Dopamine isn’t a simple 1-dimensional axis that moves up or down with drug use. There are many different pathways that use dopamine as their signaling molecule. Some dopamine receptors are involved in recording positive events, while other dopamine pathways record negative events.
The role of dopamine as an answer to all things reward or motivation is greatly exaggerate in the pop-neuroscience articles online. Doing nearly anything goal-oriented or even remotely rewarding is associated with dopaminergic activity.
People also tend to overlook the fact that the stimulants used in ADHD treatment also have significant norepinephrine activity which contributes to their pharmacological effects. Purely dopaminergic drugs often aren’t as energizing as you’d expect. In fact, selective dopamine agonist medications can induce narcolepsy-like symptoms where patients struggle to stay awake due to the complex nature of dopamine activity in the brain.
In your case, it’s possible that you’re naturally motivated but THC is causing disinhibition to override whatever is preventing you from being productive (anxiety). THC is also known for making boring tasks feel interesting, but it’s also known for decreasing motivation and making people feel like they’re accomplishing a lot more than they really are. In other words, it’s not a solution to anything. You’d be well served to spend some time exploring this with a psychiatrist or two.
The role of dopamine as an answer to all things reward or motivation is greatly exaggerate in the pop-neuroscience articles online. Doing nearly anything goal-oriented or even remotely rewarding is associated with dopaminergic activity.
People also tend to overlook the fact that the stimulants used in ADHD treatment also have significant norepinephrine activity which contributes to their pharmacological effects. Purely dopaminergic drugs often aren’t as energizing as you’d expect. In fact, selective dopamine agonist medications can induce narcolepsy-like symptoms where patients struggle to stay awake due to the complex nature of dopamine activity in the brain.
In your case, it’s possible that you’re naturally motivated but THC is causing disinhibition to override whatever is preventing you from being productive (anxiety). THC is also known for making boring tasks feel interesting, but it’s also known for decreasing motivation and making people feel like they’re accomplishing a lot more than they really are. In other words, it’s not a solution to anything. You’d be well served to spend some time exploring this with a psychiatrist or two.