Lots of people talk about their experience with Modafinil. YouTube has no shortage of people discussing how it affected them, how productive they were while taking it, and what it was like to stop taking it.
And among those people, you often find the story of folks running into a depressive effect, for a week, two, or three after taking Modafinil for a few weeks or more.
While no one really knows why that happens, it could have to do with the neurotransmitter Dopamine. It could have to do with Serotonin. Heck, it could have to do with GABA. All of those NT’s are modulated, looking at the mechanisms of Modafinil.
But what you don’t often hear about is people’s experiences with that NOT happening, and perhaps, why. Enter my experience…
Taking Modafinil for 40 days straight.
I took Modafinil, everyday, in medium dose quantities (30-75MG), for about 40 days. It might have been 38, but it was close to 40, with no breaks. I dosed it first thing in the morning, before breakfast. I drank a cup or two of coffee in the ensuing hours, and was on my way.
Virtually every one of those days, I was exceptionally productive. I’m productive, typically, anyway, but Modafinil intensified it.
But when I stopped taking it, I was concerned a bit about the notion of becoming depressed for a few weeks after stopping, based on all that I had heard from friends in the nootropics community, and people’s experiences on the web.
I talked to a pal of mine named John Mitchell, who owns a company called Hapi, which makes a nootropic called “Flow,” that they sell in Australia, that has great reviews, and he mentioned that he is one of those folks that experiences a depressive effect for a week or two after taking Modafinil for anywhere above a 2 week period.
And many other people report the same experience. But not me. Not me at all.
Instead, as I explain below in the video, my experience cycling off of Modafinil after taking it for about 40 days was nothing remarkable. I shifted right back into where I typically am, which is a super positive, super happy self. I had literally zero withdrawal symptoms, zero side effects, and nothing out of the ordinary.
But why? Had I bulletproofed my brain from depression via other things I’ve woven into the fabric of my life? Well, maybe.
I:
- Meditate
- Sleep well as much as I can
- Read and listen to success/positive psychology literature/content.
- Am always looking toward the future, to do something great, build something new, and make more of myself.
- Am one of the most positive guys I know, and I’ve been that way SINCE I started meditating 8 years ago.
So while Modafinil may have had the capacity to leave me in a depressed state as as withdrawal effect, it didn’t. And I suspect that’s because I’ve done other things to my brain over the years, which we know have measurable effects, that may have protected me from such a state.