My Grand Uncle who's ninety now told me several years back "You become a different person every 7 years (give or take a year or two)".
I first didn't think much about it but the older I get, the more I realize how true this is. Being in my 30s now, I realized I'm a completely different guy than I was in my early to mid-twenties.
II've lost contact with a lot of people from my past but that's probably because they are also different people now.
Very interesting that he said that because I think I've read that in one of my Tao books that mentioned a cycle of 7 years where your personaliy changes. Everything comes and goes in cycles. Our sun, our planet, our body, everything seems to follow a certain pattern. But after all, everything is connected to everything.
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To everyone: I have read some of your experiences and I wanted to share a method that have helped me through tough times and many others as well. This particular method is very easy for everyone to practice and it can be more effective than you think.
I highly, highy, recommend listening to
Wim Hof and his methods. Both the Breathing technique and the Cold Showers.
What you can do is that you could start with the cold showers. Most people have a shower with cold water in their home.
The colder the better. You can shower in warm water first, then switch to cold water. Shower for 2 minutes in cold water. The intense breathing starts naturally. First you're probably going to get very uncomfortable but this will change over time.
I'd say after 14 days you will start to feel more used to it.
Avoid showering your head at the beginning. Keep the water under chin level.
You could go for, let say, warm water, then 1 minute cold water, then warm water again, then cold water for 1 minute, and finish with a warm shower.
If that is too much, recude it to 1 minute total instead of 2.
This I can guarantee will improve your sleep and you will feel mentally much more stable than before you took the shower.
The Wim Hof breathing technique is also very effective. But I know that with anxiety this breathing can be difficult.
That's the reason I think the showers are the best starting point because you naturally start to breathe in a similar way when taking a cold shower. You can find more about the breathing by listening to Wim.
This may sound boring to you, or you rather not doing it. And I understand that, but there's a lot going on in the brain when you're getting exposed to something uncomfortable like a cold shower. Wim Hof talks about this in detail. He has trained, and cured people with severe mental illness, making them so strong and resistant to cold that they could walk up a mountain during winter time only dressed in shorts and boots. People who wanted to kill themselves got their lifes saved by Wim's methods and made a 180-turn.
I have been taking cold showers for a long time and will comtinue to do so. I have never been as mentally stable as I am right now. I know other things as well that help a lot. But this one I think is the easiest and most accessable method for everyone to do. I also do the breathing. I haven't done these thing in a while, not every day. But I will start doing it again and also combine this with lifting weights.
When I first took the cold showers I screamed; "ooh, ough, oh god, Aaaa , AAAAAHHH!!", or something along those lines.
But now I just stand there like it's nothing for two full minutes. Sometimes longer. And I feel great.
* The Wim Hof method is backed by science and literally anybody with working lungs can practice his methods.
- the science has proved the W.H-method extremely effective and that the human body is capable of much more than previously believed by mainstream science.
* It can boost your testosterone levels, which is very good if you're a man. But women benefit from cold showers too.
* It lowers high blood preassure. I know many men in their 50s that have stopped using their medicine and therefore also
didn't have to deal with the side effect of these pills.
* It effectively boosts your immune system, prevents many negative health conditions, and you can save your money because a cold shower doesn't cost as much as pills or visits to a hospital.
* It improves your circulation, like a lot. You will probably not sweat as much as you did before. At least I didn't.
- it helps the blood to circulate even in the tiniest blood vessles.
* You will sleep like a baby. It helps with sleeping problems, better than pills and no side effects.
* It helpes the nutrients to get into the muscles, and all over the body where it is needed.
* It helps your muscles to recover after a workout session. Less muscle pain.
* It reduces pain of all kinds.
* Highly effective against depression. It helps (forces) the mind to focus on the
present moment.
- it's because the body needs to focus on the cold and the cold ´triggers´ certain brain functions like, one example is the so called the ´blue spot´ in the brain (if I remembered this correctly). The brain literally can create multiple chemicals such as DMT on its own. And that includes the ´happy hormones´ because when I look at myself in the mirror after a cold shower I see a big smile plastered on my face, and I feel good. This feeling can actually last very long.
* Brain Plasticity: Your brain can actually change. It can we wired in a ´less good´ way, but this can easly be changed. When a person for example takes cold showers or starts to work out lifting weights, his/her brain starts to rewire and work differently in a more beneficial way.
and much, much, more...
(Combine this with a healthy diet, lifting some weights, spending time in nature (or where there is greenery), and you're on a different life path, for sure.)
* Notice, do not take cold showers if you feel sick (having shiverrs etc.) or if you have the flu. But otherwise. There is nothing dangerous with the cold. But I highly recommend that as a beginner you finish with a warm showers. Otherwise you can get a little shiverry afterwards.
But that mostly disappear after a while. And another notice, don't over do it. When you feel it's enough, it's enough.
Last note; Doing this without any type of medication probably gives the best results but it shouldn't be anywhere near dangerous if you do take some medication, did anyone die of showers? If you're unsure ask your doctor or go by your gut feeling.
With this information I hope that I helped and / or inspired at least some people here to try it out and I hope you will feel better of this -- and that you find more ways to improve your health in order to become the (real) best version of
you.
I know, but
Just do it! 
"A cold shower a day keeps the doctor away" - Wim Hof
