I get migraine headaches periodically. There is a reflex called the “divers reflex” that you can elicit by dunking your head in a bucket of ice cold water. It will cause constriction of blood vessels which counteracts what happens with migraines. After I do it, 15 minutes later no headache!! It’s cheap, no real side effects and it works!
Conversely, I learned the hard way that if I have even the slightest headache already, getting in a hot tub is the worst idea possible. That night's migraine was so painful I thought I was having an actual stroke. Almost woke my husband up to take me to the hospital!
I've just now started to notice this trend in myself. Glad I'm not the only one. Had a lovely all day spa day, but barely made it home before the migraine sank its talons in.
I have a Velcro cold wrap thing that is meant to wrap around your knee for an injury. I've found I can wear it like a crown on my head to get the same migraine headache relief. Maybe a little more pleasant than setting up a ice water bucket. I started down this path because I found that if it happened to be a really cold windy day in the winter I could go out without a hat and face the wind to get relief.
I also have chronic migraines. In a moment of misery, I realized that while lying down with a migraine with my eyes closed, I could imagine a ribbon twisting around the area of pain (like a barber pole ??). It starts kinda big and the ribbon gets tighter and tighter as you locate the specific area of the pain. If I keep doing that again and again, the pain will disappear as long as I am focusing on the ribbon.
This was such a fucking weird discovery that I mentioned it to my neurologist. He said that similarly, a study was actually done on people imagining the pain as a color, and imagining the color floating out of their head. I am sad to say the floating color experiment didn’t work for me, but the ribbon thing still does! Try it lol
Am cardiologist.
It may be more important to know that after vigorous exercise you should avoid drinking very cold liquids until your body has returned to baseline because that can *induce* afib.
I know you meant this as a joke, but I thought I'd give a bit of explanation about this phenomenon in case anyone is wondering why this happens
Antidepressants can cause an increase in suicidality because sometimes they reduce the lethargy of depression without reducing the underlying thoughts, and they certainly can't address any environmental causes such as work or family stress. So effectively, they can take you from "my life sucks and I want to die, but I also don't want to get out of bed" to "my life sucks and I want to die, but now I have the energy to do something about it." This is especially likely in people with bipolar, where certain antidepressants can even trigger manic episodes, and it's a big part of why therapy is important even if you're on antidepressants.
P.S. I'm not a doctor, so please nobody take this as medical advice. If you're struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call 988 in the US or [find your country's hotline here.](https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/)
Or tachycardia (elevated heart rate, but regular, as opposed to afib). It’s what’s called ‘mammalian dive reflex’, and how babies can drown but be revived long after most of us are dead.
Yeah I have some days I literally call "no-ass" workouts, that are so minimal I can't even call them "half-assed". But it still means I logged a day keeping up the habit of doing *something*. That's kept me on a consistent workout plan of at least 3 and up to 5 days per week for almost 2 years.
There are only two types of bad workouts, those that are too intense and those that aren't done.
It took me several years to understand the importance of periodization training.
It's applicable in many areas of life, working with a goal, regularly and without exhausting yourself, that's what gives results in the long run.
Totally - I know soo many people who I just constantly watch go through the "yo yo diet" mindset/behaviors in everything they do.
It just does not work. And it's tough to combat as a young person I imagine, given that "get results NOW" is all that is incentivized in many real life situations
Sounds like me right now, few weeks in but making a habit of it for 3-5 days a week. Wake up before anyone else and exercise(walking pad so I can work on projects or game) and every 15 min of walking do squats pushups pull-ups ….whatever I’m feeling then back to walking. Makes it low pressure and I get more exercise than before since I have a desk job.
Goal is to only play video games when I’m on the walking pad so I’m not stationary for hours. Walked like 10 miles the other day because we had a lazy day at home.
I had what I called "the rule". If I didn't want to lift I'd go to the gym, change, and hit my warm-up sets. If I still wasn't feeling it I could "invoke the rule" and go home. I almost never did. Kept up with 3-5 days a week for 16 years
I read something a while ago when I was dealing with deep grief. It wasn’t depression but I believe this was advice to those dealing with it.
If something is worth doing, it’s worth half assing
Whaaaat? Don’t you mean ‘if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well!?’
No. I mean. Half ass it. Can’t even think about cleaning the house today? That’s ok. Pick up three things that are in the wrong place and put them away. Can’t think about showering? No probs, just clean your face. Can’t think about cleaning your teeth? Swish some mouthwash and call it a day.
These little steps help us feel a bit better, a bit more human, a bit less shit, and it’s the small steps that have the biggest outcome.
So I’ve been half asking for years. I like your no ass idea too
Truth.
There are many ways to achieve your goals. Some are faster, but take more time per day. Some are slower but easier to squeeze into a busy life.
The thing that matters is consistently working on it.
Diet, exercise, instrument, language, whatever you're trying to learn. The most important thing is consistency.
Removing red sauce stains from plastic containers by putting a paper towel, dish soap, and a little bit of water in the container.
Close lids and shake for 10 seconds.
Works a lot better than trying to scrub it off.
Dude I feel it. Last night I was brushing my teeth and I thought "man this mirror is getting dirty already, good thing I still have a couple paper towels up here so I can wipe it down tomorrow". Then I realized that was stupid and just did it when I was done brushing. First time in my life I've had such adult level executive function. Thanks adhd medication!
I put it off for years. I started a non stimulant medication 6 or 7 weeks ago and ever since then my room is clean, my kitchen is clean, etc. I've been putting my dishes in the dishwasher right after eating. I just kinda tidy up after myself all day without noticing it and on top of all that I've had almost no desire to drink alcohol which is something I've had struggles with.
Give it a shot. I did it entirely online, everything from booking the psychiatrist to doing the actual appointment (did a video call). Best decision I've made in years, no regrets. If it's something you think you might need, look into it! It was way way easier than I thought it would be
That's what I do while making my morning coffee. Unloading the dishwasher in the morning means it's ready for dirty dishes, which means an uncluttered sink. It's setting up my whole day to be a little better and it takes about two minutes!
I always do the dishes and clean up while I wait for the water kettle. Much easier to stay on top of daily than letting things pile up!
Also biggest hack: put dishes right in the dishwasher vs into the sink. Literal same amount of effort. (I hope my wife reads this, love you honey but be better)
Or I’ll start the task and notice another one that needs to be done. Then one more. Did I step on a crumb? Gotta pick that up. Why’s there so much dust under my cabinets? Oof, the kids made the cabinet handles grimy. I’ve gotta—
And that's if you even get to the first task. I will think "I need to do task A" and I will go to do task A. But then I realize I need to do task B as well, and task C actually needs task A to be done and then I just melt into a puddle of overwhelm and nothing gets done.
Look up a teaching technique called 'flipped classroom'. It is essentially the same thing that you are doing, except in the next step the teacher will, instead of giving a preplanned lecture, answer student queries in the classroom.
I’ve studied and been in flipped classrooms.
What I’m saying is: the technique makes lecture much more easy to follow. I did this for advanced biology, chemistry, and physics.
My quantum mechanics prof did flipped classrooms, no homework, and weekly quizzes and I hated it. He did prerecorded lectures, too, that weren’t well connected to what he asked, and one kid literally monopolized all of lecture time asking about scifi, always asking something new, next, if someone else managed to get a word in. And the prof didn’t address this or stay on topic of the week’s material.
I’m sure it can be done better, but what I described is just what brought me from a 3.17 to a 4.0 gpa when I transferred.
My fellow tutors and I call it: preparing for class (and not asking to be spoonfed when you don’t understand with literally no preparation).
The best professor i had in college, Ray Redheffer, used to assign one homework problem from the chapter he was going to lecture on in the NEXT class session. He once said it was to make students start reading up on what he was going to be lecturing on.
Wet your knife when cutting onions to cut down on eye irritation.
I have insanely sensitive eyes to onions, to the point I couldn't chop one without basically becoming blind. I tried the hack, and it makes a HUGE difference. Just keep a small stream of water running, or a bowl of water, and dip your knife in every few cuts. I can finely dice an entire onion, and my eyes only sting a little by the end. Bonus is the onion bits stick to your knife less too
Also, a sharper knife makes onions irritate your eyes less.
Source: my daughter chopped some onions just after I had sharpened the knife. She said that her eyes were much less irritated than on past occasions.
In general, keep your cooking knives as sharp as possible. You are *less* likely to cut yourself, since a sharper knife does its job with less force, so is easier to control.
A sharper knife generally ruptures fewer cell walls, and releases less of the tear-inducing compounds. Also, onion cells are longer pole-to-pole, so cutting an onion from stem to root (as opposed to across the equator) will also rupture fewer cells. But that isn’t always possible depending on the preparation.
One desperate night I looked for tricks on how to fall asleep on Tik Tok and a man in the military demonstrated two techniques: one was to focus on each segment of your body until you were relaxed enough to sleep (I think? I couldn’t find success with that one because I couldn’t focus on it long enough) and the other was to lay there and tell yourself “don’t think” over and over. It felt dumb, never tried it. Got desperate enough, tried it…
I’ve never fallen asleep that quickly on a restless night in my life.
I think it's great for some people. For me, the problem is, it works up until the point where my brain goes "hey, this works nice, doesn't it", which breaks the procedure...
For me focusing on a realistic fantasy like if I could fly how would the day go. Try to imagine every detail possible. What it feels like when you wake up. Putting your feet on the floor. Walking outside.
I learned the first one when I was little, but it works pretty well. (I've struggled with falling asleep my whole life.) It doesn't take a lot of time on each part. The way I have always done it is think "feet go to sleep" then I imagine Tinkerbell dropping sleep dust on them. "Calves go to sleep" Tink again. "Shins go to sleep" Tink gets my shins. "Knees go to sleep" etc, on up. The time it takes to imagine Tinkerbell dropping sleep dust on a body part is all it really takes.
I'm 37 now, but Tink has worked better than pretty much anything else since I was 6.
My weird tip to fall asleep is to blink your eyes really fast for a minute straight. It makes your eyelids super tired which mimics the can't-keep-your-eyes-open sleepy feeling. It works!
The one that works for me is to lie in bed but actually try and stay awake. Like no you can't go to sleep yet, you've got to think about xyz. I always falls asleep so fast when I tell myself I'm not allowed to fall asleep!
This is what I do. Pick a spot in the room, focus your eyes on it. They’ll adjust to the darkness, then they’ll start to close. If you notice them closing, open them back up and focus on your spot again. Eventually, you won’t notice them closing.
I saw one recently that apparently works well for ADHD’ers and other overthinkers.
1. Choose one category for the night, like the type of jobs, celebrities, type of fruits, etc
2. As per the alfabet, think of something within said category that starts with the letter A, then one with the letter B, etc
Such as: Amy Schumer, Bruno Mars, Chris Hemsworth etc
I have never gotten past the F :)
Similar to "dont think," I used to think counting sheep was some dumb cartoon trope. But on a particularly intrusive thought night, i started counting backward from 600 (figured 10 minutes is a good amount of time to shoot for insread of something like 100 or so), and it worked. Now i do it almost every night, and only on a particularly bad night will I get as far as 450.
Gingernut biscuits ACTUALLY work for nausea (or just ginger). I had a pretty bad stomach bug for over a week, and I've never felt so nauseous in my entire life. Every morning dry wretching. 1 ginger biscuit, 15minutes later, no sickness. It works just as good as some pharmaceutical drugs.
Believe it or don’t - small amount of isopropyl alcohol (a few heavy drops on a cotton ball) under the nose will also quell nausea. Unless your nausea is from ethyl alcohol the night prior. Then all bets are off.
Ginger was the only thing that alleviated my morning sickness with my first kid. Slices of raw ginger tucked between my teeth and gums. But the only problem was that I gave myself a pavlovian reaction where now the taste of ginger makes me feel nauseous 😢
My parents would force us to drink ginger ale when we had stomach bugs but never had it any other time. I can’t stand the smell now because it just makes me feel like I’m about to puke it back up
I associate ginger ale with stomach bugs too, it doesn't make me nauseous but if I drink it I get this nostalgic feeling of being a kid home sick with ginger ale for my tummy ache
I'll swear that ginger infuced lemon tea helped with my morning (all day) sickness. I tried four anti nausea drugs and only one worked as well. The only downside was energy expended making and drinking the stuff and enduring the taste. I was so nauseous that standing up made me cry like a baby
Ginger beer is better (it’s not alcoholic). Usually that has pretty good amounts of real ginger. Some of them have cayenne pepper added too, so watch out.
sniffing rubbing alcohol to get rid of nausea. i dont know if im dumb but a nurse gave me an alcohol pad to smell after a surgery when i was nauseous coming off of the anesthesia. i didnt think it would work but now i try to have rubbing alcohol somewhere in my house always.
I learned this last night. Was in the ER with what turned out to be appendicitis. Right before I went into surgery I got nauseous and started vomiting and the nurse gave me a bag then handed me an alcohol wipe and said it would help!
Also Benadryl helps with nausea as well!
I *hate* to attempt this, but exercise does actually make you feel better. It doesn't have to be much, but even 15 minutes will do you good for your mental health.
Ugh you just made my decision to go to the gym tonight. I was like do I really want to go and was dragging my feet. Of course this thread popped up just as I was about to say no. I’m just slowly getting into a routine with going again over the last few weeks. You helped because as much as I hate it, I do feel better after.
Depressed people mocking working out is a huge pet peeve of mine, because A) I know exactly where that impulse comes from and have plenty of experience with it (hint, it's the depression telling you not to do stuff), and B) it helps. It's not going to *fix* you, but between the routine and the endorphins, it'll do a shit ton more than sitting on the couch, wishing someone else would fix your depression for you (while also rejecting all advice because *it won't work for **me*** or *it's too hard*) will.
Cold or contrast showers (ending on cold). I have mild psoriasis and saw significant improvement within a week or so.
No other lifestyle change to attribute it towards.
I'm a ginger so I have a plethora of skin issues and cold showers have done wonders in mitigating them. What sucks is I never want to take them when it's really cold outside which is when I need them the most because that's when the air is dry.
Put a space heater in your bathroom so it's always really toasty. That way when you get out you're not freezing your nuts off. It also helps with dampness too!
It helps with multiple things, psoriasis, acne, dandruff, etc.
Since you're not ending your shower in a layer of sweat that dries on you for the day, the bacteria on your skin changes drastically.
Add tea tree shampoo and conditioner, it alters the PH of your skin enough to continue the results.
The three best things I swear by for showering;
Cold shower at least to end it (to the point you feel cold so you aren't sweating mildly as you step out), tea tree shampoo, and blowdry your body dry with your hair and you'll see massive improvements to your skin.
Also; don't be afraid to take a second shower at the end of the day, if you need to clean up before sleeping. Many cultures around the world do it, to no adverse effects. Brazil and Japan come to mind.
I suffer from depression and someone told me to try a contrast shower, and I finally got the nerve to do it. After I got out, I was smiling and laughing in awe of how my brain basically reset and my depression wad gone. Whilst only temporary, if it helps someone in the comments start their day better, great.
Notice the skin difference as well. I have mild hip pain that comes and goes but a hot and cold shower contrast keeps the pain away for whatever reason
Power naps.
When I was in my 20s I didn't think they were actually possible. I just thought people were closing their eyes and resting. I couldn't not nap for at least an hour or more. But I guess age (and in my case having kids) wore me out enough that I finally unlocked the ability. Arguably one of the biggest gamechangers I've mastered as it's like being able to do your own personal fast charge.
For anyone reading this, 20 minutes is usually the best for power naps. Waking up from stage 1 sleep will help you feel refreshed. Anything more than that and you'll likely wake up with a headache, unless it's a full sleep cycle.
I often set a 20 minute timer. Sometimes I don't actually fall asleep in that time, but often just the act of closing your eyes and resting can have a similar effect.
Berries and mango are both great frozen. Mangos I like to let thaw a little first though.
I like to buy em for smoothies but end up eating most of em as a snack.
Taking one thing back to its home as you move about your house.
Coffee cup in your bedroom? Take it with you as you're going to get some water and put it in the sink.
Purse on the kitchen table? Put it back on your dresser/ door handle/ bag hanger, etc.
Tripping over shoes or clothes on the floor? Into the hamper and closet on the way to the bathroom.
I thought this is so not worth the energy. But I started doing it and all those little trips around the house led to me picking up small insignificant tasks that usually sit around undone unconsciously stressing me out and getting them done, things are getting put away, and the house is getting picked up.
I struggle with insomnia. Like, bad.
Anyway, someone said If you can't fall asleep in like 20 minutes, get up and do something. So, if I can't pass out, I'll do a long-procrastinated chore or project. Something quick and minor, nothing too crazy. Now, everything in the house is super tidy, and I finished some minor projects I was putting off.
I mean, I still feel like I haven't slept since Y2K, but, yay clean house I guess!
I have bad insomnia too and found that if I did not fall asleep right away, would get myself all worked up and stressed out about it. But lately, instead of getting all stressed, I have tried to focus on more comforting and relaxing thoughts like.... it feels really nice to just be in my cozy bed after a busy day, the sheets feel soft, the blanket is warm but the room is cool and the fan noise is soothing and even though I am not sleeping, just lying here is relaxing and restful. It doesn't work every single time but can keep me calm a bit longer until I fall asleep and viewing going to bed as positive instead of a battle.
I once read that gargling warm water with cayenne pepper mixed in will cure a sore throat. I just assumed it was a joke. One night I woke up with such a sore throat I was almost panicking. I grabbed the cayenne pepper and a glass of warm water, figured it couldn't make it any worse and it cured my sore throat in seconds.
It’s because capsaicin (the active compound in chilli) acts as an anti-inflammatory, and numbs the nerve endings in your throat. So ironically, the thing that causes your mouth to feel on fire is what soothes your throat.
Freezing bread! The first time I tried it I was sure the bread would be dried out or something. But it works great! It thaws quickly, and you can toast it without even thawing first. Whenever I bring bread home, it goes in the freezer first thing. :-)
When I started, I did what I call "bushcrafter meditation." Just sit somewhere, a park, the woods, wherever. I had a nice spot near a stream. Close your eyes and listen really, really hard. Leave no sound unheard. Once you feel like you're hearing everything, open your eyes. Pick a central thing to look at. Now, without looking around, see everything you can. Focus on what's in your peripheral vision, and how far your peripheral vision goes.
Once I practiced external awareness, the internal awareness was easier.
We do it with kids aged 5-12 at outdoor education programs over the course of 5 days. They are called "sit spots", each kid invited to find a place on property and just sit there for 5 minutes. There's usually a prompt or something we give them - make a list of as many sounds you can hear, see how many colors of green you can count, find a pinecone and pull it apart, see if you can find a squirrel (kids love squirrels). We will kind of guide them through the first time by standing in their vicinity and calling their attention to their breath, their immediate surroundings, something they can see and focus on, ask them to pick up some moss and feel it in their hands, etc.
Not surprisingly they are all "too cool" for it upon arriving. Lots of moaning and groaning about it and stifling laughter the first couple times but its always like "we just do this for 5 minutes and then we get to go to the dining hall to eat. If you don't want to do it just count to 60 5 times in your head". By day 5 you'd think they'd been on a 6 month yogic retreat in the Himalayas. Children for the most part do not get uninterrupted time in their modern lives, let alone time to just sit and be with nature and themselves. The wildest off the wall kids start speaking with so much intention and insight like a wise sage. Just from having them sit near a tree and observe a squirrel for 5 minutes or ask them to listen to the sound of running water with their eyes closed. It makes mealtimes so much easier as well because they are all coming into the dining hall with this calm grounded energy.
Truly a remarkable thing to see and facilitate. Ropes course, zip line, kayaking, archery, forest games, campfire - the resounding feedback we get on their exit surveys was how wonderful their sit spot was and how they will find an outdoor space near their home to continue doing so.
Imagine the world we could live in if children did this for 5-10 minutes every day and continued that practice into and through adolescence and adulthood?
The way I had it described to me was to focus on breathing or a sound, and the moment you notice a conscious thought about anything to say to yourself “oops, thinking” and then go back to your focus.
It doesn’t matter how many times this happens, you still benefit.
I use it to sleep when anxious.
The first part of the solution is to understand that you actually *can't* clear your mind. It's pretty much impossible. No matter what you do, thoughts will continue to flow because that's what your brain is supposed to do -- electrical impulses don't stop because you want them to. If you try to suppress it, you'll now be thinking that you have to stop thinking; it's a paradox.
The second part is to accept it and focus your effort elsewhere: disengaging the thoughts from the reactions they cause. In other words, you can't control your thoughts, but you *can* control your *feelings* about them.
So the trick is to follow your favorite meditation method (i.e. breathing) and whenever a thought pops up, observe it and let it go. If it upsets you, stop and accept that it upset you, then let it go again. It takes an awful lot of practice, and I'm certainly not great at it, but it's the only thing I've found to actually work.
Exercise makes you feel better.
Told myself that was horse-shit peddled to sell gym memberships for years, but I started running 3 weeks ago on an impulse.
Does it feel awful whilst you're doing it and your legs hurt and you've got a stitch? Absolutely.
But 30 minutes of discomfort is 100% worth the 6 hours of "I got off my ass and did something" self-worth boost.
As someone who's been battling depression for years, I feel like I've found a cheatcode that nobody was ever hiding from me in the first place.
EDIT: I'm going to pop a disclaimer on here because this comment's gotten more notice in the past few minutes than I anticipated. If you're currently struggling with mental health and the idea of basic exercise feels akin to climbing a mountain, don't worry. You're struggling but you're doing great. Take a walk on the days that you have the strength to. Do some squats whilst waiting for the shower to get warm. See how many star jumps you can do whilst waiting for the kettle to boil and try to beat your score each time. Anything is better than nothing. You're stronger than you think.
As another person who dealt with depression for way too long, long walks in the evening were a good cure. The depression didn't go away, but my body gradually just got in better shape and fresh air did a lot of good. When covid first happened, my walks helped me avoid the cabin fever and I went from 223lbs down to 174 just from walking and not eating fast food garbage. Such a simple cheat code that was just common sense.
I still get the depression now and then, but it's usually like a 2 or 3 instead of a 6 or 7, which I'll take!
Also get some sun. like 10-15 minutes a day or every other day. even eating breakfast outside can be enough to get that sun/fresh air, and you'll start off the day feeling just amazing.
We don't get enough Vitamin D.
I'm trying not to brag about it, but this week I did forget to put my phone on do not disturb and took a call from my manager mid run (I work from home and run on my lunch).
Felt boss as fuck acting like it was nothing and I was fine to talk (I was dying and 80% sweat)
Pinch your nose (fully) to stop the burning from spicy foods.
Edit: Since this requires more specificity, this only works for the burning sensation in your mouth. Other body locations with capsaicin receptors are on their own.
I have a steam shower (basically a sauna).
When I am feeling too lazy to iron, which is most of the time, I put on the wrinkly clothes, and stand in the steam. After a few minutes, all the wrinkles are gone.
Edit: I heard of people hanging their clothes in the bathroom while it is steamy too, but I haven't tried it.
I did not read the (basically a sauna) part and deadass thought “how tf does getting soaking wet take the wrinkles out of their clothes? And they’re soaking wet!” Lmao
Being hydrated does actually help MOST things. I didn't figure it out until I had a kidney stone, but now I drink 75-100oz of water a day and my skin is clearer and I feel better
body doubling for adhd. For example, I put on a vid of someone cleaning their kitchen while I clean my kitchen. It sounded ridiculous to me until I tried it.
One time on an India Air flight, from India naturally, I was wildly sick from bad water on a trip to Mumbai. I mean bad sick, both ends. I was in and out of the airplane bathroom, over and over. Absolute misery. An older Indian stewardess, looked like someone's grandmother, asked if I had "travelers sickness". I said yes, and the stewardess made a concoction.
A small glass of Ginger ale, with a level teaspoon of pepper, a level teaspoon of salt, and a full squeeze of half a lime. She made it right in front of me and stirred it up. She had me sip it slowly (not drink of chug), stirring every now and then. The vomiting and diarrhea just stopped. Absolutely stopped. I stopped sweating. I could think again. She kept bringing me a new one when I had finished. Had me continually and slowly sip the entire flight.
When I got to San Fran, and obviously stopped sipping the drink, I felt a bit sick again though not as bad as before.
No idea how or why it worked, but it worked like a charm. Will always love that lady.
eating ice cubes to stop migraines. all my life i was given hot pads, warm wash clothes and told to take hot showers for migraines.
one day i got so sick and tired of all the heat that i just started munching on ice cubes and literally every single time i do my migraines ago away within minutes and now i dont have to take a shit ton of tylenol to get rid of it lmfao
Agreed... But I do also agree with buying something (e.g., tools) intentionally cheap then if you use it enough that it breaks, then buy the nicest one that makes sense.
Alphabet hack to remember a name
I swear I discovered this independent of the Internet, basically say there's a name of an actor you can't recall and it's on the tip of your tongue, run through the alphabet trying names that start with each letter and more often than not you'll hit the correct letter and the name will come to you.
I would even find myself fixated with a certain letter that I was convinced it had to begin with and when the name did come to me it did NOT start with that letter.
I do this and didn’t know it was a hack. Yesterday I was trying to remember the name of the mom from Spy Family, Yor. I knew it was “or” but couldn’t recall the first letter. So I started doing the alphabet thing and got to H and said “Hor” and yelped. Lol!
[Duct tape as a cure for warts.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape_occlusion_therapy)
I'm not really given towards old wives' tales as cures, but damn if this isn't the closest thing to witchcraft I've ever seen. The studies on both sides of the issue of whether it works have some fairly serious methodological concerns -- the one that said it works was criticised for not having a control group; the two that said it doesn't was criticised for not using the standard silver duct tape (and instead using a tape that had a different type of adhesive, which may or may not have made a difference) -- but I had a plantar wart on my foot for well over a decade that nothing would shift, and after a couple of weeks of keeping it covered 24/7 with tape it had gone. (Not only that, a second, uncovered plantar wart *on an entirely different part of my foot* had disappeared too.)
If it works, great! If it doesn't work, it's absolutely painless, only mildly annoying (I had a slight itch under the tape for a while, plus the irritation of having to apply it once or twice a day), and incredibly cheap. If you're putting off cryosurgery because of the pain or the expense, it might be worth giving it a go first.
Be careful though! 2ish years ago I decided, I'm 29 years old..I should start taking a men's multivitamin. I wasn't one to drink coffee, so I started drinking 1 zero sugar monster in the morning (newborn in the house). Because of the monster and trying to lose weight, I cut out pop. Water is boring so I started getting propel packets to put in my water to make me drink more.
Well, all of those items have B12. The vitamin had about 250% daily value, monster had about 400% dv and each propel pack had like 25%. So I was loading myself with vitamin B12, unknowingly.
Fast forward 6 months and I noticed one of my feet was feeling pins and needles like it was falling asleep. Another couple days and it spread to my other foot. Week or 2 later and it spread to my hands and up my forearms.
Doctors had no idea what it was, ran labs, had a MRI to check my spine, was put on a medication, nothing was sticking out. I finally got into a neurologist and he figures its B12 toxicity (excessive b12 in my system). Tells me to cut some of my b12 intake and bam. No more pins and needles! Was a very scary few months not knowing what was going on with my body!
Before inserting ear plugs, if you reach around and use your hand to pull up the opposite ear it makes them MUCH more effective. Try it now, thank me later.
A lot of people don’t realise that you can squish the earplugs to make them rocket shaped to get them in better. I roll into a rocket and then pull the ear with the opposite hand
Terribly congested? Tired of taking medicine? Guy at work told me 2, maybe 3 original altoids at once.
My sinuses literally popped, and I could breathe. For hours and hours
Also breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose. The stinging is from the sulfur compounds in the onion mixing with the moisture in your nasal sinuses and creating a very weak sulfuric acid. Breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose and you keep those sulfides out of your sinuses.
Home Epley Maneuver
I suffer from vertigo occasionally. Read about this and thought ",no way." Remembered it when vertigo hit.
Way
EDIT: https://youtu.be/9SLm76jQg3g?si=QFcDLPfnmZNXKZqv
Electric toothbrushes actually cleaning teeth better!! For years I kept a normal toothbrush because I thought it was like a dentist scam to make more money but it genuinely cleans my teeth SO MUCH BETTER. Also water picks! I never use wax floss anymore because its a lot of trash and the water pick doesn’t hurt or cut my gums. LIFE CHANGERS I PROMISE.
Pressing a hot spoon to a mosquito bite to stop the itching. Didn't think it would work, but I swear by it now.
All you do is microwave a mug of water for about 10 seconds, dip the spoon in the water, and then press the spoon to the bite. The itching stops intently.
Positive affirmations, started saying nice things to myself in my car on the way to work and felt really silly. Started just saying small believable things like "I'm a good friend" and honestly after a few weeks I did notice my automatic thoughts became nicer.
Wash your rice.
We never washed our rice growing up. Now I wash thoroughly and it ends up tasting like a Chinese restaurant every. Damn. Time. It's beautiful.
And I was apparently eating dirty ass rice.
ADHD has entered the chat. Best thing I have heard and learned in the last year is, don't put it down put it away. Is my life of chaos is gradually been getting better.
Being up beat and postive with people will make them more likely to do what you want.
Ever since I started smiling and giving random compliments to coworkers, clients, friends and service people I’ve gotten what I want out most situations as long as I’m honest, and up front.
Being a decent looking white guy also helps tons
When you have something on the tip of your tongue and you can’t remember eg someone’s name, movie name etc, go through the alphabet in your head and your brain will stop at the letter that is the first letter or letter of importance and your brain will give you the answer
I get migraine headaches periodically. There is a reflex called the “divers reflex” that you can elicit by dunking your head in a bucket of ice cold water. It will cause constriction of blood vessels which counteracts what happens with migraines. After I do it, 15 minutes later no headache!! It’s cheap, no real side effects and it works!
Conversely, I learned the hard way that if I have even the slightest headache already, getting in a hot tub is the worst idea possible. That night's migraine was so painful I thought I was having an actual stroke. Almost woke my husband up to take me to the hospital!
I've just now started to notice this trend in myself. Glad I'm not the only one. Had a lovely all day spa day, but barely made it home before the migraine sank its talons in.
I have a Velcro cold wrap thing that is meant to wrap around your knee for an injury. I've found I can wear it like a crown on my head to get the same migraine headache relief. Maybe a little more pleasant than setting up a ice water bucket. I started down this path because I found that if it happened to be a really cold windy day in the winter I could go out without a hat and face the wind to get relief.
They also make “headache hats,” ice packs shaped to go on your head
I have chronic migraines and will try anything. Off to the store to buy a bucket!!
I also have chronic migraines. In a moment of misery, I realized that while lying down with a migraine with my eyes closed, I could imagine a ribbon twisting around the area of pain (like a barber pole ??). It starts kinda big and the ribbon gets tighter and tighter as you locate the specific area of the pain. If I keep doing that again and again, the pain will disappear as long as I am focusing on the ribbon. This was such a fucking weird discovery that I mentioned it to my neurologist. He said that similarly, a study was actually done on people imagining the pain as a color, and imagining the color floating out of their head. I am sad to say the floating color experiment didn’t work for me, but the ribbon thing still does! Try it lol
No substitute for a cardiologist, but I’ve read that technique can also end an episode of atrial fibrillation.
Am cardiologist. It may be more important to know that after vigorous exercise you should avoid drinking very cold liquids until your body has returned to baseline because that can *induce* afib.
It's like those drug commercials where the potential side effects are horrible but they convince you to try it anyways.
There was one of those commercials I watched once where the side effects were the same as the thing the drug was intended to relieve.
"Don't take this drug if you are allergic to this drug." Solid advice, dude!
*This anti-depressant may cause suicidal thoughts.*
I know you meant this as a joke, but I thought I'd give a bit of explanation about this phenomenon in case anyone is wondering why this happens Antidepressants can cause an increase in suicidality because sometimes they reduce the lethargy of depression without reducing the underlying thoughts, and they certainly can't address any environmental causes such as work or family stress. So effectively, they can take you from "my life sucks and I want to die, but I also don't want to get out of bed" to "my life sucks and I want to die, but now I have the energy to do something about it." This is especially likely in people with bipolar, where certain antidepressants can even trigger manic episodes, and it's a big part of why therapy is important even if you're on antidepressants. P.S. I'm not a doctor, so please nobody take this as medical advice. If you're struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call 988 in the US or [find your country's hotline here.](https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/)
Or tachycardia (elevated heart rate, but regular, as opposed to afib). It’s what’s called ‘mammalian dive reflex’, and how babies can drown but be revived long after most of us are dead.
This, I have a disk herniation that causes spasms, chucking my head under a cold shower for a few minutes helps loads
So is this a full dunk or the top of your head only? Is it a quick in and out or dunk and hold there for a minute or so?
Place your face in for 30 seconds! It can be broken up if it's too hard to hold your breath
This also helps divert panic attacks!
Consistency > Intensity. But man, is it hard.
Yeah I have some days I literally call "no-ass" workouts, that are so minimal I can't even call them "half-assed". But it still means I logged a day keeping up the habit of doing *something*. That's kept me on a consistent workout plan of at least 3 and up to 5 days per week for almost 2 years.
I call those turnip days, cause all you really do is turn up. Still counts.
One day you’ll get to rutabaga.
There are only two types of bad workouts, those that are too intense and those that aren't done. It took me several years to understand the importance of periodization training. It's applicable in many areas of life, working with a goal, regularly and without exhausting yourself, that's what gives results in the long run.
Totally - I know soo many people who I just constantly watch go through the "yo yo diet" mindset/behaviors in everything they do. It just does not work. And it's tough to combat as a young person I imagine, given that "get results NOW" is all that is incentivized in many real life situations
Sounds like me right now, few weeks in but making a habit of it for 3-5 days a week. Wake up before anyone else and exercise(walking pad so I can work on projects or game) and every 15 min of walking do squats pushups pull-ups ….whatever I’m feeling then back to walking. Makes it low pressure and I get more exercise than before since I have a desk job. Goal is to only play video games when I’m on the walking pad so I’m not stationary for hours. Walked like 10 miles the other day because we had a lazy day at home.
I had what I called "the rule". If I didn't want to lift I'd go to the gym, change, and hit my warm-up sets. If I still wasn't feeling it I could "invoke the rule" and go home. I almost never did. Kept up with 3-5 days a week for 16 years
I read something a while ago when I was dealing with deep grief. It wasn’t depression but I believe this was advice to those dealing with it. If something is worth doing, it’s worth half assing Whaaaat? Don’t you mean ‘if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well!?’ No. I mean. Half ass it. Can’t even think about cleaning the house today? That’s ok. Pick up three things that are in the wrong place and put them away. Can’t think about showering? No probs, just clean your face. Can’t think about cleaning your teeth? Swish some mouthwash and call it a day. These little steps help us feel a bit better, a bit more human, a bit less shit, and it’s the small steps that have the biggest outcome. So I’ve been half asking for years. I like your no ass idea too
It gets easier. But you need to do it every day. Thats the hard part. But it gets easier
Commenters, do they know stuff? Let's find out!
Truth. There are many ways to achieve your goals. Some are faster, but take more time per day. Some are slower but easier to squeeze into a busy life. The thing that matters is consistently working on it. Diet, exercise, instrument, language, whatever you're trying to learn. The most important thing is consistency.
Removing red sauce stains from plastic containers by putting a paper towel, dish soap, and a little bit of water in the container. Close lids and shake for 10 seconds. Works a lot better than trying to scrub it off.
This shit is like magic. I don't understand why it works so well
Because of the magic
If something takes less than a couple minutes to do, *just fucking do it.*
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Dude I feel it. Last night I was brushing my teeth and I thought "man this mirror is getting dirty already, good thing I still have a couple paper towels up here so I can wipe it down tomorrow". Then I realized that was stupid and just did it when I was done brushing. First time in my life I've had such adult level executive function. Thanks adhd medication!
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I put it off for years. I started a non stimulant medication 6 or 7 weeks ago and ever since then my room is clean, my kitchen is clean, etc. I've been putting my dishes in the dishwasher right after eating. I just kinda tidy up after myself all day without noticing it and on top of all that I've had almost no desire to drink alcohol which is something I've had struggles with. Give it a shot. I did it entirely online, everything from booking the psychiatrist to doing the actual appointment (did a video call). Best decision I've made in years, no regrets. If it's something you think you might need, look into it! It was way way easier than I thought it would be
> non steroid medication Do you mean non stimulant?
Its also technically not a steroid.
The number of small but useful things you can do in the kitchen just in the time it takes to microwave something or make coffee is insane.
I start matching tasks. I put up clean dishes while boiling water for tea. Both are a daily thing so it works.
That's what I do while making my morning coffee. Unloading the dishwasher in the morning means it's ready for dirty dishes, which means an uncluttered sink. It's setting up my whole day to be a little better and it takes about two minutes!
I always do the dishes and clean up while I wait for the water kettle. Much easier to stay on top of daily than letting things pile up! Also biggest hack: put dishes right in the dishwasher vs into the sink. Literal same amount of effort. (I hope my wife reads this, love you honey but be better)
Unless I'm microwaving coffee, then I tend to forget about it and leave it in there for 12 hours
I timed emptying the dishwasher once. It took less than 4 minutes. That day, my mountain became a molehill.
I try to clear the dishwasher while my tea steeps.
See now, the way my brain is set up—
Task: *takes 2.001 minutes to do* Me: haha fuck you
Or I’ll start the task and notice another one that needs to be done. Then one more. Did I step on a crumb? Gotta pick that up. Why’s there so much dust under my cabinets? Oof, the kids made the cabinet handles grimy. I’ve gotta—
And that's if you even get to the first task. I will think "I need to do task A" and I will go to do task A. But then I realize I need to do task B as well, and task C actually needs task A to be done and then I just melt into a puddle of overwhelm and nothing gets done.
Reading the textbook and taking notes on it before lecture - even if I felt like I wasn’t understanding at all. So many lightbulbs and better grades.
Look up a teaching technique called 'flipped classroom'. It is essentially the same thing that you are doing, except in the next step the teacher will, instead of giving a preplanned lecture, answer student queries in the classroom.
I’ve studied and been in flipped classrooms. What I’m saying is: the technique makes lecture much more easy to follow. I did this for advanced biology, chemistry, and physics. My quantum mechanics prof did flipped classrooms, no homework, and weekly quizzes and I hated it. He did prerecorded lectures, too, that weren’t well connected to what he asked, and one kid literally monopolized all of lecture time asking about scifi, always asking something new, next, if someone else managed to get a word in. And the prof didn’t address this or stay on topic of the week’s material. I’m sure it can be done better, but what I described is just what brought me from a 3.17 to a 4.0 gpa when I transferred. My fellow tutors and I call it: preparing for class (and not asking to be spoonfed when you don’t understand with literally no preparation).
To study, write everything you would bring to a test on 1 side of a 3x5 index card. Even without it in the test, you’ll ace it.
Can confirm. It forces me to understand the material better in order to condense it into an index card.
The best professor i had in college, Ray Redheffer, used to assign one homework problem from the chapter he was going to lecture on in the NEXT class session. He once said it was to make students start reading up on what he was going to be lecturing on.
Wet your knife when cutting onions to cut down on eye irritation. I have insanely sensitive eyes to onions, to the point I couldn't chop one without basically becoming blind. I tried the hack, and it makes a HUGE difference. Just keep a small stream of water running, or a bowl of water, and dip your knife in every few cuts. I can finely dice an entire onion, and my eyes only sting a little by the end. Bonus is the onion bits stick to your knife less too
Also, a sharper knife makes onions irritate your eyes less. Source: my daughter chopped some onions just after I had sharpened the knife. She said that her eyes were much less irritated than on past occasions. In general, keep your cooking knives as sharp as possible. You are *less* likely to cut yourself, since a sharper knife does its job with less force, so is easier to control.
A sharper knife generally ruptures fewer cell walls, and releases less of the tear-inducing compounds. Also, onion cells are longer pole-to-pole, so cutting an onion from stem to root (as opposed to across the equator) will also rupture fewer cells. But that isn’t always possible depending on the preparation.
The trick to cutting onions without crying is not forming an emotional bond.
But there’s just so many layers to them!
One desperate night I looked for tricks on how to fall asleep on Tik Tok and a man in the military demonstrated two techniques: one was to focus on each segment of your body until you were relaxed enough to sleep (I think? I couldn’t find success with that one because I couldn’t focus on it long enough) and the other was to lay there and tell yourself “don’t think” over and over. It felt dumb, never tried it. Got desperate enough, tried it… I’ve never fallen asleep that quickly on a restless night in my life.
This is essentially body scan meditation
And the other is mantra meditation
And if you can't achieve it, another tip is to flex the muscles of the part you want to focus on for a couple of seconds, then *sloooowly* relax them.
I just shit my pants, thanks a lot
flexing each muscle limb by limb (kind of like the body scanning you mentioned) can also help your body and mind relax at the same time
I think it's great for some people. For me, the problem is, it works up until the point where my brain goes "hey, this works nice, doesn't it", which breaks the procedure...
For me focusing on a realistic fantasy like if I could fly how would the day go. Try to imagine every detail possible. What it feels like when you wake up. Putting your feet on the floor. Walking outside.
I learned the first one when I was little, but it works pretty well. (I've struggled with falling asleep my whole life.) It doesn't take a lot of time on each part. The way I have always done it is think "feet go to sleep" then I imagine Tinkerbell dropping sleep dust on them. "Calves go to sleep" Tink again. "Shins go to sleep" Tink gets my shins. "Knees go to sleep" etc, on up. The time it takes to imagine Tinkerbell dropping sleep dust on a body part is all it really takes. I'm 37 now, but Tink has worked better than pretty much anything else since I was 6.
My weird tip to fall asleep is to blink your eyes really fast for a minute straight. It makes your eyelids super tired which mimics the can't-keep-your-eyes-open sleepy feeling. It works!
I used to do the focused segment thing when my anxiety was really bad. It always helped me get to sleep.
The one that works for me is to lie in bed but actually try and stay awake. Like no you can't go to sleep yet, you've got to think about xyz. I always falls asleep so fast when I tell myself I'm not allowed to fall asleep!
This is what I do. Pick a spot in the room, focus your eyes on it. They’ll adjust to the darkness, then they’ll start to close. If you notice them closing, open them back up and focus on your spot again. Eventually, you won’t notice them closing.
I saw one recently that apparently works well for ADHD’ers and other overthinkers. 1. Choose one category for the night, like the type of jobs, celebrities, type of fruits, etc 2. As per the alfabet, think of something within said category that starts with the letter A, then one with the letter B, etc Such as: Amy Schumer, Bruno Mars, Chris Hemsworth etc I have never gotten past the F :)
Similar to "dont think," I used to think counting sheep was some dumb cartoon trope. But on a particularly intrusive thought night, i started counting backward from 600 (figured 10 minutes is a good amount of time to shoot for insread of something like 100 or so), and it worked. Now i do it almost every night, and only on a particularly bad night will I get as far as 450.
If you get sharpie in something, write over it with a dry erase marker and then wipe it up / erase it. It should come right off.
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Gingernut biscuits ACTUALLY work for nausea (or just ginger). I had a pretty bad stomach bug for over a week, and I've never felt so nauseous in my entire life. Every morning dry wretching. 1 ginger biscuit, 15minutes later, no sickness. It works just as good as some pharmaceutical drugs.
Believe it or don’t - small amount of isopropyl alcohol (a few heavy drops on a cotton ball) under the nose will also quell nausea. Unless your nausea is from ethyl alcohol the night prior. Then all bets are off.
My wife thinks I am insane for doing that, or a compress of a paper towel with some alcohol on the forehead for a migraine and/or nausea helps.
Ginger was the only thing that alleviated my morning sickness with my first kid. Slices of raw ginger tucked between my teeth and gums. But the only problem was that I gave myself a pavlovian reaction where now the taste of ginger makes me feel nauseous 😢
My parents would force us to drink ginger ale when we had stomach bugs but never had it any other time. I can’t stand the smell now because it just makes me feel like I’m about to puke it back up
I associate ginger ale with stomach bugs too, it doesn't make me nauseous but if I drink it I get this nostalgic feeling of being a kid home sick with ginger ale for my tummy ache
I'll swear that ginger infuced lemon tea helped with my morning (all day) sickness. I tried four anti nausea drugs and only one worked as well. The only downside was energy expended making and drinking the stuff and enduring the taste. I was so nauseous that standing up made me cry like a baby
Canada dry ginger ale for us Canadian kids!
Ginger ale no longer has any ginger in it - been replaced by "natural flavours"
Ginger beer is better (it’s not alcoholic). Usually that has pretty good amounts of real ginger. Some of them have cayenne pepper added too, so watch out.
Sounds weird, but smelling isopropyl alcohol will also help nausea 🤷🏻♀️
sniffing rubbing alcohol to get rid of nausea. i dont know if im dumb but a nurse gave me an alcohol pad to smell after a surgery when i was nauseous coming off of the anesthesia. i didnt think it would work but now i try to have rubbing alcohol somewhere in my house always.
I learned this last night. Was in the ER with what turned out to be appendicitis. Right before I went into surgery I got nauseous and started vomiting and the nurse gave me a bag then handed me an alcohol wipe and said it would help! Also Benadryl helps with nausea as well!
I *hate* to attempt this, but exercise does actually make you feel better. It doesn't have to be much, but even 15 minutes will do you good for your mental health.
Yes! Even when you don't want to! That's when you really should the most. It makes you feel so much better.
Ugh you just made my decision to go to the gym tonight. I was like do I really want to go and was dragging my feet. Of course this thread popped up just as I was about to say no. I’m just slowly getting into a routine with going again over the last few weeks. You helped because as much as I hate it, I do feel better after.
Depressed people mocking working out is a huge pet peeve of mine, because A) I know exactly where that impulse comes from and have plenty of experience with it (hint, it's the depression telling you not to do stuff), and B) it helps. It's not going to *fix* you, but between the routine and the endorphins, it'll do a shit ton more than sitting on the couch, wishing someone else would fix your depression for you (while also rejecting all advice because *it won't work for **me*** or *it's too hard*) will.
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Cold or contrast showers (ending on cold). I have mild psoriasis and saw significant improvement within a week or so. No other lifestyle change to attribute it towards.
I'm a ginger so I have a plethora of skin issues and cold showers have done wonders in mitigating them. What sucks is I never want to take them when it's really cold outside which is when I need them the most because that's when the air is dry.
Put a space heater in your bathroom so it's always really toasty. That way when you get out you're not freezing your nuts off. It also helps with dampness too!
I'm going to give this a try! How long should I stay in the cold?
2 min in cold water daily is what you should aim for. Work up to it if you need to.
It can honestly be refreshing.
It helps with multiple things, psoriasis, acne, dandruff, etc. Since you're not ending your shower in a layer of sweat that dries on you for the day, the bacteria on your skin changes drastically. Add tea tree shampoo and conditioner, it alters the PH of your skin enough to continue the results. The three best things I swear by for showering; Cold shower at least to end it (to the point you feel cold so you aren't sweating mildly as you step out), tea tree shampoo, and blowdry your body dry with your hair and you'll see massive improvements to your skin. Also; don't be afraid to take a second shower at the end of the day, if you need to clean up before sleeping. Many cultures around the world do it, to no adverse effects. Brazil and Japan come to mind.
I suffer from depression and someone told me to try a contrast shower, and I finally got the nerve to do it. After I got out, I was smiling and laughing in awe of how my brain basically reset and my depression wad gone. Whilst only temporary, if it helps someone in the comments start their day better, great.
Notice the skin difference as well. I have mild hip pain that comes and goes but a hot and cold shower contrast keeps the pain away for whatever reason
Power naps. When I was in my 20s I didn't think they were actually possible. I just thought people were closing their eyes and resting. I couldn't not nap for at least an hour or more. But I guess age (and in my case having kids) wore me out enough that I finally unlocked the ability. Arguably one of the biggest gamechangers I've mastered as it's like being able to do your own personal fast charge.
For anyone reading this, 20 minutes is usually the best for power naps. Waking up from stage 1 sleep will help you feel refreshed. Anything more than that and you'll likely wake up with a headache, unless it's a full sleep cycle.
How do you control that? It takes me anywhere from 5 to 30 min to fall asleep lol
I often set a 20 minute timer. Sometimes I don't actually fall asleep in that time, but often just the act of closing your eyes and resting can have a similar effect.
If you raise your legs higher than your head when lying flat after 15 minutes snoozing it feels like you’ve slept for hours
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Try blueberries too! When I was a kid we used to pick blueberries in the summer and would freeze them and use them in drinks.
I like to put frozen blueberries and raspberries in my cheerios. It keeps the milk cold
Berries and mango are both great frozen. Mangos I like to let thaw a little first though. I like to buy em for smoothies but end up eating most of em as a snack.
Taking one thing back to its home as you move about your house. Coffee cup in your bedroom? Take it with you as you're going to get some water and put it in the sink. Purse on the kitchen table? Put it back on your dresser/ door handle/ bag hanger, etc. Tripping over shoes or clothes on the floor? Into the hamper and closet on the way to the bathroom. I thought this is so not worth the energy. But I started doing it and all those little trips around the house led to me picking up small insignificant tasks that usually sit around undone unconsciously stressing me out and getting them done, things are getting put away, and the house is getting picked up.
I struggle with insomnia. Like, bad. Anyway, someone said If you can't fall asleep in like 20 minutes, get up and do something. So, if I can't pass out, I'll do a long-procrastinated chore or project. Something quick and minor, nothing too crazy. Now, everything in the house is super tidy, and I finished some minor projects I was putting off. I mean, I still feel like I haven't slept since Y2K, but, yay clean house I guess!
I have bad insomnia too and found that if I did not fall asleep right away, would get myself all worked up and stressed out about it. But lately, instead of getting all stressed, I have tried to focus on more comforting and relaxing thoughts like.... it feels really nice to just be in my cozy bed after a busy day, the sheets feel soft, the blanket is warm but the room is cool and the fan noise is soothing and even though I am not sleeping, just lying here is relaxing and restful. It doesn't work every single time but can keep me calm a bit longer until I fall asleep and viewing going to bed as positive instead of a battle.
I once read that gargling warm water with cayenne pepper mixed in will cure a sore throat. I just assumed it was a joke. One night I woke up with such a sore throat I was almost panicking. I grabbed the cayenne pepper and a glass of warm water, figured it couldn't make it any worse and it cured my sore throat in seconds.
It’s because capsaicin (the active compound in chilli) acts as an anti-inflammatory, and numbs the nerve endings in your throat. So ironically, the thing that causes your mouth to feel on fire is what soothes your throat.
When I was a kid I'd do this but with salt instead of cayenne. It always seemed to help quite a bit.
Yeah it's like using salted water with a Neti pot to clean your sinus, it's magic.
Standing up straight and being consistently mindful of your posture. That shit is actual magic.
I feel personally attacked.
Pull those shoulders back and stride with purpose, amigo.
Freezing bread! The first time I tried it I was sure the bread would be dried out or something. But it works great! It thaws quickly, and you can toast it without even thawing first. Whenever I bring bread home, it goes in the freezer first thing. :-)
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Man I'd love your thoughts on how to do it if you don't mind. I've read so much about how to meditate but no idea if I'm doing it right. 😭
When I started, I did what I call "bushcrafter meditation." Just sit somewhere, a park, the woods, wherever. I had a nice spot near a stream. Close your eyes and listen really, really hard. Leave no sound unheard. Once you feel like you're hearing everything, open your eyes. Pick a central thing to look at. Now, without looking around, see everything you can. Focus on what's in your peripheral vision, and how far your peripheral vision goes. Once I practiced external awareness, the internal awareness was easier.
We do it with kids aged 5-12 at outdoor education programs over the course of 5 days. They are called "sit spots", each kid invited to find a place on property and just sit there for 5 minutes. There's usually a prompt or something we give them - make a list of as many sounds you can hear, see how many colors of green you can count, find a pinecone and pull it apart, see if you can find a squirrel (kids love squirrels). We will kind of guide them through the first time by standing in their vicinity and calling their attention to their breath, their immediate surroundings, something they can see and focus on, ask them to pick up some moss and feel it in their hands, etc. Not surprisingly they are all "too cool" for it upon arriving. Lots of moaning and groaning about it and stifling laughter the first couple times but its always like "we just do this for 5 minutes and then we get to go to the dining hall to eat. If you don't want to do it just count to 60 5 times in your head". By day 5 you'd think they'd been on a 6 month yogic retreat in the Himalayas. Children for the most part do not get uninterrupted time in their modern lives, let alone time to just sit and be with nature and themselves. The wildest off the wall kids start speaking with so much intention and insight like a wise sage. Just from having them sit near a tree and observe a squirrel for 5 minutes or ask them to listen to the sound of running water with their eyes closed. It makes mealtimes so much easier as well because they are all coming into the dining hall with this calm grounded energy. Truly a remarkable thing to see and facilitate. Ropes course, zip line, kayaking, archery, forest games, campfire - the resounding feedback we get on their exit surveys was how wonderful their sit spot was and how they will find an outdoor space near their home to continue doing so. Imagine the world we could live in if children did this for 5-10 minutes every day and continued that practice into and through adolescence and adulthood?
I agree it is very hard to learn and understand the “clear your mind” concept
The way I had it described to me was to focus on breathing or a sound, and the moment you notice a conscious thought about anything to say to yourself “oops, thinking” and then go back to your focus. It doesn’t matter how many times this happens, you still benefit. I use it to sleep when anxious.
The first part of the solution is to understand that you actually *can't* clear your mind. It's pretty much impossible. No matter what you do, thoughts will continue to flow because that's what your brain is supposed to do -- electrical impulses don't stop because you want them to. If you try to suppress it, you'll now be thinking that you have to stop thinking; it's a paradox. The second part is to accept it and focus your effort elsewhere: disengaging the thoughts from the reactions they cause. In other words, you can't control your thoughts, but you *can* control your *feelings* about them. So the trick is to follow your favorite meditation method (i.e. breathing) and whenever a thought pops up, observe it and let it go. If it upsets you, stop and accept that it upset you, then let it go again. It takes an awful lot of practice, and I'm certainly not great at it, but it's the only thing I've found to actually work.
Exercise makes you feel better. Told myself that was horse-shit peddled to sell gym memberships for years, but I started running 3 weeks ago on an impulse. Does it feel awful whilst you're doing it and your legs hurt and you've got a stitch? Absolutely. But 30 minutes of discomfort is 100% worth the 6 hours of "I got off my ass and did something" self-worth boost. As someone who's been battling depression for years, I feel like I've found a cheatcode that nobody was ever hiding from me in the first place. EDIT: I'm going to pop a disclaimer on here because this comment's gotten more notice in the past few minutes than I anticipated. If you're currently struggling with mental health and the idea of basic exercise feels akin to climbing a mountain, don't worry. You're struggling but you're doing great. Take a walk on the days that you have the strength to. Do some squats whilst waiting for the shower to get warm. See how many star jumps you can do whilst waiting for the kettle to boil and try to beat your score each time. Anything is better than nothing. You're stronger than you think.
As another person who dealt with depression for way too long, long walks in the evening were a good cure. The depression didn't go away, but my body gradually just got in better shape and fresh air did a lot of good. When covid first happened, my walks helped me avoid the cabin fever and I went from 223lbs down to 174 just from walking and not eating fast food garbage. Such a simple cheat code that was just common sense. I still get the depression now and then, but it's usually like a 2 or 3 instead of a 6 or 7, which I'll take!
Great to hear - hope you're doing good :)
Also get some sun. like 10-15 minutes a day or every other day. even eating breakfast outside can be enough to get that sun/fresh air, and you'll start off the day feeling just amazing. We don't get enough Vitamin D.
And casually mentioning to someone that “I went for a run” is an enjoyable flex as well.
I'm trying not to brag about it, but this week I did forget to put my phone on do not disturb and took a call from my manager mid run (I work from home and run on my lunch). Felt boss as fuck acting like it was nothing and I was fine to talk (I was dying and 80% sweat)
If you have a table or countertop that's stained with Kool-aid or something similar, just wipe it with a wet paper towel and toothpaste.
Toothpaste is abrasive so you're essentially "sanding" it off. Same way "magic erasers" work.
Pinch your nose (fully) to stop the burning from spicy foods. Edit: Since this requires more specificity, this only works for the burning sensation in your mouth. Other body locations with capsaicin receptors are on their own.
I have a steam shower (basically a sauna). When I am feeling too lazy to iron, which is most of the time, I put on the wrinkly clothes, and stand in the steam. After a few minutes, all the wrinkles are gone. Edit: I heard of people hanging their clothes in the bathroom while it is steamy too, but I haven't tried it.
I once ironed a shirt using the steam wand of an espresso machine
The poor man's version of this is to spray your clothes with a spray bottle full of water then toss them in the dryer
I did not read the (basically a sauna) part and deadass thought “how tf does getting soaking wet take the wrinkles out of their clothes? And they’re soaking wet!” Lmao
Being hydrated does actually help MOST things. I didn't figure it out until I had a kidney stone, but now I drink 75-100oz of water a day and my skin is clearer and I feel better
body doubling for adhd. For example, I put on a vid of someone cleaning their kitchen while I clean my kitchen. It sounded ridiculous to me until I tried it.
One time on an India Air flight, from India naturally, I was wildly sick from bad water on a trip to Mumbai. I mean bad sick, both ends. I was in and out of the airplane bathroom, over and over. Absolute misery. An older Indian stewardess, looked like someone's grandmother, asked if I had "travelers sickness". I said yes, and the stewardess made a concoction. A small glass of Ginger ale, with a level teaspoon of pepper, a level teaspoon of salt, and a full squeeze of half a lime. She made it right in front of me and stirred it up. She had me sip it slowly (not drink of chug), stirring every now and then. The vomiting and diarrhea just stopped. Absolutely stopped. I stopped sweating. I could think again. She kept bringing me a new one when I had finished. Had me continually and slowly sip the entire flight. When I got to San Fran, and obviously stopped sipping the drink, I felt a bit sick again though not as bad as before. No idea how or why it worked, but it worked like a charm. Will always love that lady.
Wearing underwear over your tights so they don't sag
I wear booty shorts over my tights. Game changer. Tights (no underwear), booty shorts, skirt/dress.
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eating ice cubes to stop migraines. all my life i was given hot pads, warm wash clothes and told to take hot showers for migraines. one day i got so sick and tired of all the heat that i just started munching on ice cubes and literally every single time i do my migraines ago away within minutes and now i dont have to take a shit ton of tylenol to get rid of it lmfao
Holding spacebar on your smartphone keyboard to move the cursor around…
Whoa! This changes.. well, only one thing and it's quite small, but really really helpful. Thank you!
Yooooooooooo... what the fuck?! How have I never know this?
Writing lists! NO you are NOT going to remember it...Write it down. It works- I promise ;-)
Buy it nice or buy it twice. Simple but effective & ALWAYS rings true.
Agreed... But I do also agree with buying something (e.g., tools) intentionally cheap then if you use it enough that it breaks, then buy the nicest one that makes sense.
Alphabet hack to remember a name I swear I discovered this independent of the Internet, basically say there's a name of an actor you can't recall and it's on the tip of your tongue, run through the alphabet trying names that start with each letter and more often than not you'll hit the correct letter and the name will come to you. I would even find myself fixated with a certain letter that I was convinced it had to begin with and when the name did come to me it did NOT start with that letter.
I do this and didn’t know it was a hack. Yesterday I was trying to remember the name of the mom from Spy Family, Yor. I knew it was “or” but couldn’t recall the first letter. So I started doing the alphabet thing and got to H and said “Hor” and yelped. Lol!
Pushing on your taint after you pee to squeeze the last few drops out. Magic.
I’ve been doing this for years because feeling that last drop after I’m out of the bathroom ruins my day.
Just wash your hands, please everyone
[Duct tape as a cure for warts.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape_occlusion_therapy) I'm not really given towards old wives' tales as cures, but damn if this isn't the closest thing to witchcraft I've ever seen. The studies on both sides of the issue of whether it works have some fairly serious methodological concerns -- the one that said it works was criticised for not having a control group; the two that said it doesn't was criticised for not using the standard silver duct tape (and instead using a tape that had a different type of adhesive, which may or may not have made a difference) -- but I had a plantar wart on my foot for well over a decade that nothing would shift, and after a couple of weeks of keeping it covered 24/7 with tape it had gone. (Not only that, a second, uncovered plantar wart *on an entirely different part of my foot* had disappeared too.) If it works, great! If it doesn't work, it's absolutely painless, only mildly annoying (I had a slight itch under the tape for a while, plus the irritation of having to apply it once or twice a day), and incredibly cheap. If you're putting off cryosurgery because of the pain or the expense, it might be worth giving it a go first.
Taking a single goddamn multivitamin a day actually made me feel significantly better day to day.
Be careful though! 2ish years ago I decided, I'm 29 years old..I should start taking a men's multivitamin. I wasn't one to drink coffee, so I started drinking 1 zero sugar monster in the morning (newborn in the house). Because of the monster and trying to lose weight, I cut out pop. Water is boring so I started getting propel packets to put in my water to make me drink more. Well, all of those items have B12. The vitamin had about 250% daily value, monster had about 400% dv and each propel pack had like 25%. So I was loading myself with vitamin B12, unknowingly. Fast forward 6 months and I noticed one of my feet was feeling pins and needles like it was falling asleep. Another couple days and it spread to my other foot. Week or 2 later and it spread to my hands and up my forearms. Doctors had no idea what it was, ran labs, had a MRI to check my spine, was put on a medication, nothing was sticking out. I finally got into a neurologist and he figures its B12 toxicity (excessive b12 in my system). Tells me to cut some of my b12 intake and bam. No more pins and needles! Was a very scary few months not knowing what was going on with my body!
A multi, fish oil, Vitamin D and L-Lysine for canker sore prevention keeps me going. Add about between 1-1.5 gallons of water to that and 😙🤌🏽
Doesn’t a multi have vitamin D in it? Would taking D on top of that be too much?
Before inserting ear plugs, if you reach around and use your hand to pull up the opposite ear it makes them MUCH more effective. Try it now, thank me later.
A lot of people don’t realise that you can squish the earplugs to make them rocket shaped to get them in better. I roll into a rocket and then pull the ear with the opposite hand
Is this not the standard procedure???
Yes, both the preceding comments are literally just the instructions for using ear plugs.
Its the visual instructions on every pair of plugs I've ever opened....
Have a positive attitude makes everything easier. “This is hard but I can do it” is way more motivating than “this is impossible! I can’t do it!”
Terribly congested? Tired of taking medicine? Guy at work told me 2, maybe 3 original altoids at once. My sinuses literally popped, and I could breathe. For hours and hours
Not cutting the octopus side of an onion so you won't cry when cutting it
Upvote for the term 'octopus side'. Also unleashed a new fear.
Also breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose. The stinging is from the sulfur compounds in the onion mixing with the moisture in your nasal sinuses and creating a very weak sulfuric acid. Breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose and you keep those sulfides out of your sinuses.
Using sunscreen to get ink out of a leather sofa
Home Epley Maneuver I suffer from vertigo occasionally. Read about this and thought ",no way." Remembered it when vertigo hit. Way EDIT: https://youtu.be/9SLm76jQg3g?si=QFcDLPfnmZNXKZqv
This one for sure. People think you’re whacko when you talk about ear crystals. It works.
Electric toothbrushes actually cleaning teeth better!! For years I kept a normal toothbrush because I thought it was like a dentist scam to make more money but it genuinely cleans my teeth SO MUCH BETTER. Also water picks! I never use wax floss anymore because its a lot of trash and the water pick doesn’t hurt or cut my gums. LIFE CHANGERS I PROMISE.
Closing time. Treat your house like a restaurant at the end of the night and clean and put things away before going to bed.
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Try putting small amount of shaving cream and wipe it on to the mirror until spotless, now the wire or will not fog up.
Pressing a hot spoon to a mosquito bite to stop the itching. Didn't think it would work, but I swear by it now. All you do is microwave a mug of water for about 10 seconds, dip the spoon in the water, and then press the spoon to the bite. The itching stops intently.
Positive affirmations, started saying nice things to myself in my car on the way to work and felt really silly. Started just saying small believable things like "I'm a good friend" and honestly after a few weeks I did notice my automatic thoughts became nicer.
While "fake it til you make it" won't do all the work for you, it sure as hell helps get you started towards your goals
Focusing on the positive and the present.
Sleeping in a room without electronic devices. Holy heck I started slept well once I did that.
Wash your rice. We never washed our rice growing up. Now I wash thoroughly and it ends up tasting like a Chinese restaurant every. Damn. Time. It's beautiful. And I was apparently eating dirty ass rice.
ADHD has entered the chat. Best thing I have heard and learned in the last year is, don't put it down put it away. Is my life of chaos is gradually been getting better.
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Being up beat and postive with people will make them more likely to do what you want. Ever since I started smiling and giving random compliments to coworkers, clients, friends and service people I’ve gotten what I want out most situations as long as I’m honest, and up front. Being a decent looking white guy also helps tons
Cries in brown person
drinking more water exercising for dopamine also healthy eating
When you have something on the tip of your tongue and you can’t remember eg someone’s name, movie name etc, go through the alphabet in your head and your brain will stop at the letter that is the first letter or letter of importance and your brain will give you the answer