Getting over the "2 week hump"

There's a hidden brain mechanic that, if you aren't ready for it, can make your life a lot harder.

Something that's an unavoidable part of healing.

Literally no way around it.

Thing is, when you're working on resetting your dopamine baseline from things like excessive scrolling, video games, porn, drugs, or other high-dopamine low-effort activities... it's never a perfectly smooth transition. In fact, there's often this "2 week hump" where somewhere around 10-14 days after having quit those behaviors, if you've been a good boy, you can actually start feeling worse than before, temporarily, before things pick back up again.

This is because of something called PAWS - Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome - or more popularly known as the Flatline/Withdrawal phase in the world of quitting porn.

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Let's unpack what's happening in these moments.

That way you can be more prepared if/when it happens to you, and carry on with your journey instead of relapsing.

We'll use porn as the easiest example.

So, you've stopped looking at porn and perhaps dialed down some other behaviors too. Congrats. What happens at that point is your dopamine levels drop far below what you've been accustomed to for a while, which is a good and necessary thing for healing because healing can't happen while the stimuli is still present, but it is undoubtedly uncomfortable for your brain.

Then, around that 10-14 day mark...

It's almost like your brain starts rebelling against the change even more. Throwing a tantrum. Because it starts realizing "Wow, he's really not going back to this... unless..."

But it still wants that dopamine.

So it starts throwing a whole slew of different symptoms your way.

It could be anxiety, depression, loneliness, sadness, brain fog, fatigue, apathy, low motivation, or even things like muscle weakness (because dopamine & our musculoskeletal systems are very much related!). I remember how I actually felt pretty miserable for a while, and was initially caught offguard - like "what gives? I thought I was supposed to feel better from this."

But what has your brain learned over the years?

That when you're experiencing discomfort, you'll reach for those vices.

So it puts you through the ringer of discomfort, temporarily, and tries to push you back into your old ways. This is where your real test begins. The first few days are challenging, but it's this withdrawal phase where things really heat up.

And it's at this point where most guys end up relapsing, even if they were on a good roll.

They convince themselves that they just need a little "pick-me-up" or it'll be "just once" or that they can stop the withdrawals if they give their brain a taste. And yet, if an ex-smoker who quit recently were to have one cigarette just to give themselves a little "relief" from the withdrawal they're going through... what would happen? Everyone knows the answer - it ain't a good idea.

Anyways, you've gotta be mentally prepared to go through the storm.

It's the energetic bill that must be paid for the dopamine deficit you've racked up over the years.

I later learned there are ways to smooth out that experience, though.

And it's at this point where having the right guidance, counselling, support systems and strategies in place becomes absolutely invaluable. If I'd had my own help during that time, I probably would've saved myself a hundred relapses and a couple years of wasted time. But c'est la vie. Can't change the past, but I can change the future for others.

Download the BeFree App today and get the support you need to navigate the 2-week hump successfully.