13 replies to this topic

[Gminor]

For about two years now I've been unable to experience pleasure from activities that I used to love such as sports, music, video games,etc. The only pleasure I can feel is from masturbation/sex.
I understand that this is caused by dopamine not working like it's supposed to. Maybe my dopamine is worn out from over use with masturbation and music?

[Mydriasis]

Try to refrain from masturbation for a while, and see if it affects your mood levels.

Is there anything else that may have contributed to this "lack of pleasure"?

If you need to take supplements, L-tyrosine is a good dopamine precursor, so it may help you.

[Gminor]

Try to refrain from masturbation for a while, and see if it affects your mood levels.
Is there anything else that may have contributed to this "lack of pleasure"?
If you need to take supplements, L-tyrosine is a good dopamine precursor, so it may help you.

Thanks for the reply
I try my best due to my addiction to it (which I didn't mention) any way to help break this?
And no there aren't any other factors to my knowledge that contribute. I don't do drugs or anything.
I'll look into tyrosine!

[Mydriasis]

I have read many articles regarding meditation and refrain from PMO (porn, masturbation and orgasm).

You could drive your intense sexual drive into energy to empower yourself, be it creative or intellectual.

You can find many ways to curb the sex drive into something else.

Else, start by deciding the days on which you want/need to let it off. Then reduce them.

Edited by Mydriasis, 08 January 2015 - 10:39 PM.

[gamesguru]

Supplementing tyrosine will only further desensitize and oxidize your dopamine system. Enough tyrosine can be obtained from foods.    Best just to reduce your orgasm frequency to twice monthly; after a few months your brain will restore itself to a more normal state.

Edited by dasheenster, 08 January 2015 - 10:48 PM.

[Gminor]

Supplementing tyrosine will only further desensitize and oxidize your dopamine system. Enough tyrosine can be obtained from foods. Best just to reduce your orgasm frequency to twice monthly; after a few months your brain will restore itself to a more normal state.

I sure hope so. Thanks for the info

I have read many articles regarding meditation and refrain from PMO (porn, masturbation and orgasm).
You could drive your intense sexual drive into energy to empower yourself, be it creative or intellectual.
You can find many ways to curb the sex drive into something else.
Else, start by deciding the days on which you want/need to let it off. Then reduce them.

I'll be sure to research this! Thanks

[molecular joy]

I don't know how you'd wear out your dopamine with music, but for sure with porn and masturbation it's absolutely doable. There's a couple of TED Talks on the effects of porn on the human brain, erectile dysfunction (at 20-30, not 50-60 and above) and so that's a good way to wreck some things in one's head for a while.

 

I don't think you have an addiction, as much as a lack of other awesome things to do, that you genuinely feel engaged and empowered by. 

 

What do you like to do most in life? What energizes your while body into action? We know things like tits and fresh tasty girls, that's awesome and normal. Plow through that like there's no tomorrow. But what else? Hobbies, passions, what are you deeply passionate about?

[Gminor]

I don't know how you'd wear out your dopamine with music, but for sure with porn and masturbation it's absolutely doable. There's a couple of TED Talks on the effects of porn on the human brain, erectile dysfunction (at 20-30, not 50-60 and above) and so that's a good way to wreck some things in one's head for a while.

I don't think you have an addiction, as much as a lack of other awesome things to do, that you genuinely feel engaged and empowered by.

What do you like to do most in life? What energizes your while body into action? We know things like tits and fresh tasty girls, that's awesome and normal. Plow through that like there's no tomorrow. But what else? Hobbies, passions, what are you deeply passionate about?

I used to play guitar and tennis everyday because I loved it. I still do these things but they don't feel nearly as enjoyable. Same with every other activity I do now

[gamesguru]

Could be depression, with a genetic basis, and have little to do with sex addiction (though still best to limit your pleasure to twice monthly, at most twice weekly). Symptoms of depression often become obvious around age 20, and include not seeing a meaning in or enjoying daily activities, but typically there are other symptoms too: feeling helpless, angry, or just hating yourself. If quitting masturbation doesn't resolve your anhedonia, you should probably get a doctor's opinion. In treating depression, fish oil and saffron are the main supplemental choices, with SSRIs being the main pharmaceutical choice.

[molecular joy]

 

 

I used to play guitar and tennis everyday because I loved it. I still do these things but they don't feel nearly as enjoyable. Same with every other activity I do now 

 

That's perfectly normal, our preferences evolve and change over time. If we don't stop to actually look what BRAND NEW things give us the most pleasure now (as opposed to last week, last year) then continuing to do the same thing over and over will indeed reduce enjoyment. 

 

It's not a sign there's anything wrong with you, it's a sign that you need to do new things.

 

Question: If you think about it right now, right this second, what would you enjoy more? Give me a few answers off the top of your head. What comes to mind, directly without thinking?

[Gminor]

I used to play guitar and tennis everyday because I loved it. I still do these things but they don't feel nearly as enjoyable. Same with every other activity I do now

That's perfectly normal, our preferences evolve and change over time. If we don't stop to actually look what BRAND NEW things give us the most pleasure now (as opposed to last week, last year) then continuing to do the same thing over and over will indeed reduce enjoyment.

It's not a sign there's anything wrong with you, it's a sign that you need to do new things.

Question: If you think about it right now, right this second, what would you enjoy more? Give me a few answers off the top of your head. What comes to mind, directly without thinking?

I have tried many different activities. There is nothing I can think of that will be enjoyable.

Could be depression, with a genetic basis, and have little to do with sex addiction (though still best to limit your pleasure to twice monthly, at most twice weekly). Symptoms of depression often become obvious around age 20, and include not seeing a meaning in or enjoying daily activities, but typically there are other symptoms too: feeling helpless, angry, or just hating yourself. If quitting masturbation doesn't resolve your anhedonia, you should probably get a doctor's opinion. In treating depression, fish oil and saffron are the main supplemental choices, with SSRIs being the main pharmaceutical choice.

I've tried many supplements and even paxil all of which did not work

[molecular joy]

 

 

I have tried many different activities. There is nothing I can think of that will be enjoyable.

 

Ok, I guess I'll have to bring out the big guns on this one. At the risk of sounding like a complete goner, I'll bring'em out. Has to be done 

 

https://www.youtube....EckGv-o#t=0m16s

 

This may sound like complete hogwash for more square, in-the-head kind of people. I however have been living it for a couple of years now, with absolutely glorious results. Endless adventure, fun, friends, girls, growth and so on. There is no way to be sitting on a chair, remain disconnected and keep thinking in-the-head about how this could work. You either put your movement and energy in, or you don't get the cookie. 

 

There's nothing you should "think of" (in your head). That's absolutely not the place to go. You should be looking in your body. What puts fire to your balls to actually get up and do it? What did you always want to do, but maybe you've not done it, because other people thought it was not cool or whatever? 

 

As long as you're alive, you have this available to you. Look inside, or look inside your present moment visual field, and ask, what's most awesome to do RIGHT NOW? THen do it, then see what next. Even a day of this will prove to you that you have PLENTY of pleasure and passion available. 

 

The moment you lose it is when, instead of DOING the thing you want to do now, you start pondering and thinking about tomorrow, how does this connect, etc. YOu don't need to know how it connects. Do it and be engaged, or sit on the sideline asking why you feel disengaged. 

[kurdishfella]

could be excess inflammation 

[Paravani]

As a lifelong sufferer of depression and malaise -- basically what you are describing, minus the porn addiction -- I have found that supplementing to raise my serotonin and dopamine levels helps a LOT.

 

I take 100 mg of 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) twice daily to raise my serotonin levels.

I take 1000 mg of Mucuna Priuriens extract, standardized to 20% L-Dopa -- that's 200mg of L-Dopa -- also twice daily, with perhaps a third dose mid-afternoon if I'm feeling down.

In order for my body and brain to efficiently convert these supplements into serotonin and dopamine, every morning I also take 100mg of P-5-P, a form of vitamin B6 that's easier for the body to process and eliminate.  

 

DO NOT INCREASE THESE DOSAGES WITHOUT CONSULTING A DOCTOR!

 

Both dopamine and serotonin are essential neurotransmitters, but it IS possible to overdose on them with very serious consequences.  Also, if your body doesn't have enough vitamin B-6 to use the supplements, you may find your mood suddenly crashing due to a shortage of one or the other.

 

So if you decide to try these supplements, bear in mind that the B-6 isn't optional, and don't overdose on them because too much of the "feel-good" chemicals in your body DOESN'T actually feel good, and way too much can kill you.  

 

If your malaise persists in spite of supplementation, please seek the advice of a competent therapist.  They really can help.