Establish a general milieu of health by prioritizing sunlight, sleep, a healthy gut microbiome, exercise, good nutrition, and social connection.
For all mental health, physical health, and performance goals, first rely on behavioral tools, with sleep and nutrition as prerequisites, before considering supplement-based tools or prescription medication.
Develop a keen awareness of what stresses you out, what relaxes you, and what delights you, as this self-awareness acts as your internal antennae.
Access the ‘delight system’ (dopamine and serotonin) by fostering a loving approach towards what you are doing, as this provides a more sustainable and renewable fuel for effort than grit alone.
Learn to identify subtle physical or energetic sensations, like fidgeting or a feeling of magnetism, that indicate positive energy and attraction to something that feels right for you.
To find your dreams, actively interact with the sensory world and different kinds of people, acting as an adventurer to recognize signals rather than passively waiting for inspiration.
Be willing to take risks, iterate quickly, and continually adjust your path, as you will undoubtedly be off course at times when pursuing your dreams.
When learning or observing, prioritize identifying underlying principles, commonalities, and regularities of phenomena rather than merely naming or categorizing them.
Close your eyes and focus behind your forehead (where there’s no sensation), then open your eyes and progressively focus on objects at increasing distances while maintaining awareness of your breathing, to expand perception and alter time perception.
Engage in a 13-minute daily meditation focused on your breathing to significantly improve your ability to focus.
Spend one to three minutes trying to maintain visual focus on a point to increase your ability to focus cognitively.
Develop real-time stress modulation techniques to access more internal resources and maintain creative decision-making when feeling intimidated.
Actively conceptualize perceived failures as internal wins by finding a way to see them as true, which allows you to tap into the dopamine system and achieve a chemical win that sets you up for more real wins.
Employ a double inhale followed by a long exhale to physiologically regulate stress and calm your nervous system, as this transcends species for stress regulation.
Take a walk without looking at your phone, allowing your eyes to move from side to side, as this movement potently reduces the activity of the brain’s threat detection system.
To maximize the benefits of cold water exposure and adrenaline, aim to reach the point of wanting to get out but knowing you can safely stay, and don’t exit due to panic unless it’s dangerous.
After cold water exposure, take a warm shower to enhance the post-cold dopamine surge, which can last many hours and acts as a true antidepressant.
Place cold objects (like ice water) on your hands, bottoms of your feet, or top of your face between exercise sets or during cognitive work to cool your core and dramatically increase endurance or alertness.
Incorporate low-sugar fermented foods such as natto, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, and certain yogurts into your diet to support gut health, which modulates mood and neurotransmitter systems.
Intentionally choose to surround yourself with people whose company you genuinely enjoy, as this is very important for overall well-being and energy.
If behavioral tools, sleep, and nutrition are insufficient, consider L-tyrosine as a supplement to raise dopamine levels, but do so carefully as it manipulates your dopamine system.
Engage in sauna sessions, such as once a week for four 20-minute sessions spaced five minutes apart, to achieve enormous increases in growth hormone.
When experiencing intense autonomic arousal, practice ’letting go’ to ride the wave of the response from top to bottom, as this ability appears powerful for trauma and depression treatment.
Explore cathartic release, such as screaming, as a potential way to process stress responses, provided it is done safely and without harm to self or others.
For specific conditions like depression, PTSD, eating disorders, or end-of-life preparation, consider participation in guided clinical trials involving single-session macro-dose psilocybin, noting its illegality outside of trials and the necessity of therapeutic guidance.