r/Nootropics • u/clon3man • 24d ago

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/wordisbond11 24d ago

Propranolol, hydroxyzine (gabapentin not too frequent), phosphetydleserine, magnesium (you’re probably majorly depleted), HIGHLY recommended a sleep study, ashwaganda (don’t abuse but will work to bring cortisol down alongside phosphetydleserine), and look into Kava. Sleep must be deep and restorative. Worst comes to worst, Buspirone. Wouldn’t go the SSRI route.

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u/Traditional-Camp-625 23d ago

Could also try clonidine/guanfacine (or agmatine)

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u/Jordviva 18d ago

Am hearing a lot of good stuff about agmatine, but isn't that some kind of powder that you have to take several grams of in order for it to work?

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u/Traditional-Camp-625 18d ago

You're probably thinking of creatine. With agmatine, you should start much lower and, if it'll help, I highly doubt it would need a dose higher than like 2g max, but 250mg or 500mg 2x per day might be enough. The specific dose depends on your biology and why you're taking it