First, if you want to radically change your life by no longer taking stimulants, you need to recalibrate what you expect your life to look like.
You know they change how you think and behave, which is why you took them, and so it’s a given that your life just won’t look the same without them.
It’ll take time, but you need to figure out what your life can look like without them and make that your baseline. You’re always going to have an “additional strain on your emotions” when you try to make an unmedicated life look like a medicated life.
Maybe you work less or on different things. Maybe your home is less organized. Maybe you nap more. Maybe you’re friendlier and more empathetic with people you care about. Maybe you have a dozen slowly progressing hobbies instead of one diligent passion. Maybe you exercise or meditate more. Maybe you chill with woo hippie vibes instead of chasing life as a type-A achiever. Who knows. As you adapt, try to identify positive changes and define those as the new baseline you’re measuring yourself against.
You didn’t need medication in the first place. It’s a choice you made to live a certain kind of life. Now, you’re revisiting that choice and are pursuing a different kind of life. That’s exciting! But you have to embrace that rather than fear it, or you’re just going to torture yourself.