I didnt read through all the replies, but the pineal gland, dream work (melatonin, produced by third eye), as well as herbalism and wholistic health care, and addiction medicine, have all been main subjects in the study i call life. I am, by no means at all, any sort of expert. I have a cursory understanding of a wide range of subjects, and a better understanding of others, which helps me intuit my way through these subjects.
i have no formal training of any sort.
With that being said, i have struggled wwith sever depression and feelings of social isolation since i can remember. I have been accessing "consumer grade" addictions services, as a person living below poverty line, for over a decade, and compulsory mental health "services" as a child.
my life path is one of being at odds wwith the system, and they (the secret race of pig people that run everything) have tried to keep me down since day 1, so as my intuition had told me, health care including mental health care was just a distraction at best aand a atrap designed to kill at worst. The reason i am alive today, besides Apollo (HAIL! Apollo Paeon! HAIL! Apollo Akestor! HAIL! Apollo Boedromius!), Hecate (HAIL! Hecate Pyrophoros! HAIL! Hecate Skylakegia! HAIL! Hecates Anessa!) and any other guides (Respect, Honor, And thanks to my spiritual ancestors) i would not be alive today. So much of my life, ive reallized in the last few months, has been shaped by these two.
i know no one wants to hear this, but the answer is very very simple and actionable. there are three things off the top of my head i can think of
1. Diet - Reduce and or eliminate any factor farmed meat, reduce all meat consumption to an absolute minimum according to a diet like chinese medicine or ayurvedic eliminate all pesticides, preservativves, artificial colouring and refined sugars. Eliminate coffee, even caffeine from your diet (I switched to ginseng tea, holy shit now i know why kung fu masters drink it) Reduce any foods that are known to cause inflammation, including gluten (trust me, anyone should try this, if you eliminate it completely your body because adverse to it and it causes you to feel sick and sluggish, plus it causes inflammation). Eliminate glycophosphates (roundup) from your diet.
1.1 Eliminate fluoride, drink purified or uncantiminated water - ok this is kind of diet related, but my tin foil hat has received transmissions that an ancient race of evil pig-people hybrid aliens are contaminating the water systematically in order to cause stunted brain growth.... but what do i know.... no but seriously, that shit is spiritual poison. The pineal gland regulates melatonin, which is one of the strongest anti inflammatories known, which regulates (amongst so much more) oxytocin production. Oxytocin and melatonin are two of the most important chemicals your body makes in my opinion. We wont get in to the spiritual motives for a possible systematic poison of the human pineal gland now, but Melatonin annd Oxytocin regulate (amongst others) Dopamine production as well.
Did you know there are peoplle with a disorder that their brain creates NO dopamine whatsoever. None. Without medical intervention they die.
If these people didnt receive medical treatment they would die of dehydration with a bottle of water in front of them. Because dopamine is responsible for motivation and moving the body but also momentum or locomotion. Withouut dopamine you dont move your body, without moving you die. Sound like depression much?? what else does depression feel like? isolation. which brings me to 2
2. Live in service, or at least make a friend - Oxytocin deficiency during developmental years, i hypothesize, causes many many developmentally related chronic and severe mental health disorders, any that are dopaminergic (not sure thats the right ord) or related to sleep for certain, as well as oxytocin deficiency also being the root cause of addiction in society. (Read "The Globalization of Addiction" for more on that, its actually the best book ive ever read, and really shaped the foundation of my world vview) But oxytocin is a hormone that evolved in animals who llive in social groups. It motivates social interaction, but more specifically social connection.
An example of this is this. You go to a high school reunion. You meet three people.
Each one walks up to you from behind and firmly puts a hand on your lower back, below the shoulders but above the tail bone. you turn around surprised and see one of three faces.
One is your high school bully. Do you feel good? Comfortable? Like you want to disappear?
Another is your first kiss, who has aged like fine wine. Do you feel good? Comfortable? Like you want to disappear back to their place?
Another is the waiter politely trying to squeeze by while you take up too much space. Do you feel good? Comfortable? Uncomfortable?
this demonstrates how oxytocin, which is essential for our human body to remain in homeostasis, is really about social CONNECTION, which is a feeling of being a part of something bigger. something that matters more than little old me. A lack of oxytocin is the feeling of isolation.
Which is also the feeling of chronic addiction, and depression.
3. Exercise. Get some fuckin exercise, pretty obvious. your body needs it.
no but seriously. this is one of the things i wish someone had taught me in all my years of counselling, drug treatment etc.
listen up.
Did you know, having one day of increased dopamine production, by natural means not drug induced or otherwise artifical, like say going for one long difficult exercise, or putting in an extra few reps, or having one major breakthrough accomplishment (all dopamine producing actions) or even a cold dip i imagine...
it can increase baseline dopamine levels for up to 3 or more years
wild.... that shit blew my mind when i heard it. One hard thing. Just do it once, and every hard thing will be easier for three years or more
anyways.... nevermind all the other endorphins etc which all co-regulate eachother because the body is a system not a series of separate processes... exercise is obvious, but hard, i know.
4. Sleep regularly - Melatonin is one of the most important chemicals in maintaining homeostasis. We evolved for who knows how many years, since life began, to be in sync with the cycles of the moon and the sun. that didnt change when industrial capitalism was born. When i have llived nomadically, whether as a hobo riding the rails or a begger living in the streets, or on a piece of land homesteading, i am a slave to the rhythm of the sun. im up too damn early every day, and im out by midnight ever nnightt. this is immediately disregulated when i begin living inside. Part of this is due to exercise, part from the reduction in light and noise pollution.
Not to mention, and maybe most importantly, when your dreams are taken away from you, you have lost your connection to source. Also, it means you have lost your ability to dream literally and figuratively, imo.
So this is my working hypothisis on how to cure addiction and heal most developmentally related mental health disorders (as well as physical health but we wwont get in to that)
uhmmm... yeah.... i guess i did that ramble. Oxytocin/melatonin/dopamine/biohacking type shit is one thing i am known to ramble about. as well as conspiracies.
