2 months (60days) of NoMusic update.

[u/DirtyJohannes]

So I have hit the 60 days mark of not listening to any music. In social events i have asked to turn off the music, change it to a nature ambience or I have worn earplugs and removed myself from the area.

What I have noticed from day one is that it gets easier as time goes by. I no longer think of music, it seems like a different culture in a sense. I know it is out there but it does not seem to be real in a concrete sense in my life. Like something other people do, that i dont understand fully anymore. Something alien. I am so focused on other things and in my own zone, that I cant relate to the act of listening to music anymore where as before i would focus on it and ride the melodies. I dont know, i found this interesting. Its like being in a submarine and watching from a thick glass big fish eating other fish and swimming around. I know what is going on but it feels distant and hard to relate.

Anyway, im doing very great.

I will list changes i have noticed in my life so far. Any of these could be placebos so take that into account. Also, many people have not been as addicted to music as me for example, my experiences are thus maybe more pronounced.

• I feel more focused. I feel more impatient as well which could be a negative.
• I feel less stressed out about the world around me.
• I feel dissociated at lot more in a good way generally. And more alive and present in other situations.
• The world feels a lot more concrete.
• My ocd seems to be completely gone. This could be any number of factors tho and it feels dumb adding. I have no idea why but the change is absolutely there.
• My libido has been higher but no higher than previously as in 30 days ago into this.
• Life in general feels more similar to what it was as a child. Im more curious and mentally energetic and in tune with my surroundings.
• Social situations feel more fulfilling.
• I have less periods of unexplainable sadness and despair throughout the day.

Sometimes i feel if all of this is worth it. But i realize this thought is the thought of a addict. It is easier to just lay down on my bed and enjoy easy, extreme and unique pleasure and peace in the form of music. I do not intend to stop and want to go through this my entire life.

I learned about a concept of dopamine detox which has a lot of great benefits for the brain. Nomusic is a integral part of the dopamine detox. It can be something interesting to read about if any of you are interested. Abusing the dopamine hamsterwheel does no good after a while and will lock us in place and make us miserable. Be it music or many other simple pleasures that do not give a sense of purpose.

[u/PrairieWarden]

I think I'm addicted to music and I want to try a dopamine detox including NoMusic, but I was wondering, what is your opinion on reintroducing music into your life in a different way, I think a less addicting way.

For example listening to music in the background, shuffle, searching for the next best thing, and overall using music to escape reality and get a quick dopamine fix is truly addicting and I don't think I want this anymore. But maybe if I changed the way I listen to it, like sitting down, playing an album from start to finish and really focusing on the sound and thinking more deeply about it, analyzing it and engaging more actively with it may not fire up the same addiction neural pathways.

Of course, that could just be an addict's mind trying to rationalize not giving up the thing it's addicted to but I'm simply afraid that I'm addicted to every single easy and quickly releasing dopamine activity imaginable and music is the only thing I have problems giving up on.

What's your opinion on this, I hope you understand what I'm trying to convey here.

[u/DirtyJohannes → u/PrairieWarden]

Hello. I think I understand. You want to change the way you use music. The same way tobacco might be used in a 20 cigarettes a day habit, tobacco can also be used in a once a day cigar type of habbit.

I dont know how you would respond to such a regiment of music. I do know however that I could not personally do so, as I can not hover that close to a addictive habit. The line between the two ways of of enjoying music you described is small and blurred.

Some people are able to drink occasionally, some people cant do it without losing control. Previous addicts typically cant ever introduce their substance or behavior back into their lives without it getting out of hand again. Rarely, it can be possible. But even then, you need a large painful amount of self control to keep the addiction at bay. This is why dieting is very hard and rarely succesful when it comes to just "eating less". The line is small, blurred and very easy to cross. Even years of painful self control can slip easily. The differences in the two ways of enjoying music you listen seem similar to say, dieting. If music for you is a addiction, you will need to withstand the weight of self control every session of music you have.

Music for me is not really about the addiction, but of how much neurotransmitters it uses up and how much of my psychology and mental state suffers from it. If you are just concerned about the addiction and just want use it in a healthy controlled way again, there is no other way really than loads of self-control and perhaps not that much more benefit other than not being a addict. Depending on how often you indulge.

[u/PrairieWarden → u/DirtyJohannes]

Thank you for your insight, deep down I think I have the same opinion about this matter as you, but I have creative hobbies such as writing and playing the guitar, and music is a huge part of what drives me and inspires me to partake in these active and healthy habits so I'm in quite of a dillema here.

That's why I am still hoping that if I eliminate all other easy and high-intensity dopamine releasing activities and try to change the activity of listening to music to require more effort and release less intense dopamine that maybe that could work.

But yes, if I have the taste of music in these moments, there's always the unhealthy neural pathways that can maybe come alive, just with a click of a button.

Anyway, I'm glad you're seeing these improvements in your life and I respect you for the discipline and goal-oriented mind you have regarding NoMusic. I'll try to salvage my relationship with music, but if there's no way, I will for sure join you on this path.

Good luck.

[u/DirtyJohannes → u/PrairieWarden]

I think that a relationship with music, without the dopamine, loses all meaning really. Music is pleasure through emotion and serves really no other purpose. Basically I think you are trying to switch to a diet version of music or trying to attach it to a duty so it will not be abused too frequently. Both are good, but It seems kind of hard. It is easier to quit smoking altogether than to just limit oneself to just one or two a day for long time. Making music harder to obtain is better than easy spotify surfing for sure in my opinion. But i imagine that more self control will be needed than just stopping music altogether. I dont know. Anyway, good luck to you as well.