• HEALTH & RECOVERY
    Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules Thread Directory 1 Thread Directory 2
    Mindfulness Links Addiction & Mind
    Sober Living Partner Program (SLiPP)
  • H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist | cdin | Lil'LinaptkSix

Need Help So uh... how 'bout that anhedonia?

Fornax55

Fornax55

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 17, 2010
Messages
466
I seem to have developed anhedonia as the result of polydrug abuse over the last decade.

I've had a few sober stints, the longest completely, dead-ass, no-drinking-no-smoking-nothing sober stint I've had was about two weeks. My "abstinent" periods, i.e. not using my problem drugs (heroin/opioids) have varied between 6 months to two years, albeit I generally use kratom during those periods.

So basically constant dopaminergic stimulation for like 10 years. I felt great during that 2 week period, that was about 4 years ago now. Recently I've been trying to sober up and I just feel like absolute shit. Like, dead tired, can't find pleasure in anything, can't get up the energy to go to the damn washroom half the time (whatchu know about pissin' in the sink baby)

So I'm interested to know what anyone's done to help improve their symptoms of anhedonia. I'm working on building up an exercise routine, starting with just 2-3 pushups because that's pretty much all I can muster, and short walks.

"Time will heal all." I know that, but I have a life to live here. In fact the last 2 years I've never done drugs to get fucked up. I do it because they allow me the energy and focus that I need to accomplish my goals. I dunno if it's the 'norm' for someone to go score fentanyl so that they can hit the library, study, and buy materials for building a garden but that about sums up why I use drugs. I'm in school, but it's only once a month at an intensive. Which is tough because usually I end up relapsing or doing something to keep me functional during those few days which throws a rock in my progress.

Anyway sorry this isn't about me, it's about anhedonia. Anyone have any experience overcoming it? In my decades of research I've settled on a few supplements that seem to help; one is rhodiola, which is fucking amazing and always has been. I've ordered some Tongkat Ali and forskolin, both of which seem to have some promising effects.

I also took Sam-E for my first time today and that seemed to perk me up pretty good - just enough to actually start some new routines, give myself something to focus on.

Anyone else wanna share their experience?
 
unfortunately i have no advice re supplements or anything. i found the worst part of anhedonia passed very quickly for me, while i was still in rehab. my experience seems to match those of other people who've totally fucked their dopamine systems to the extent you can't smile or laugh. if you can remain fully abstinent for 1-2 months you should see a huge improvement.

other than that, exercise is great, eat healthy, sleep properly, you know the drill. give your body and mind the best possible conditions for healng.

and put your recovery before everything else in your life. if you don't, you'll lose everything else in your life to your drug use, even if you feel like you've got it in control now. addiction doesn't care if you got shit to do, in fact if you use that as your excuse to use, then it fucking loves it.
 
Fornax55 said:
I seem to have developed anhedonia as the result of polydrug abuse over the last decade.

I've had a few sober stints, the longest completely, dead-ass, no-drinking-no-smoking-nothing sober stint I've had was about two weeks. My "abstinent" periods, i.e. not using my problem drugs (heroin/opioids) have varied between 6 months to two years, albeit I generally use kratom during those periods.

So basically constant dopaminergic stimulation for like 10 years. I felt great during that 2 week period, that was about 4 years ago now. Recently I've been trying to sober up and I just feel like absolute shit. Like, dead tired, can't find pleasure in anything, can't get up the energy to go to the damn washroom half the time (whatchu know about pissin' in the sink baby)

So I'm interested to know what anyone's done to help improve their symptoms of anhedonia. I'm working on building up an exercise routine, starting with just 2-3 pushups because that's pretty much all I can muster, and short walks.

"Time will heal all." I know that, but I have a life to live here. In fact the last 2 years I've never done drugs to get fucked up. I do it because they allow me the energy and focus that I need to accomplish my goals. I dunno if it's the 'norm' for someone to go score fentanyl so that they can hit the library, study, and buy materials for building a garden but that about sums up why I use drugs. I'm in school, but it's only once a month at an intensive. Which is tough because usually I end up relapsing or doing something to keep me functional during those few days which throws a rock in my progress.

Anyway sorry this isn't about me, it's about anhedonia. Anyone have any experience overcoming it? In my decades of research I've settled on a few supplements that seem to help; one is rhodiola, which is fucking amazing and always has been. I've ordered some Tongkat Ali and forskolin, both of which seem to have some promising effects.

I also took Sam-E for my first time today and that seemed to perk me up pretty good - just enough to actually start some new routines, give myself something to focus on.

Anyone else wanna share their experience?
Click to expand...
Ashwagandha will help with your energy levels. Same for tyrosine, the free form amino acid taken on an empty stomach in the a.m. While 5-HTP is a metabolic intermediate to serotonin synthesis. Derived from Griffonia seeds, this natural amino acid works better than Prozac and without the sexual side effects common to SRI drugs. It tends to be more calming and is better taken in the evening for that reason.

But the answer you probably don't want to hear comes from Joseph Campbell, whose advice to young people was follow your bliss.

Anhedonia is one of those fancy words that make psychiatrists seem smart. I don't doubt your self diagnosis, only think it's premature because how do you know unless you're clean for at least 3 to 6 months, and really up to a year if you truly want to find out.

I have a working relationship with kratom which hasn't impacted my ability to experience joy. However perhaps because I've been through the wringer so many times I'm less tempted perhaps than you to relapse, and so I'm in a holding pattern and many days go by when I don't have a cup of coffee but few in which I don't have at least a little kratom.

But I had a 5-year period when I did not take anything except coffee, tea and an occasional glass of wine with dinner. And I was happier than I am now. I did a lot of volunteering in the program and it was things like going back to the hospital where I had been in a locked Ward but this time as the person who brought the message of AA to the alcoholic/addict still suffering. It felt really good
 
Well..you got this way the same old way and you get over it the same old way basically..Time and staying clean. If there were an instant cure I'm pretty sure everyone and their uncles would be screaming it from the rooftops by now.
 
If anyone's interesting I actually found a routine of exercises that has helped immensely with my anhedonia and fatigue. I was skeptical when starting it as it's often touted with names like "the fountain of youth," and I almost wrote it off entirely but it seemed like a simple way to get my body into a regular exercise routine and I left myself open to the possibility of being a yogic routine, it might help clear my mind a bit.

The results have been absolutely profound and life-changing, leading not only to clarity of mind but reinvigoration of my body. I've also regained my old perspective and can now see the outlandishness of my addiction and catch my cravings before they take over.

The shift was pretty drastic. Over the last month, during my off-days from drugs I would 100% of the time be gobbling down supplements and kratom before spending the night mindlessly scrolling / watching porn until I could finally pass out. After doing these exercises I went to go to the same but instead found myself standing at the window, ruminating on the root cause of my addiction and emotional duress for several hours and comingto some very profound conclusions.

It was only when I awoke the next morning that I realized how drastic a shift this had been from my usual nightly routine. I've kept up with the exercises since and have cleared out a great deal of mental fluff, learned to recognize the voice of my addiction, developed an appetite for the first time in months, and regained enough focus and clarity to enjoy reading and studying again. I still struggle with some fatigue and lethargy but it's much more manageable than what I'd been experiencing over the last few weeks. Now I'm at about the level I would expect after the length/intensity of my recent binge (which wasn't bad at all).

I wrote a huge post about it over here on Reddit.
 
Fornax55 said:
If anyone's interesting I actually found a routine of exercises that has helped immensely with my anhedonia and fatigue. I was skeptical when starting it as it's often touted with names like "the fountain of youth," and I almost wrote it off entirely but it seemed like a simple way to get my body into a regular exercise routine and I left myself open to the possibility of being a yogic routine, it might help clear my mind a bit.

The results have been absolutely profound and life-changing, leading not only to clarity of mind but reinvigoration of my body. I've also regained my old perspective and can now see the outlandishness of my addiction and catch my cravings before they take over.

The shift was pretty drastic. Over the last month, during my off-days from drugs I would 100% of the time be gobbling down supplements and kratom before spending the night mindlessly scrolling / watching porn until I could finally pass out. After doing these exercises I went to go to the same but instead found myself standing at the window, ruminating on the root cause of my addiction and emotional duress for several hours and comingto some very profound conclusions.

It was only when I awoke the next morning that I realized how drastic a shift this had been from my usual nightly routine. I've kept up with the exercises since and have cleared out a great deal of mental fluff, learned to recognize the voice of my addiction, developed an appetite for the first time in months, and regained enough focus and clarity to enjoy reading and studying again. I still struggle with some fatigue and lethargy but it's much more manageable than what I'd been experiencing over the last few weeks. Now I'm at about the level I would expect after the length/intensity of my recent binge (which wasn't bad at all).

I wrote a huge post about it over here on Reddit.
Click to expand...
what's reddit
 
Fornax55 said:
If anyone's interesting I actually found a routine of exercises that has helped immensely with my anhedonia and fatigue. I was skeptical when starting it as it's often touted with names like "the fountain of youth," and I almost wrote it off entirely but it seemed like a simple way to get my body into a regular exercise routine and I left myself open to the possibility of being a yogic routine, it might help clear my mind a bit.

The results have been absolutely profound and life-changing, leading not only to clarity of mind but reinvigoration of my body. I've also regained my old perspective and can now see the outlandishness of my addiction and catch my cravings before they take over.

The shift was pretty drastic. Over the last month, during my off-days from drugs I would 100% of the time be gobbling down supplements and kratom before spending the night mindlessly scrolling / watching porn until I could finally pass out. After doing these exercises I went to go to the same but instead found myself standing at the window, ruminating on the root cause of my addiction and emotional duress for several hours and comingto some very profound conclusions.

It was only when I awoke the next morning that I realized how drastic a shift this had been from my usual nightly routine. I've kept up with the exercises since and have cleared out a great deal of mental fluff, learned to recognize the voice of my addiction, developed an appetite for the first time in months, and regained enough focus and clarity to enjoy reading and studying again. I still struggle with some fatigue and lethargy but it's much more manageable than what I'd been experiencing over the last few weeks. Now I'm at about the level I would expect after the length/intensity of my recent binge (which wasn't bad at all).

I wrote a huge post about it over here on Reddit.
Click to expand...

You might of said in the reddit post what it was you were doing, summarized in a sentence like, "and this involves holding x number of poses for x amount of times" etc

Personally i do Tibetan rights but i do it in italian 🤌🏻, for instance:

 
For the couple of episodes of anhedonia I had from quitting anti-psychotics abruptly once and again after quitting meth after a particularly long binge I just forced myself to go the pool every day and swim laps while listening to music on a waterproof MP3 player.

Over about a month I went from feeling hopelessly listless, bored, and worthless to feeling ready to take on the world again. After the first two weeks when I had more energy I thew in a daily hot yoga session ad well that really helped.
 
Perforated said:
For the couple of episodes of anhedonia I had from quitting anti-psychotics abruptly once and again after quitting meth after a particularly long binge I just forced myself to go the pool every day and swim laps while listening to music on a waterproof MP3 player.

Over about a month I went from feeling hopelessly listless, bored, and worthless to feeling ready to take on the world again. After the first two weeks when I had more energy I thew in a daily hot yoga session ad well that really helped.
Click to expand...
Doc Perf with the holistic advice. Thank you. So are we a go to transmit that desoxyn script?
 
Last edited:
I have suffered from anhedonia for the past 10-12 years. Even when I’m in a good place romantically, it still exists. But to be truthful, I have no exercise routine. I’m hoping this is the magic pill to get me back to where I once was.
 
Fiori di Bella said:
I have suffered from anhedonia for the past 10-12 years. Even when I’m in a good place romantically, it still exists. But to be truthful, I have no exercise routine. I’m hoping this is the magic pill to get me back to where I once was.
Click to expand...
I'm right there with ya! Also, if once in awhile, life could just take a tiny lil break from being so "life-ey", I feel I'd be golden.. I will keep good thoughts for you-- hang in there and much luck🙂💗🌻
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top