i have read so much on this topic and yet im still confused..i have abused ghb(lots of it) but was never addicted but i did have a long span of opiate addiction...often i would take adderal in combination with the ghb or opiate...u get the point, explosion of pleasure within my brain..ok, i get clean and i remember staying clean for a year and a half, i didnt even take caffeine during this time but i remember anhedonia consuming me..anhedonia is the inability to experience pleasure..i do remember at certain times when playing sports i would experience a tiny bit of pleasure but nothing that would really hit home..from the research i have done in some addicts anhedonia seems permanent whereas as in others it goes away within months...i seem to be one where anhedonia is sticking around, i exercise every day and my diet is solid ...still though, the anhedonia persists, i have tried medication for it but it wasnt effective..i have an extremely hard time feeling pleasure and most articles will say its due to depression but not in my case i dont think..my mood isnt low and im not sad yet pleasure seems distant..anyone else have this problem, what did you do to fix it?
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H&R Moderators: streaM Freak
Sobriety and anhedonia...
- Thread starter belfort
- Start date
What I do to combat this is try and keep my dopamine levels as high as possible.. after hanging with and learning from my son MAB
(its amazing how stupid we become as we get old) the most successful thing I have found for this is altering my thinking.. There are so many ways in which i have changed my thinking but some of the most powerful are .. I no longer judge anything as good or bad.. it all good but some of its amazing, I give my self credit for every little thing (ha i just did it and what do you know a little dopamine), I break down complex things and achieve little goals all day long and knock them off all day long giving myself the credit for them every time.. exercise is great for this as well as you already know. Meditation has been scientifically shown to increase dopamine. I listen to great music all the time... I drink the shit outa cafine, yeah i know they all say limit or whatever I say struggle if you want to.. I look for beauty and good in everything, its so easy to focus on all the bad.. I let myself enjoy things, just because it isn't the most amazing day of my life doesn't mean it sucks.. I learned to live in and enjoy today, its all we ever have, and i would give the pitally rush of hapiness found at some "finnish line" of some life goal for any three days or peace ever, all we ever have is today.. I like and practice good healthy sex often.. I keep my mind occupied with things that fascinate it and Blue light gives me an amazing opportunity to do this, if i'm not learning I am miserable.. I stopped living my life solely for me, I get crazy pleasure out of helping anybody, strangers, friends, enemies.. and the list goes on.
hope any of this helps
(its amazing how stupid we become as we get old) the most successful thing I have found for this is altering my thinking.. There are so many ways in which i have changed my thinking but some of the most powerful are .. I no longer judge anything as good or bad.. it all good but some of its amazing, I give my self credit for every little thing (ha i just did it and what do you know a little dopamine), I break down complex things and achieve little goals all day long and knock them off all day long giving myself the credit for them every time.. exercise is great for this as well as you already know. Meditation has been scientifically shown to increase dopamine. I listen to great music all the time... I drink the shit outa cafine, yeah i know they all say limit or whatever I say struggle if you want to.. I look for beauty and good in everything, its so easy to focus on all the bad.. I let myself enjoy things, just because it isn't the most amazing day of my life doesn't mean it sucks.. I learned to live in and enjoy today, its all we ever have, and i would give the pitally rush of hapiness found at some "finnish line" of some life goal for any three days or peace ever, all we ever have is today.. I like and practice good healthy sex often.. I keep my mind occupied with things that fascinate it and Blue light gives me an amazing opportunity to do this, if i'm not learning I am miserable.. I stopped living my life solely for me, I get crazy pleasure out of helping anybody, strangers, friends, enemies.. and the list goes on.hope any of this helps
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smokedup
Bluelighter
great post! better than any shrink has told me. You can definitely emulate that philosophy even as a drug user.
I think trying new things constantly is crucial to survival as a human. Everything is constant change. Being an addict we especially need to do new things constantly, and it doesn't always have to be drugs. I've found doing risky things (lol) can replace the urge to use.
Giving oneself credit, yeah I've got a way to go in that department but I'm getting better at it.
Not being afraid of being unconventional is also very important. Life is too complex to put barriers or limits on the ways we express ourselves or what great lofty ideals we may hold......and its too short to not see things for ourselves, we have to experience life ourselves not through another's experience.
Guitar is nice, musical instruments are very important and a consistent flow of music at all times.
Lol @ nsanymore for admitting to being a caffeine addict. hahaaha.......really why should we feel guilty, even when we make mistakes? guilt is just ridiculous and a learned behavior that I believe is mostly unnecessary. its like racism or irrational fears.
Giving oneself credit, yeah I've got a way to go in that department but I'm getting better at it.
Not being afraid of being unconventional is also very important. Life is too complex to put barriers or limits on the ways we express ourselves or what great lofty ideals we may hold......and its too short to not see things for ourselves, we have to experience life ourselves not through another's experience.
Guitar is nice, musical instruments are very important and a consistent flow of music at all times.
Lol @ nsanymore for admitting to being a caffeine addict. hahaaha.......really why should we feel guilty, even when we make mistakes? guilt is just ridiculous and a learned behavior that I believe is mostly unnecessary. its like racism or irrational fears.
shit addiction...come now?
Addiction is characterized by2:
- Inability to consistently Abstain;
- Impairment in Behavioral control;
- Craving; or increased “hunger” for drugs or rewarding experiences;
- Diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships; and
- A dysfunctional Emotional response.
- The power of external cues to trigger craving and drug use, as well as to increase the frequency of engagement in other potentially addictive behaviors, is also a characteristic of addiction, with the hippocampus being important in memory of previous euphoric or dysphoric experiences, and with the amygdala being important in having motivation concentrate on selecting behaviors associated with these past experiences.
cafine just doesn't fit the bill..
