For me it was doing just a few minutes of HIIT a day. It boosted my energy levels a lot and reduced my blood pressure by about 5 points.

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[–] 33 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Going for a walk. Trees have a positive effect on mood and you are out moving :)

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  • [–] 16 points 4 months ago

    I can second the working out. Consistent steady training routine has been rather great for energy levels and mental well-being, even despite training sessions being exhausting.

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  • [–] 15 points 4 months ago

    Drinking a glass or two of water, stretching a couple times an hour if you sit most of the day and eating a vegetable at at least one of your meals. Also getting your face in sunlight for ~15 mins if you can manage it.

    It’s not zomg-cure-your-chronic-illness levels of anything but it’s a small baseline buffer.

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  • [–] 15 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I became lactose intolerant recently and since cutting dairy out of my diet, I feel so much better. I have more energy, better eating habits, better dumps lol. And I feel much better mentally, too. My ADHD and anxiety have been much more manageable. I swear my gut biome just always hated dairy and made me feel like shit for it.

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  • [–] 12 points 4 months ago

    Go for walks regularly.

    Eat healthy.

    Get 8 hours of sleep every night.

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  • [–] 10 points 4 months ago*

    For me, getting more outside in nature, traveling more and improving my sleep schedule has tremendously boosted my mental (and overall) health. Also mostly overcoming my quarter-life crisis helped a lot (yes, that's a thing apparently).

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  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago

    Having a good breakfast is always necessary for me when I’ve got a long day planned. 1/2 cup oatmeal with a couple of tablespoons of hemp seeds is 11 g of protein, nearly 20% of the recommended daily fiber, and around 250 calories before toppings. The hemp seeds add protein and healthy fats and the fiber from the oatmeal keeps you satisfied longer. Oatmeal is also supposed to be good for your cholesterol, too.

    Chocolate chips, cream cheese, peanut butter, or jam each work great in it. If you’ve never had hemp seeds they’re slightly nutty, but it works well with oatmeal IMO. Don’t forget to add a few shakes of salt.

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  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 7 points 4 months ago* (1 child)

    Sit for some time (recommended is 5-10 minutes, i do 2-5) picturing your thoughts as clouds passing overhead, observe what they are but don't judge yourself for thinking or feeling that thing.

    Gives you more control over your own mind and how you react to things, makes you more focused in the long run. This is supposed to be a habit you can do 1 time each week or each day. It comes up in one of these brilliant videos - probably the first one listed.

    Eventually you will start to welcome these moments of calm. I like to do it in the garden or the bath.


    Pick up a small exercise you can do with no equipmemt at will, you can do this at home when you need to think or are worried about things. Motion is good for managing thoughts. E.G:

    • Squat unweighted as many times as you can, up to 100. Harder than it sounds and better for you than it sounds. (Source: YellowGuy on Youtube)
    • Use resistance bands just to make sure you've actually used your arm, back or leg muscles today (great if you work at home)

    • Swap inauthentic things for authentic things. E.g replace X and Tiktok with Fediverse equivalents :)))
    • try making new foods for yourself. Pickles and fermented things are good and pretty economical for what they would cost otherwise, and providss you with a healthy sugar free thing to snack on

    • Never bring a screen to bed with you and always try for 8 hours of sleep.
    • Go outdoors for sunlight and maybe a walk as soon as you've finished your wake up routine. [1 source (others exist): Huberman Labs "Optimal Sunlight Routine"
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  • A struggle cuddle with my cat seems to calm me down. I noticed myself doing it when stressed (it doesn't happen often) and read about it and it seems to check out. 👍

    Oh and a long lukewarm/hot shower always makes me feel better, and it's very good at dealing with bloating.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago

    Masturbate.

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  • [+] 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)
    [–] 5 points 4 months ago

    Exercise outdoors, eat healthier, limit sugar to 20 mg a day (less is ofc better), meditate, take time off, sit in silence and let your brain just rest for a while

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago

    My depression remains unaffected by any ordinary means, except for medication. My mood temporarily improves by exercise, the warmth or smell of some girls (sorry guys), being with a friend or family member, rewatching Stargate SG-1 for the XX's time, playing a story driven PC game, very seldom listening to music and even more seldom a walkabout.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago
    • Getting a good night's sleep
    • Getting a nap in, for those who can fall asleep quickly
    • Drinking a nice cup of hot/warm tea or water. Seriously it works surprisingly well for relieving stress
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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago* (2 children)

    Alcohol. For the second part, at least.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I realized a while back that Alcohol just steals joy from the future and uses it up in the present moment, but the way it does so is on a rising curve of what I liken to joy debt.

    A beer in the evening after a hard day of work isn't really going to accrue any joy debt. No hangover, no real long-term negative effects.

    A night out with moderate drinking, not to the point of intoxication, incurs a joy debt that you'll likely pay for in the morning in the form of a headache. A strong coffee and a good breakfast pays off most of the debt but you're still in the hole for a couple hours after. Frequent repetition of this incurs a sneaky kind of joy debt that slowly accrues over time and if not controlled will fuck up your health as you age, but can be reversed if you get things under control.

    Getting proper drunk fucks up the entire next day. Basically an entire day of joy debt. Your rager last night was paid for by both your wallet and your well being the next day. God forbid this becomes a regular thing for you. One of the worst examples of joy debt I can think of is liver cirrhosis.

    So yeah I agree, alcohol can help mood if you're not the kind of person that gets angry when they drink but it can also indebt you in some really fucked up ways that sneak up on you pretty quick.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    Eat oranges.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    eat healthy food. exercise. engage in activities you find stimulating and make you feel good afterwards.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    Metabolic health appears to be directly linked to both body health and mental health

    Eating local whole foods, nothing from a factory or a box or a bag - is a great way to remove a bunch of junk from your diet.

    Check out your tg/hdl ratio on your last lipid panel, if its less then 2 its a good indicator your metabolic health is doing well, if its less then 1 then your metabolic health is doing great. If you have room for improvement then you could consider doing whole food low carb diet, as carbohydrates are heavily implicated in many instances of impaired metabolism.

    Incorporate exercise and movement into every aspect of your day, don't stay indoors, get sunlight as much as you can, don't sit to long in one position at the office, etc. Exercise snacks, even as simple as taking the stairs, helps.

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