All protocols

Example target given was three 20-minute bouts across the week, totaling about 60 minutes of heat exposure weekly.

Do not stay perfectly still in cold water; moving the limbs breaks the warm thermal layer and increases the stimulus.

Before starting any new behavioral, nutritional, supplementation, or strong temperature-based protocol, consult a board-certified physician.

During cold exposure, count subjective waves of resistance or urges to get out as 'walls.' Before starting, decide on a target number such as 3 or 5 walls, and optionally add one extra wall if feeling bold, provided you can do so safely.

Engage in cognitive exercises during cold exposure to maintain prefrontal engagement and clarity under stress. Examples include moderately challenging math problems, thinking in full sentences, or recalling specific challenging information.

Do not do deliberate cold exposure with a very full stomach.

If someone is overheating, stop the exercise immediately and get them out of the heat because hyperthermia can be dangerous or fatal.

Avoid deliberate cold exposure late in the evening or at night because it can raise core body temperature, increase alertness, and disrupt sleep.

Use freely accessible YouTube videos as a resource for guided exercise and breath meditation; if one option doesn't suit you, choose from many alternatives.

Use news only briefly to check whether anything important is happening; avoid repeated clicking and prolonged exposure to frightening news content because it can contribute to vicarious trauma.

Use journaling to put words to trauma and bring new eyes and curiosity to internal experience rather than repeating automatic thoughts. Structure it based on what helps: write a little at night if carrying a journal all day becomes compulsive, or keep a journal with you if strong thoughts arise unpredictably. After writing, read back what you wrote to gain distance and perspective.

Avoid selecting a therapist solely because sessions feel pleasant or easy; difficult topics need to be addressed.

The guiding principle for preparing for therapy is to arrive in a state that allows full presence and engagement. Examples given include arriving early, sitting quietly, calming yourself, or meditating a little beforehand.

Use the post-therapy approach that helps you retain and organize what was gained. Options mentioned include going for a walk, sitting quietly, taking notes during therapy, or doing the opposite—leaving it alone immediately afterward and reflecting on it later.

If trying to make progress rather than just maintain, less than weekly therapy is described as too infrequent to retain momentum; once a week for an hour is presented as the minimum.

When distress rises, especially if linked to prior trauma and rumination, increase therapy intensity or frequency.

Avoid trying to process everything at once on your own; approach trauma gradually in manageable pieces.

If having suicidal thoughts, thoughts of death, not wanting to be alive, or other scary thoughts, do not attempt solo intensive trauma work; find outside help or another resource.

Medication can be used short-term or long-term as a tool rather than a fix, especially to improve mood regulation, anxiety regulation, and distress tolerance so a person can engage in therapy more productively.

Attention problems can come from anxiety, depression, poor sleep, poor diet, and stress in life; do not assume all attention deficit is ADHD.

Poor diet is identified as a cause of attention problems; eating well is framed as a foundational self-care step and improving diet is therefore implied as a remedy.

Alcohol is described as almost never a good coping strategy and carries additional addiction risk in some genetic profiles.

Cannabis may help some people around sleep by gating out intrusive thoughts and helping them relax, but it is not a general treatment for depression, anxiety, or trauma; it can also be harmful and may narrow cognition onto negative content, so it should be used thoughtfully and carefully.

Get enough total sleep to transition through slow-wave sleep early in the night and REM sleep later in the night; even being short by about an hour can reduce REM sleep and disrupt metabolism.

For shifting a late chronotype earlier, wake up two to three hours before your typical wake-up time consistently.

For shifting schedule earlier, aim to go to sleep two to three hours before your usual bedtime.

If consuming substantial caffeine, ensure enough salt intake and hydration.

If consuming substantial caffeine, hydrate adequately and get enough salt.

If taking MAO inhibitors or other dopamine-pathway drugs, be careful with cheeses such as Parmesan because of the cheese effect, including migraines and elevated blood pressure.

Regularly ingest foods that provide enough choline to support baseline acetylcholine synthesis. Examples mentioned include beef liver as the most potent source, plus eggs, beef, soybeans, chicken, fish, mushrooms, and kidney beans; includes vegan or non-meat sources such as soybeans.