Pleasure Plateau
Learn why pleasure stops feeling good.
The Emotional Volume Turned Down
The emotional volume has been turned down.
Not muted—
just lowered.
Sounds still come through,
but softly,
without impact.
This adjustment
protects the system
from overload.
Seeing numbness
as a setting
rather than a defect
changes everything.
Volume can be raised later,
when conditions allow.
For now,
the quieter level
is doing its job.
Nothing is broken
in this mechanism.
Learn how emotional regulation works in DojoWell.
Explore DojowellFrom Art to Science
Articles exploring the psychology behind these patterns.
Frequently Asked Questions
It feels like the "volume" of my life has been turned down. Why?
This is "emotional dampening." Your nervous system has a built-in volume control that it uses when the "noise" of life becomes too loud. If your Threat or Status systems have been screaming for too long, the integrator turns the volume down on everything to protect itself. This dampening is a functional response to loop overload. It’s not that the world has gone quiet; it’s that your internal receiver is protecting its "speakers" from blowing out.
How do I turn the volume back up?
You don't turn it up manually; you reduce the "noise" in your environment. In the Meaning Density Model™, the volume returns as a byproduct of "loop integrity." When you stop starting new, unfinishable tasks and begin closing existing ones, the "noise floor" of your life drops. As the environment becomes quieter and more predictable, your nervous system will feel safe enough to turn the volume back up, allowing you to experience high-fidelity emotions once again.