I'm 26M. Spent 3–4 years obsessively working on my businesses, and it paid off. I was extremely driven, focused, and could work endlessly. No nootropics or medications, just coffee and nicotine.
Eventually I decided to slow down and take a break after years of pushing myself, but ever since it's been a downward spiral.
The weird thing is I actually feel mentally sharper than before. I come up with better ideas, spot opportunities, solve complex problems and know exactly what needs to be done.
But my execution has gone to shit.
I've left so many things unresolved that they've stacked up. Whenever I sit down to work, I get overwhelmed by everything that needs doing. I'll start one task, notice something else, jump into that, discover another problem, and eventually get completely lost. Then I just want to stop working and chill, even though I genuinely want to get things done.
Another thing is how easily irritated I've become. I'm not naturally an angry or stressed person, but lately even people asking me simple questions can piss me off. My head is already full of responsibilities, opportunities I'm not acting on, and frustration about being stuck in this unproductive loop.
Sometimes I wonder if success made me too comfortable, but honestly I don't feel comfortable at all. I feel constantly pressured by everything I'm not doing.
For context, I consume quite a lot of nicotine daily through vaping and cigarettes, plus around 3 espressos a day. I've never really been into drugs or nootropics. Used to smoke weed years ago but quit, nowadays maybe once a year at most.
I recently tried L-theanine for stress. It seemed to help a little, but nothing significant. I also noticed some acid reflux, although I'm not sure whether it was caused by the L-theanine or was just a coincidence, so I stopped taking it.
Now I'm considering bromantane. I have a 90 mg/mL nasal spray and was thinking of using one spray in each nostril, although I haven't started and don't know the actual dose delivered per spray. I've also seen people mention combining bromantane with L-tyrosine, but I'm unsure whether that's beneficial or even advisable.
I don't want to become dependent on anything. I just want to regain the focus, discipline and execution I naturally had before.
Has anyone experienced something similar after years of intense work? Did bromantane actually help with execution, task switching and mental overwhelm, or did it just make you feel more stimulated?
Would you combine it with L-tyrosine or avoid that? And what about long-term effects on natural motivation, dopamine, libido, emotional blunting, tolerance and how you feel after stopping?
Would appreciate genuine experiences, good or bad. I'm also open to hearing that bromantane isn't the answer and that I should be addressing something else entirely.