Protect the Baseline. It Matters More Than Any Peak.
Everyone focuses on the highs. The neuroscience says the opposite is where the game is won. You don't have one level of dopamine. You have a baseline and you have peaks. Peaks feel good briefly and are followed by drops below baseline. Chase enough of them and your baseline drifts downward over weeks and months. This is why people who scroll all day, eat junk food, or lean on any other peak source end up feeling flat even when nothing is technically wrong. The apathy isn't laziness. It's the bill coming due from dopamine you already spent.
The play
For one week, track the two activities that spike your dopamine most: social media, sugar, porn, substances, whatever yours are. Cut them by 80 percent. The first ten days will feel worse — your baseline is rebuilding. After that, normal things start feeling rewarding again. This is the single highest-leverage intervention in the whole protocol.