u/soulcarpet

A lot of nootropic discussions focus on what to add next, but I’m curious about people who went in the opposite direction.

Did you ever remove several things from your stack and end up feeling clearer, more consistent, or less anxious? Maybe the individual supplements were helping, but tracking doses, side effects, and interactions became a problem of its own.

What did your stack look like before, what did you remove, and what did you decide was actually worth keeping?

Someone told me that and I’d like to know if it’s actually true

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.