site banner
PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   2417 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for September 20, 2023

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

  • Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.

  • Updates to let us know how you are doing. This provides valuable feedback on past advice / encouragement and will hopefully make people feel a little more motivated to follow through. If you want to be reminded to post your update, see the post titled 'update reminders', below.

  • Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.

  • Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

One of the cool things about this community is that we can benefit from the expertise of our autists regulars with niche special interests. We haven't had (to my knowledge) a nootropics/supplements/vitamins thread in a while, so let's hear from you. Currently I take only Vitamin D 4000 iu every day in the awful, gray British winter (October to April) and fish oil capsules. What should I consider adding?

NMN, NR, Lecithin, Maca root, Vitamin K2 and collagen.

Not sure about vitamins etc, but I've been using Kratom to help with muscular pain/energy/not drinking alcohol and it has been helpful. I tend to get itchy if I take too much for too long though.

It's extremely cheap and a quite effective substance. Some folks have said it's addictive, but I haven't had much of a problem with it. @JhanicManifold might know more.

For regular consumption, creatine is the king, there's no other supplement with as clear and massive of a benefit, it makes you stronger, helps cognition and 30 years of intense research hasn't found a single negative effect (maybe apart from slight intestinal distress in some people).

I also use phenibut and modafinil on special occasions. Phenibut is amazing at lowering social anxiety in particular while leaving your reasoning capacities essentially untouched, and modafinil is good at boosting concentration and making you stay awake. You shouldn't take these daily, phenibut in particular will fuck up your life if you take large doses daily, the best is to use it for occasional job interviews or presentations, for which it works amazingly well.

How are you acquiring modafanil? I was under the impression that it was tightly regulated unless you fly fighter jets.

Buying it on indiamart.com from India pharmacies, I haven't really had problems with importing it in Canada

modafanil

It's actually one of the easier stimulants to find on online labs and pharmacies, much easier than other comparable stimulants. It differs by country what your Border Force officers are going to allow into your country, so it is probably better to get from a domestic source, so knowing where to get it is more about knowing where to look.

What’s the risk with phenibut?

It's a close cousin to benzodiazepines (though much easier to acquire), so the withdrawal symptoms are massive as fuck, there's a reddit community dedicated to people who've fucked up their lives taking phenibut everyday, though I can't seem to find it right now. I also notice increased anxiety on the day after I take a dose. It works very well for my use case, but I periodically remember not to treat it lightly.

The most important guidelines about nootropics/supplements/vitamins are:

  1. People are unique and respond differently due to factors like genetics, diet, and age.
  2. Effects can very greatly based on dose and how often you take something. Some things you have to take multiple times for the effects to build up to a noticeable level.

You can't just copy someone else's stack. You need to know what it is that you're trying to achieve. Then it become trial and error with substances and doses to find what works best for you. Making one change at a time is the best way to identify what works for you.

Some goals you could have might be: more energy, things that aid workouts, immune support, pain management, mood, better sleep, libido, skin, etc.

If you have a specific goal in mind I might be able to give you some recommendations on things to try.

More energy is a big one, I often feel tired in the morning, at least pre-coffee. But I’m mostly interested in what people have found works for them.

I don't have much experience with increasing energy but occasionally I'll take an extended/delayed release caffeine pill and that has been giving me a good energy boost for 8-12 hours.

If you have lower testosterone you could try something like Cistanche or Tongkat Ali. I dabbled around with them and I felt my testosterone change, but the noticeable effects were pretty subtle. It has been a while since I tried them but I recall a mild increase in energy.

Have you tried sleeping more? There are physiological constraints that are not easily circumvented.

My wife has recently claimed that drinking something called saji berry juice (which she mixes with orange juice) has changed her moods, aches, and generally feeling for the better. The little drop of Retsyn apparently is iron supplementation; apparently saji is high in iron. The link I am linking to says it's called "seaberry" or "sea buckthorn" and I have no idea what it is and had never seen or heard of it until there it was in a carton in our fridge.

This is what she drinks.

Oh, this berry is very common here. We buy it flash-frozen and just blend it with sub-60C water to preserve vitamin C. I quite like the taste, but I haven't noticed any significant changes from drinking it.

I just take those plus vitamin c and creatine.

Vitamin C because it's an excuse to eat an orange flavored gummy candy that might be benefiting my genetically garbage skin a bit.

Creatine I took at first for working out, worked for me there, maybe an extra rep or so per set. No real side effects beyond 5 lbs of water weight gain, but no weight in the midsection because clothes fit the same.

Might be just me but I feel like it helps my mental energy / focus as well. Maybe it's a placebo from having a bit more physical energy? Kinda like with the weightlifting it's like I can push through a little bit longer on some mental task where I'd normally want to take a break. Anyone else get this? It's supposed to be very safe unless you have bad kidneys so I usually stay on it even if I'm not working out as much.

You don't have to answer this but I somehow always imagined you writing from NYC. I feel like you've said you lived there. Maybe because I mention my location in every single post I make (日本!) I imagine where others are. Anyway just a random thought, I've no supplement commentary except Fish Oil, because I don't eat fish and something Omega 3s.

I grew up in NYC (and went to college there)! So you’re right, I’m a real New Yorker, but I’ve lived in London for the last half decade or so though.

See, you answered, you didn't have to. Anyway yes I knew you'd mentioned NY. Hard to keep track who's who and where, and I don't and can't, but sometimes I can.

Living in Japan and not eating fish has to be a tragedy. What do you eat at sushi places?

You don't want to know. Yes it's a terrible waste, and I am constantly reminded of it. A cruel joke of fate. I go to sushi places with family and they enjoy whatever raw pieces of ocean thing and I sit there. I eat shrimp, so that's something.

Japan takes seafood to a whole new level. Writhing squid tentacles in ponzu, shirako (the infamous fish sperm), and other abominations like namako (sea cucumber) have, alas, prevented me from even trying.

Magnesium and Zinc are my favorites. Magnesium before bed, and zinc when you want to avoid getting sick(er).

I've found magnesium to be great for avoiding sore/cramped legs in the days following long hikes.

I've had good results with CoQ10 at 200 mg, you should notice a difference if it works for you. Taurine pairs well with morning caffiene, it helps avoid jitters.

Other things are generally for specific issues you're having.

You might want to just look into a multivitamin with CoQ10 just to avoid having to take too many pills.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats