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I worked with a psychiatrist over nearly 18 months titrating up and down on various different medications until we found one that worked best. And the we played with not only dosage but dosing patterns until I felt it was working without making me robotic (which some of them did for sure). It was a lot of work and required a LOT of input and self reflection on my part (and a lot of logging of things!) but worked out very well.
If I were to reach for examples, I might say this human glow is fostered when holding your brother's baby for the first time, or watching the sunrise after a morning hike, or making a speech at a cousin's wedding. It's rewarding and fulfilling in a way entirely compartmentalized from the feeling stimulants provide.
My understanding is that stims tend to make us prioritize activities which are more artificially rewarding. Writing code, playing Dota, arguing online - all of these things feel great while on stims, but are spiritually empty in a way that I find difficult to explain to people who are already using.
That's the reason that despite an ADHD diagnosis in my youth I never picked up the stuff. Life is so short and almost none of its best parts are experienced behind the computer.
Thank you for the explanation though. I think I was being unfair
I've described it as feeling like you're thin, stretched, like butter spread over too much bread. And people promptly reply "like a robot, am I right". It's definitely a thing.