Behaviors

If you insist on doing an activity you are already good at, make it safe, free-form, and low stakes; focus less on outcomes and explore rather than perform to reduce discomfort and preserve the plasticity benefits of play.

Early-life antibiotic exposure is described as detrimental to establishment of a healthy gut microbiome; framed as something doctors are now more cautious about.

Use higher doses of probiotics or prebiotics when microbiota diversity is stressed or depleted, such as after antibiotics, severe stress, excessive travel, illness, or radical diet shifts.

Under normal conditions, focus on quality nutrients through diet and keep probiotic and/or prebiotic intake fairly low to moderate rather than using high doses.

Recommended because stress can disrupt the microbiome; specifically framed as limiting excessive, prolonged stressors or stress.

Increase fermented foods gradually over about 4 weeks, from roughly 1 serving per day up to as many as 6 servings per day, then maintain a high daily intake for 6 weeks. Spread servings throughout the day to reduce gastric distress, choose foods you can eat consistently, and prefer refrigerated products with live active cultures; avoid sugary or heavily added yogurts, and verify that pickles actually contain live cultures because most jarred pickles do not.

Evidence cited only from animal models; large amounts of artificial sweeteners, particularly saccharin or sucralose, were said to disrupt the gut microbiome in mice.

Avoid gut cleanses or flushes as a way to improve the microbiome; they may wash away the resident microbial community and leave recolonization to chance. If someone does one anyway, pay close attention to diet during reconstitution.

Choose fermented foods from the refrigerated section if you want products that still contain live microbes.

Gradually reduce added sweetener in yogurt so the palate adapts over time to plain yogurt.

Allow interaction with pets, dirt, and environmental microbes in appropriate low-risk settings such as hiking, gardening, or similar exposure, as this may help educate the immune system. Immediate hand washing may be less important in these contexts.

Wash hands to reduce spread of germs, especially after higher-risk public exposures such as the grocery store, subway, or public playgrounds where there may be germs, pesticides, or herbicides.

If considering probiotics for a medical issue, consult a physician because the evidence can be difficult for non-scientists to evaluate.

Use hypnosis to create positive or manageable exposures in the mind without needing real-world props or situations, including for phobias.

Use a brief standardized test of hypnotizability to determine whether hypnosis is likely to help and to guide treatment intensity and style; if hypnotizability is low, use other approaches instead of relying on hypnosis.

Record the hypnosis portion of a session on a phone so it can be replayed later for self-practice.

During pain-focused self-hypnosis, imagine changing body temperature so the body feels cool, tingling, and numb.

To break superstitious or compulsive behaviors, deliberately refrain from performing the ritual long enough to establish that the desired outcome still occurs without it; example given was not doing it for about a week.

Use systematic desensitization as an alternative treatment approach when hypnosis is not a good fit.

Quick self-test of hypnotizability: look up toward the ceiling, then close the eyes while keeping them rolled upward; greater visible sclera suggests higher hypnotizability.

Build resilience by manageable, voluntary exposure to stress or difficult states followed by recovery, rather than trying to avoid all stressors; facing stress, putting it into perspective, and dealing with it can make you stronger.

Use grief rituals such as burials, memorials, headstones, or sitting Shiva to help make an incomprehensible loss real and comprehensible.

Use hypnosis or focused distraction with children during shots, blood draws, dental work, or imaging procedures to reduce fear and pain. This can include advance training in self-hypnosis with the parent the week before and using personalized pleasant-place imagery based on where the child likes to be.

Hypnosis can be done collectively in groups, including therapeutic support groups, with participants discussing the experience afterward.

He mentions a hard run as a context after which sweet foods like mango may be better tolerated and used efficiently.

If trying glutamine to reduce sugar cravings, increase the amount gradually because it can cause gastric distress.

Talk to a physician before adding or changing anything in your diet or supplementation regimen, especially salt intake, to arrive at an intake that supports mental and physical health and performance.

Know whether you have normal blood pressure, pre-hypertension, or hypertension, and use blood pressure as a key metric to guide salt intake, cardiovascular exercise, and other lifestyle changes, especially while adjusting sodium intake for anxiety, dizziness, sports performance, or cognition.

Use blood pressure status and symptoms to determine whether to increase or decrease salt intake. If you have low blood pressure, orthostatic symptoms, orthostatic hypotension, or POTS, evaluate with a physician whether increasing sodium could improve blood pressure and reduce dizziness and related symptoms.

If your salt levels are low and you crave salt, salty beverages, or salty foods, generally follow that craving until it subsides, but do so in the context of healthy, non-processed foods and avoid foods or drinks with unhealthy additions.