Vision

So I got my blood test results back. Turns out I have very high cortisol. This may be adding to the fatigue I’ve been feeling 24/7. How can I fix this issue?

Happy Birthday Leo

Thank you! This would be perfect for my case as I've been really uncomfortable doing meditation and yoga since this occured.

This makes a lot of sense. I had been on a grind for 2 years without any relaxation prior to this happening. I used to be able to meditate and do yoga every day, but ever since my health has been like this, I've had anxiety and depression 24/7. Can't enjoy anything, can't focus or concentrate on anything, takes 10000x more effort to do simple tasks, even on things I usually enjoy. Something must be off with my neurotransmitter production. If I sit still to meditate, it is extremely emotionally exhausting, it's like the anxiety comes at full force. I also feel physiologically uncomfortable, my gut wrenches up and my body becomes tense. I usually am a hardworking person but now I am the complete opposite, the constant fatigue and headache make it feel like my head is about to explode from how much pressure there is. It's hard to explain with words. I couldn't even imagine feeling this terrible before it happened, this can only be experienced. @The0Self Thanks! @Arthur I have watched that, thanks Yes, I've seen those supplements being recommended by many sources. When you were intermittent fasting, were you on a ketogenic diet or a normal diet? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read that: If your body is running on glucose and you are on a low-carb diet, this will increase cortisol levels as your body tries to make up for the lack of energy (glucose). If your body is running on ketones and you are on a low-carb diet, this will not increase cortisol as your body has an abundance of ketones to use for energy. So it would initially feel bad until you are keto-adapted.

@The0Self Can I see sources? Not that I don’t believe you, just want more information on it. It was measured through blood (injection). It was a serum cortisol test. I haven’t done a saliva cortisol test. It was once, in the morning. I was fasted.

I feel like I'm the only person in this dream. Everything and everyone I'm interacting with is just my imagination. This makes me feel depressed. I used to measure my success and fulfilment relative to other people. Seeing others in a less fortunate position than me made me grateful for where I am. But if it's just my imagination, I'm just comparing myself to a fiction. I have an idea of what non-duality is, I know that solipsism is just a belief and that there's no such thing as a person, or me. I still can't stop thinking this way and it's driving me crazy.

So the two main issues I'm trying to heal is insulin resistance (prediabetes?), and severe eczema. I have food intolerances to; salicylates, dairy, wheat, gluten, soy, eggs. I am very lost on what advice to follow, they seem to contradict each other. But here's what I've found through experimentation: My energy, quality of sleep, focus, overall mood - skyrockets when I'm in ketosis. I went on a carnivore diet for a period of time as an elimination diet, and I felt amazing. I ate a banana at one point just out of curiosity to see how much my health contrasts on a non-keto diet, and haven't been in ketosis since. I started binging on bananas out of nowhere, eating 5-8 bananas a day, even though I had no cravings prior to that first bite, and now here I am. It's as if it woke up all the bacteria in my body that liked sugar. Now I am seeing conflicting advice. I'm considering going on a keto diet to reverse the insulin resistance and regain my ability to feel satiated after a meal. But I've read a book "Liver Rescue" by the Medical Medium, which talks about a dysfunctional liver is linked to eczema, diabetes, brain fog, etc. It states that the keto diet and dietary fats strain the liver and that it's fat that causes diabetes, not sugar. Sugar exacerbates symptoms because it sheds light on the damage the fat is doing, it's not the culprit itself. The absence of glucose strains the liver, and the liver has to work even harder to produce ketones. So keto apparently masks the symptoms of insulin resistance, while it's still there(?) I feel my best on the keto diet, but I'm not too sure what to follow. The options I can think of are: Go on a ketogenic diet for 3-8 months, reversing insulin resistance and burning fat. Once it's reversed and the body is lean, eat complex carbs. Go on a ketogenic diet permanently, as a lifestyle, for maximum energy. Don't go on a ketogenic diet, instead eat only complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, quinoa, buckwheat, etc, to potentially heal the liver and also reverse insulin resistance. It's harder to burn fat with this though. I'm thinking about first going on the keto diet, stay on it for a period of time, and then reevaluate. I have already been doing the third option of eating complex carbs, but my brain fog is through the roof and I never feel satiated. What would you advise?

Yes, I do intermittent fasting. Mostly 16:8 but sometimes 18:6 Yeah, my family also has a history of diabetes which makes me even more concerned. My family has a history of type 1 diabetes including my dad, aunty and grandparents. Are you sure you're in ketosis? It usually takes 2-4 days to fully get into ketosis, eating fruit and carbs immediately kicks you out of it. Have you tried experimenting with less than 20g carbs for at least a week or two? If it works for you and you like it more then that's great. My current diet is meat organs, chicken, and a lot of vegetables. 10 cups of vegetables and per meal. Oats contain lots of lectins, most people with gut issues are sensitive to that from what I've read. What are your thoughts on lectins @WaveInTheOcean @Danioover9000

And of course, economic benefit "A cured patient is a lost customer"

@Bogdan Would going keto solve gut issues?

@Leo Gura Thanks Leo! ?

@Leo Gura Do you think it’s best to just go with the diet I feel best on? For my case it would be keto, but with people saying it’s a disaster long term, I’m lost. Like do I go on a non-keto diet that I feel worse on relative to a keto diet, just to hopefully save my long term health?

@Twega Thank you! I'll look into those. Nice! Are you vegan? About eczema - do you know if it can ever be cured? Or if the food intolerances can ever be reversed?

@Twega Yes, that makes sense. But 60% of eczema sufferers have a salicylate sensitivity, I happen to be a part of that. I've pretty much been intolerant to it my entire life as I've had eczema since I was an infant. What does your diet consist of?

@Twega I have tried going without meat for a period of time. It doesn't give me enough energy to function, especially when I am intolerant to the most nutritious plants and fruits as they are high in salicylates.

I don't match any of the symptoms for SIBO. Leaky gut, however, very likely. Where does it say the book isn't for leaky gut? Have you read Liver Rescue? I have trouble trusting the author fully as I strongly disagree with some of their points. There are no cravings during ketosis so their claim that keto diet is just whipping yourself into restricting foods with sheer willpower is wrong. "it’s not possible for your body to go into ketosis if you’re eating any amount or form of sugar whatsoever, including the natural sugars found in most foods. That means anyone eating even a tiny bit of nuts, seeds, avocado, cheese, butter, tomato, or green juices is taking in natural sugar. Unless someone is eating only bacon three times a day (in which case they’d feel terrible and cause even more damage for themselves down the road), they’re not entering ketosis." - From Medical Medium's website It really seems like they have never experienced ketosis...

@Leo Gura Yes, I'm currently doing meat + low salicylate vegetables. That's my entire diet. I can't eat berries as they are very high in salicylates. How can I tell if I have a gut bacteria problem? I don't know if I should stick to keto permanently. It just seems counterproductive that feeling worse (by not being in ketosis) would contribute to healing my liver. The benefits of keto make me want to stick with it - especially when there are no virtually no cravings for carbs or junk during ketosis.

@The0Self Thanks! What are your thoughts on going keto permanently? I feel the best running on ketones, but I'm concerned about the possibility of it straining my liver.

In other words; Intuition over logic/thinking Right-brained over left-brained Heart over head Grounded over ungrounded What can I do to help live by these ideals? I tend to think a lot, it gets me stuck in my head.

@aurum Agreed. Often times it can be a distraction. It takes great honesty to understand why we do what we do or want to do. With great power, comes great responsibility - a lot of people who become successful end up losing themselves to drugs, or other forms of self-sabotaging hedonism. It's sad.

This is just a sudden insight I had. I want to write this down before I forget about it. We can still pursue material possessions and enjoy them without expecting happiness from them. It doesn't mean we need to renounce them altogether. With cars for example - we can still want to buy fancy cars without wanting to impress anyone or flaunt our success, it can literally be just because we want to experience driving them. Do we buy fancy cars in those video games to impress people? No! We customize our cars, make them fast and look awesome because it's fun! My reference point for this is when I played GTA V many years ago. The characters in GTA V aren't real, so it's not like I'm buying fancy cars to impress them, I'm doing it for myself, simply because it's fun to drive them. There will likely come a time where you naturally lose your love for material things as there are better juices to life (in theory), but I think it's counter productive to force it. Life is like a videogame. You can treat your human self as a character that you are playing in this game we call life, and realize that you are the player, not the character.

Alright awesome! Thank you ?

Where can I find the best life coaches? Who or what websites would you guys recommend? I'm fine with either online or in person, I'm looking for someone I can talk to one on one that can guide me. Thanks.

My meditation practice is still a means to an end, I have a vision of it eventually being an end in itself but I currently don’t really enjoy it. I’ve found that after about 20 minutes of meditation I start losing focus and the only thing that’s on my mind is stopping. I know that I can push it and suffer through it but that’s not the point of this post. When do you think I’ll start enjoying it? Do you enjoy your meditation practice? How long did it take you until you started enjoying it for its own sake?

I realized that theory is to practice as Lego blocks is to creating things out of those Lego blocks. You can conceptualize it like this: Theory = building your collection of Lego blocks, making it broader and more diverse. Practice = using your arsenal of the various Lego blocks you have, and creating something out of it. What use are Lego blocks if you're not creating anything out of them? In worldly terms; What use is theory if you're not putting it into practice? If you don't have a broad theoretical foundation, you don't have a broad collection of Lego blocks, which limits your capacity to create. So when researching, we can ask ourselves: What am I really creating out of this Lego block?; What am I really practicing by learning this theory? Some Lego blocks might not take effect until 10-20 years ahead of your life. It can still be useful to add them to your arsenal but make sure you get your priorities straight and dynamically balance your focus on which Lego blocks you are collecting. A skyscraper needs a solid foundation.