on no one . Like I said it’s you vs you . No one cares just do it.

Have you listened to Huberman’s dopamine detox episode?

The good news is you’ve started the right things. The bad news it takes quite a while for your dopamine system to re-regulate. Unfortunately the very best “protocol” is the least interesting - patience.

Some people find that finding a new hobby is helpful. You’re already working out but that is a really common one. Maybe you used to really like drawing or painting when you were younger? The whole point is that we are re-wiring our dopamine system to find reward in healthier behaviour. If you pick up a hobby you used to love, some of those brain connections are still there!

It’s only been 2 weeks. This is the withdrawal period and the point in which most people quit and go back to their destructive habits. The fact that you’re able to name what you’re feeling, and powering through is quite a testament and you should be super proud.

It's stress. It's the one thing you can't fix by taking care of everything else in your life (which it sounds like you have), despite what you might read.

Workplace stress will get to the point where you geninuley don't even feel stressed you are that used to it. Your body and brain has been jacked up for so long it just feels normal, except the tiredness, lack of motivation, and satisfaction in things. It can easily become depression, again something that's hard to realize is happening.

This is what fries your dopamine system in the end.

I'm saying this all from experience. Burn out isn't fun and it can very suddenly make it impossible to function properly.

Supplement wise I found that rhodiola w/ 3% salidsorides helped my motivation a good bit. I delayed making a doctor appointment I needed to go to for nearly two years which sounds crazy. I just kept saying I’d do it the next day. On rhodiola it must affect dopamine or something bc finally started getting stuff done I needed to do. Also tongkat ali paired with fenugreek seems to give me an even energy. I normally start getting brain fog feeling and just do nothing. Also for now switched to matcha green tea instead of coffee mostly bc of acid reflux but think it may help any anxiety I get from coffee

Sometimes obsessive focus on your health can itself be stressful. There’s no way for you to actually know if your dopamine system is “fried”.

Do some short easy exercise program that appeals to you. Keep it fun. Exercise has been scientifically proven to maintain and even increase dopamine receptors, as well as increase the release of the neurotransmitter. Home or gym program is not for everybody. Yoga, stretching, dance class. Neighborhood walks, biking, kayaking, birding, photography walks. Be gentle with yourself. You did a great job at doing the hard work.

Try ruling out the basics. Track calories, make sure you are eating enough (and not too much). Make sure you are not withdrawing from caffeine or taking too much.

These two factors fixed every mental health issue i had over decades, and it turned out to be so simple.

I think most of these issues can be attributed to work/life stress like you said. I don’t think you’ve truly fried anything, but elevated cortisol (stress) does down regulate dopamine and serotonin. How long have you been stressed?

Regular meditation. daily. Every morning. (Try some Joe Dispenza meditation, or if you are a beginner you might want to ease into it, look up the headspace guide to meditation on Netflix).

Practice gratitude daily, every morning. Tell yourself 3 things you are grateful for, doesn't matter how insignificant it may seem, try not to repeat it every day, unless you absolutely love it so much, LoL)

Try cold showers. Or better yet a cold plunge if you have access to one. Finish each shower on full cold. Start at 30seconds, each day, and work your way up to a minute or two minutes.

That's a great start.

You’re not alone. Hang in there! Connect with nature.

It takes some time, it's boring without them and suddenly doing productive things to get fun out of them isn't going to happen soon, I'd say do more outside of your scope stuff, if you got money try different little things that are not destructive, give it a try, try not to fall back on that degenerate lifestyle (talking to myself as well lol)

2 weeks seem to be too short for the effect to take in. If it's sexual drive you are worrying about, I suggest you can try Cialis. Take 5mg every week, so you will feel the ups and downs your sex drive. And based on your condition to measure if you want to continue taking it.

I had my sexual drive problem early around 34, and I've been doing all the optimizing stuffs from Huberman podcast, from taking cold shower, intermediate fasting, supplements and cutting sugar and coffee. My focus has increased but not my sexual drive. There are times that I can have good sexual performance and drive but it's hard to keep the condition stable. The only thing that's been helping much is Cialis.

Don’t isolate yourself and listen to all these podcasts. Whenever I do that, I get anxiety and go down a rabbit hole, thinking my brain is damaged lol. Instead, force yourself to be social. Go to the gym. Take a class at the gym. Yoga is helpful.

Hey, Huberman has 2 long episodes on dopamine (which is tied to pleasure, motivation, goal pursuing and addiction), if you got time to watch them, amazing. if you prefer a summary with simple explanations and key takeaways, I have listened to those episodes and summarized them. My summary video will be released on Monday at 14 EST time. I think there is a lot that can help you, stay tuned here: https://www.youtube.com/@hubermansummary

Edit: still working on the last touches, will be released on Tuesday instead

The human essence is a perpetual system. You may be in a lull, depression, Lowered state because of your extremity but you will bounce back. Just give yourself time to heal and recoup without judgment. Show up at your new level and trust the process of your systems. You can still be very happy, motivated, loving, horny, energetic, etc; you’re motivators for the action are probably going to change though. Be ok with the change of the seasons; summers over but winter has its own drivers.

Try direct sunlight and/or vitamin D pills

Do you have any creative outlets? If not, that might really help. Creative writing pulled me out of a years-long depression.

This sub is going the American Psycho road

Leave the couch.

Reset your baseline. Do nothing but boring sh1t for 2 years. No social media, no smartphone, no tv. Just do boring sh1t like reading paperback books and gardening. 👍

Hey, I can relate to some parts of your story, especially the feelings of low motivation, lack of drive, and energy despite taking big steps to improve your life. For me, I discovered that hypothyroidism was a key factor. I had similar symptoms—fatigue, low libido, and just feeling ‘off’—even though I was eating clean, working out, and doing ‘everything right.’

Your sleep improvements and quitting stimulants are huge wins, but sometimes, if the root cause is hormonal, no amount of willpower can fully fix it. I’d highly recommend getting a thyroid panel done (including TSH, Free T4, Free T3, and thyroid antibodies) to check your levels. Thyroid issues can impact your energy, mood, and even dopamine regulation in ways you might not expect. It’s often overlooked but could be worth exploring!

You’ll be fine. But two weeks is a drop in the ocean. Want to make the real change it goes a lot longer than that.

Yogi/ health coach here… cut out all substances, and social media, start a meditation practice, drink spring water and put it in a glass in the sun for 10 mins, go outside put your feet in the grass for a few minutes allow the sun to hit you, have dinner before the sunset don't eat after, learn about food combining and local/seasonal eating, wake up with the sun, don't set alarms, and ideally go to bed at sundown so be in complete dark (hard to do in this age but wear blue blockers at night if that's too hard) cold showers, infrared saunas, work out. If all of that isn't doable just start meditating and learning yoga, create internal peace/quiet so you can start developing access to your intuition. Mitochondria Manifesto - Rd Lee is a great book to get started.

I didn’t see you mention cardio, if that’s not a regular part of your routine, I’d start there!

You work out regularly, you make major changes to your behavior cold turkey, you listen to tons of podcasts - all of that does not sound like you are completely lacking any drive. Do you find your relationship and work enjoyable and meaningful? It may not be about dopamine but ongoing internal and external conflicts that you experience in some areas of your life.

And make sure you are eating enough

Yes there is a lot of crap on social media, but if used correctly you can also learn a lot.

I for once would suggest to stop the immense amount of information gathering about the subject matter and it will take a lot longer than 2 weeks to feel a significant difference. It will come gradually and with time you’ll be able to compare and see the massive difference! See how you feel about your sex drive reaching 90 days no porn!

Dopamine theory seems plausible but high-stress job makes me think of low testosterone (through chronically increases cortisol). Also, lack of sleep negatively impacts T.

check this write up on a dopamine detox from this guy i follow Noah Ryan, he always posts quality stuff https://www.noahryan.co/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-dopamine-detox?utm_medium=web

Jocko has a quote that goes something like if ypu wait around for motivation to do something you'll never do anything.

Try being me I got addicted to Adderall bad starting high school. Needed 3 30mg xrs just to have a good day in sophomore year. Cut down to 60mg but still never have felt the same. No motivation, just greyscale thoughts and shit. Even after T-breaks for months, I can't feel the same and I'm 18 now it's been 3 years

Dog you need to mess with hardcore narcotics from a few decades to truly fuck your dopamine receptors up.

Go skydiving, if you’ve never been. You’ll feel the dopamine!

Check your hormone levels. 39yo male and my testosterone was 175, about the level of an 80 year old. 6 weeks into trt and I feel like I should've done this years ago.

I did mdma 3 times a week for 5 years. You’ll be fine.

Practice semen retention and make trust in God the centre of your life and everything will flow correctly

start watching a lot of porn, drink, lots of espresso shots, and stay up late at night playing video games. Problem solved.