Holiday Overstimulation: How the Season Hijacks Your Dopamine—And What Your Brain Actually Needs

If December leaves you anxious, numb, restless, or overwhelmed, your brain is not malfunctioning. It’s responding to a season that pushes your dopamine system into overdrive. In this episode, I show you how holiday pressure, comparison posts, sugar and alcohol spikes, bright lights, noise, and overloaded schedules shift your nervous system from a state of regulation into survival mode.

Overstimulation isn’t just emotional. It’s neurological. When your reward pathways fire too rapidly, the prefrontal cortex can’t keep up, and your stress tolerance drops fast. That’s when small tasks feel big, social interactions drain you, and you lose the motivation and presence you normally rely on.

You will learn what this miswiring looks like on a brain map, why December triggers hyperarousal and shutdown, and how simple, intentional rhythms can bring your system back into balance. Slow dopamine, safe sensory input, daily rituals, and micro-moments of quiet are not luxuries this time of year — they are medicine for an overstimulated brain.

If you want to see your own brain’s stress patterns and learn how to restore regulation, visit drtrishleigh.com to get your Brain Map and begin rewiring for calm, clarity, and connection this season.

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Hi. I am Dr. Trish Leigh, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, and Sex Addiction Recovery Coach. I am on a mission to help people heal their brains from porn use.
My podcasts are designed to help you learn that:
🎯Porn Damages Your Brain,
🎯Porn Impairs Your Mental and Physical Health, and
🎯Porn Destroys Your Relationships.

Subscribe to this channel for 🧠 tips to:
✅Quit Porn for Good
✅Heal Your Brain from Porn
✅Get Motivated in Your Life
✅Repair Your Mental & Physical Health
✅Heal Erectile Dysfunction

If you need more help, I can work directly with you.
Check out the programs below.
https://drtrishleigh.com/

Donate to Porn Brain Prevention, the nonprofit to help teens avoid porn addiction below:
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The Neuroscience of Flow: Why Stillness Fuels Your Dopamine

If you feel overstimulated, tense, or stuck in control mode, your brain is not the problem. It’s your rhythm. In this episode, I show you how your nervous system shifts from chaos to coherence when you stop forcing and start flowing.

Flow is not a mindset. It’s a biological state in which your brain waves, heart rhythm, and emotional circuits sync. When that harmony returns, your dopamine stabilizes, your focus strengthens, and you feel fully present again.

You will learn what flow looks like on a brain scan, why stillness creates clarity, and how simple rhythms in your breath and body can bring you back into balance.

If you want to see your own brain’s rhythm and learn how to restore it, visit drtrishleigh.com to get your Brain Map and begin rewiring for coherence.

Send us a text

Support the show

Hi. I am Dr. Trish Leigh, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, and Sex Addiction Recovery Coach. I am on a mission to help people heal their brains from porn use.
My podcasts are designed to help you learn that:
🎯Porn Damages Your Brain,
🎯Porn Impairs Your Mental and Physical Health, and
🎯Porn Destroys Your Relationships.

Subscribe to this channel for 🧠 tips to:
✅Quit Porn for Good
✅Heal Your Brain from Porn
✅Get Motivated in Your Life
✅Repair Your Mental & Physical Health
✅Heal Erectile Dysfunction

If you need more help, I can work directly with you.
Check out the programs below.
https://drtrishleigh.com/

Donate to Porn Brain Prevention, the nonprofit to help teens avoid porn addiction below:
https://pornbrainprevention.org/

Let's Connect! Check out my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Drtrishleigh

#quitporn #pornaddiction #drtrishleigh #pornaddictionrecovery #pornbrainrewire #controlyourbrain #braintraining #trishleigh #nofap #pornkillslove #mindoverporn #monkmode #drleigh #pornaddict #pornaddictionsideeffects #addictedtoporn #cantstopmasturbating #recovery #recoveryjourney #addictionrecovery #recoverycoach #drtrishleigh #monkmode #addiction #pornbrainprevention #pornbrainprograms #releasetoquitporn #howtoquitporn

Every time you scroll, your brain learns one thing: distraction feels safer than stillness.

In this episode, Dr. Trish Leigh explains the real dopamine hijack happening in modern life, the overstimulating, engineered world that keeps your nervous system running on urgency, novelty, and noise.

As part of No Numb November, you will learn why ancient dopamine wiring struggles in a saturation-based world, how the scroll–spike–crash loop reshapes your reward circuits, why peace feels “boring” and stillness feels unsafe, what high-beta chaos looks like on a brain map, and how to move from quick dopamine highs into steady, grounded clarity.

Dr. Leigh also shares her own story of burnout and the moment she realized the issue was not a lack of willpower but a pattern of miswiring shaped by modern overstimulation.

Neuroscientist Explains the Dopamine Hijack: How Modern Life Miswires You 👉 If you are ready to calm the chaos in your mind and bring your system back into balance, you can explore a Brain Map or neurofeedback plan at drtrishleigh.com to see exactly where your brain is strained or drained.

If you are caught in the dopamine loop or facing NoFap setbacks, the masterclass on the site offers the structure and support your nervous system has been needing. You can also find thousands of free videos on YouTube to help you feel more regulated, grounded, and in control of your life.

When you learn how to work with your brain, everything begins to change!

Send us a text

Support the show

Hi. I am Dr. Trish Leigh, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, and Sex Addiction Recovery Coach. I am on a mission to help people heal their brains from porn use.
My podcasts are designed to help you learn that:
🎯Porn Damages Your Brain,
🎯Porn Impairs Your Mental and Physical Health, and
🎯Porn Destroys Your Relationships.

Subscribe to this channel for 🧠 tips to:
✅Quit Porn for Good
✅Heal Your Brain from Porn
✅Get Motivated in Your Life
✅Repair Your Mental & Physical Health
✅Heal Erectile Dysfunction

If you need more help, I can work directly with you.
Check out the programs below.
https://drtrishleigh.com/

Donate to Porn Brain Prevention, the nonprofit to help teens avoid porn addiction below:
https://pornbrainprevention.org/

Let's Connect! Check out my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Drtrishleigh

#quitporn #pornaddiction #drtrishleigh #pornaddictionrecovery #pornbrainrewire #controlyourbrain #braintraining #trishleigh #nofap #pornkillslove #mindoverporn #monkmode #drleigh #pornaddict #pornaddictionsideeffects #addictedtoporn #cantstopmasturbating #recovery #recoveryjourney #addictionrecovery #recoverycoach #drtrishleigh #monkmode #addiction #pornbrainprevention #pornbrainprograms #releasetoquitporn #howtoquitporn

Neuroscientist Explains Why You Can’t “Fix” Your Dopamine

You’ve tried to fix yourself — more routines, more tracking, more control. But neuroscience shows what you’re really chasing isn’t progress… it’s another dopamine hit.

When you constantly tweak, check, or perfect, your brain lights up — not from growth, but from anticipation. That’s why stillness feels unsafe. You’ve trained your nervous system to equate safety with activity.

Real discipline isn’t about doing more. It’s about learning to trust your brain’s rhythm again. When you loosen your mental grip, your system finds harmony — the state where dopamine balances and focus flows naturally.

If you’ve been tightening every string trying to hold your life together, this episode will help you tune instead of tense. Because peace isn’t passive — it’s powerful.

🧠 Get your Brain Map at drtrishleigh.com to see how your control circuits are firing — and how to rewire them for clarity, calm, and authentic motivation.

Send us a text

Support the show

Hi. I am Dr. Trish Leigh, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, and Sex Addiction Recovery Coach. I am on a mission to help people heal their brains from porn use.
My podcasts are designed to help you learn that:
🎯Porn Damages Your Brain,
🎯Porn Impairs Your Mental and Physical Health, and
🎯Porn Destroys Your Relationships.

Subscribe to this channel for 🧠 tips to:
✅Quit Porn for Good
✅Heal Your Brain from Porn
✅Get Motivated in Your Life
✅Repair Your Mental & Physical Health
✅Heal Erectile Dysfunction

If you need more help, I can work directly with you.
Check out the programs below.
https://drtrishleigh.com/

Donate to Porn Brain Prevention, the nonprofit to help teens avoid porn addiction below:
https://pornbrainprevention.org/

Let's Connect! Check out my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Drtrishleigh

#quitporn #pornaddiction #drtrishleigh #pornaddictionrecovery #pornbrainrewire #controlyourbrain #braintraining #trishleigh #nofap #pornkillslove #mindoverporn #monkmode #drleigh #pornaddict #pornaddictionsideeffects #addictedtoporn #cantstopmasturbating #recovery #recoveryjourney #addictionrecovery #recoverycoach #drtrishleigh #monkmode #addiction #pornbrainprevention #pornbrainprograms #releasetoquitporn #howtoquitporn

You quit everything — screens, stimulation, even connection — thinking it would make you feel alive again.
But three weeks into your dopamine detox, you feel worse. Numb. Flat. Drained.

That’s not failure — it’s feedback. Your brain isn’t broken; it’s withdrawing.
When you’ve spent years wired for constant novelty, cutting dopamine off doesn’t regulate your system — it crashes it.
Your neurons go silent, your motivation disappears, and your nervous system panics in the quiet.

The truth? You don’t need dopamine abstinence. You need dopamine regulation.
Discipline without regulation is deprivation. But discipline with understanding becomes freedom.

Neuroscientist Explains the Hidden Cost of Dopamine Abstinence 💻 Visit drtrishleigh.com to get your Brain Map and start rewiring for balance, focus, and peace.

Send us a text

Support the show

Hi. I am Dr. Trish Leigh, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, and Sex Addiction Recovery Coach. I am on a mission to help people heal their brains from porn use.
My podcasts are designed to help you learn that:
🎯Porn Damages Your Brain,
🎯Porn Impairs Your Mental and Physical Health, and
🎯Porn Destroys Your Relationships.

Subscribe to this channel for 🧠 tips to:
✅Quit Porn for Good
✅Heal Your Brain from Porn
✅Get Motivated in Your Life
✅Repair Your Mental & Physical Health
✅Heal Erectile Dysfunction

If you need more help, I can work directly with you.
Check out the programs below.
https://drtrishleigh.com/

Donate to Porn Brain Prevention, the nonprofit to help teens avoid porn addiction below:
https://pornbrainprevention.org/

Let's Connect! Check out my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Drtrishleigh

#quitporn #pornaddiction #drtrishleigh #pornaddictionrecovery #pornbrainrewire #controlyourbrain #braintraining #trishleigh #nofap #pornkillslove #mindoverporn #monkmode #drleigh #pornaddict #pornaddictionsideeffects #addictedtoporn #cantstopmasturbating #recovery #recoveryjourney #addictionrecovery #recoverycoach #drtrishleigh #monkmode #addiction #pornbrainprevention #pornbrainprograms #releasetoquitporn #howtoquitporn

You’ve seen dopamine everywhere—on shirts, mugs, even tattoos—but the real issue isn’t “more dopamine,” it’s imbalance. In a world wired for novelty—clicks, explicit matter, endless goals—your brain learns compulsion, not clarity. Dopamine was meant to be a teacher, not a trophy.

This November isn’t just NoFap—it’s No Numb November. Because the problem isn’t only the behavior, it’s the numbing your nervous system keeps chasing. When you quit cold turkey, the stimulation stops, but your circuitry is still revving—so you feel flat, anxious, or relapse. That’s not weakness; it’s withdrawal from artificial dopamine spikes.

On brain maps, I see red chaos in the reward circuits—your striatum and prefrontal cortex firing too fast and out of sync. That’s the loop of chasing → crashing → chasing again. The wake-up call often comes as ED (Erectile Dysfunction) or SAD (Sexual Arousal Dysfunction). You can’t out-discipline a dysregulated brain—you must rewire the rhythm.

That means balancing dopamine with serotonin for joy and oxytocin for connection, detoxing digital noise, and “dopamine stacking” from real life—connection, purpose, fun, and meaningful work. If it’s not scheduled, it’s not real.

Neuroscientist Explains Why No Numb November (& NoFap) Doesn’t Work — and What Does 👉 Watch Full Episode 1 — The Real Reason NoFap Fails (and How to Rewire Instead) — and let me guide you out of the dopamine hijack into supernormal living, where calm creates clarity and clarity creates freedom.

Send us a text

Support the show

Hi. I am Dr. Trish Leigh, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, and Sex Addiction Recovery Coach. I am on a mission to help people heal their brains from porn use.
My podcasts are designed to help you learn that:
🎯Porn Damages Your Brain,
🎯Porn Impairs Your Mental and Physical Health, and
🎯Porn Destroys Your Relationships.

Subscribe to this channel for 🧠 tips to:
✅Quit Porn for Good
✅Heal Your Brain from Porn
✅Get Motivated in Your Life
✅Repair Your Mental & Physical Health
✅Heal Erectile Dysfunction

If you need more help, I can work directly with you.
Check out the programs below.
https://drtrishleigh.com/

Donate to Porn Brain Prevention, the nonprofit to help teens avoid porn addiction below:
https://pornbrainprevention.org/

Let's Connect! Check out my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Drtrishleigh

#quitporn #pornaddiction #drtrishleigh #pornaddictionrecovery #pornbrainrewire #controlyourbrain #braintraining #trishleigh #nofap #pornkillslove #mindoverporn #monkmode #drleigh #pornaddict #pornaddictionsideeffects #addictedtoporn #cantstopmasturbating #recovery #recoveryjourney #addictionrecovery #recoverycoach #drtrishleigh #monkmode #addiction #pornbrainprevention #pornbrainprograms #releasetoquitporn #howtoquitporn

You think you’re just catching up—but suddenly your chest tightens, your breath shortens, and your brain whispers, “You’re not enough.” That’s not a lack of discipline. It’s a nervous system hijack. 🧠

Every scroll trains your brain to crave stimulation instead of stillness and comparison instead of contentment. This is the digital envy loop—a dopamine-driven trap that floods you with pleasure and shame all at once, leaving you restless, anxious, and disconnected from your true worth.

But here’s the truth: you’re not broken. Your brain has just been baited. You can rewire it—pause before you scroll, rebuild real reward through creation, and reclaim stillness as your superpower. 🌿

Stay here with me in this podcast episode as I show you how to take your power back from the algorithm and reconnect with your sacred self.

And if you want deeper help retraining your brain from overstimulation, I can help you—visit drtrishleigh.com.

Send us a text

Support the show

Hi. I am Dr. Trish Leigh, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, and Sex Addiction Recovery Coach. I am on a mission to help people heal their brains from porn use.
My podcasts are designed to help you learn that:
🎯Porn Damages Your Brain,
🎯Porn Impairs Your Mental and Physical Health, and
🎯Porn Destroys Your Relationships.

Subscribe to this channel for 🧠 tips to:
✅Quit Porn for Good
✅Heal Your Brain from Porn
✅Get Motivated in Your Life
✅Repair Your Mental & Physical Health
✅Heal Erectile Dysfunction

If you need more help, I can work directly with you.
Check out the programs below.
https://drtrishleigh.com/

Donate to Porn Brain Prevention, the nonprofit to help teens avoid porn addiction below:
https://pornbrainprevention.org/

Let's Connect! Check out my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Drtrishleigh

#quitporn #pornaddiction #drtrishleigh #pornaddictionrecovery #pornbrainrewire #controlyourbrain #braintraining #trishleigh #nofap #pornkillslove #mindoverporn #monkmode #drleigh #pornaddict #pornaddictionsideeffects #addictedtoporn #cantstopmasturbating #recovery #recoveryjourney #addictionrecovery #recoverycoach #drtrishleigh #monkmode #addiction #pornbrainprevention #pornbrainprograms #releasetoquitporn #howtoquitporn

The Dopamine Illusion — Why Pleasure Isn’t the Same as Joy

Your brain isn’t broken—it’s been tricked into chasing quick dopamine spikes and calling them happiness. That’s the illusion. Every swipe, scroll, and surge of stimulation rewires your reward circuits, dulling the calm rhythm of your mind—the peak alpha state where real joy and creativity live.

But here’s the hope: your brain is neuroplastic. It can change, grow, and heal when given the right input. Through stillness, intention, and the right kind of rewiring, pleasure becomes purpose again—and joy returns to its rightful place.

If you’re ready to step out of the dopamine illusion and live a supernormal life, visit drtrishleigh.com to work together with me. I can help you see your brain and create a personalized neurofeedback-guided plan to rewire your pathways. Your brain can change. Your life can expand. I want it for you.

Send us a text

Support the show

Hi. I am Dr. Trish Leigh, a Cognitive Neuroscientist, and Sex Addiction Recovery Coach. I am on a mission to help people heal their brains from porn use.
My podcasts are designed to help you learn that:
🎯Porn Damages Your Brain,
🎯Porn Impairs Your Mental and Physical Health, and
🎯Porn Destroys Your Relationships.

Subscribe to this channel for 🧠 tips to:
✅Quit Porn for Good
✅Heal Your Brain from Porn
✅Get Motivated in Your Life
✅Repair Your Mental & Physical Health
✅Heal Erectile Dysfunction

If you need more help, I can work directly with you.
Check out the programs below.
https://drtrishleigh.com/

Donate to Porn Brain Prevention, the nonprofit to help teens avoid porn addiction below:
https://pornbrainprevention.org/

Let's Connect! Check out my Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Drtrishleigh

#quitporn #pornaddiction #drtrishleigh #pornaddictionrecovery #pornbrainrewire #controlyourbrain #braintraining #trishleigh #nofap #pornkillslove #mindoverporn #monkmode #drleigh #pornaddict #pornaddictionsideeffects #addictedtoporn #cantstopmasturbating #recovery #recoveryjourney #addictionrecovery #recoverycoach #drtrishleigh #monkmode #addiction #pornbrainprevention #pornbrainprograms #releasetoquitporn #howtoquitporn