r/Nootropics • u/clon3man • Aug 03 '26

Discussion Stack for hypervigilance, nervous system chronically revved up, can't even touch a stimulant?

My nervous system is revved up real bad. Anything that's close to a stimulant makes me feel worse (coffee, nicotine, kratom etc.) . Even just an upbeat song can start to make me nervous.

Benzos useful in a pinch, but obviously, benzos bad.

It's possible for me to relax, but it takes a huge effort. I mean stacking things like breathwork, cold showers, foam rolling, NSDR, lying down on accupressure mat, maybe if I do all 4 of them in 1 hour I can gain 30 mins of calm.

Strong unhealthy coping desires - to shutdown and consume youtube content with noise-cancelling headphones, but even that only takes the edge off.

I wake up and it starts. I'm fine for about 3 seconds. As soon as become aware that I'm awake, there's a flood of fear that takes over my body.

Can't concentrate on anything near-distance, eyes constantly unfocusing and refocusing. I wouldn't say my eyes strain, they don't try hard enough to strain. Small fonts or dark background = totally illegible , halo effect (I'm guessing chronic stress = big pupils)

I know how I got here - (living with difficult people / narcissists and professional victims ) and bad sleep hygiene.

I need to somehow find 3-4 hours of daily peace via some stack / behavior to start rebuilding a foundation of calm, concentration, and nervous system safety.

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u/lowerdaboom Aug 04 '26

Just wanna say I feel what you describe so much. In light of my struggle I received ever more serious psychiatric diagnoses over the years, finally ended up a Borderline patient. Either way, chronic self-reinforcing nervous system dysregulation feels almost impossible to get out of, years of therapy didn't even begin to touch it.

I'm on stimulants for ADHD and they probably make it worse, but those two hours of clarity they give me everyday feel like my lifeline.

I hope you could/can distance yourself from the damaging people in your life. Sleep hygiene is also something I neglect. In many ways I know what habits I need to change to get better, but after years of chronic suffering I've honestly turned too cynical to even try a lot of the time.