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Hello, I have many signs of an unhealthy thyroid. Like thinning hair (also on my face), rapid heartbeat, very high metabolism etc. I have an inkling that it might be fluctuating between underactive and overactive, but that it's mostly overactive. A couple of days ago I litterally had a dream where I could see my thyroid shining bright blue, which convinced me to write this post. Are there any foods, exercises, visualizations etc. that I can use to improve thyroid health? Sidenote: I also have lots of muscle tensions around my neck, and I often have thick mucus in the back of my throat, among other things. So I definitely have some larger imbalances in the neck/head area that probably should be dealt with.

Can you use your writing skills for something else you are passionate about? If not, I'd suggest you to explore something else that you actually want to do. And btw, Aristotle, Lao Tzu, Karl Marx were pretty influential, to name a few. And of course, if the impact of other authors disappoints you, you can always become an author like no other.

When external threats are few, the body turns against itself. In my view it is indeed a sign of increased development. When material needs are handled, the focus turns increasingly turns inwards towards internal barriers. As hunter-gatherers we were simply too focused on trying to survive to be bothered with that. But now such internal barriers seems monumental and we end up killing ourselves instead.

Yes, Norway in general is trying very hard to please the US. They're strong allies. On a brighter note, we do have the organization EmmaSofia which is working towards legalization of psychedelics. So there is definitely some work being done.

@Leo Gura Thanks for the illuminating reply. Is it safe to do it solo? None of my friends are into psychedelics, or even into the idea of me taking it.

How is everything love, and not just "is-ness"? Is this something that can be gradually realized through mindfulness and the stripping away of beliefs, or does it require some "active ingredient"? Is it so advanced you need psychedelics or some kind of "supercharged" state of consciousness to become aware of it? Is this realization the end-result of a total opening of the heart?

@Nahm Thank you, yes I'm working on that. I tend to slouch and have a somewhat forward head posture. Shoulders are somewhat forward tilted. I definitely have a lot of tension in my chest, shoulders, in front of the neck and in the base of my skull. Oftentimes I will wake up and my neck is really sore, because I have been tensing up during the night. I have been aware that my posture is not perfect for quite some time, but I don't feel like forcefully trying to correct my posture has worked. It's very tiresome, and everytime I get distracted by something else the posture goes back to what it was. However, I can try being more mindful of what is going on in that area without necessarily trying to interfere it. I went to a chiropractor once, and he didn't say my posture was particularly bad (I was there for something else). I have been looking into chakras, and it makes sense that I have tension is in exactly these areas. I have a closed heart (although it has begun to open somewhat), I struggle with communication and self-expression, and my mind has been TOO active almost to the point of psychic bombardement. So essentially deficient 4th chakra, deficient 5th, excessive 6th. I've had very little bodily and emotional awareness for the most of my life, so deficient 2nd chakra also. Maybe also semi-blocked 3rd. So yeah, I am planning establishing a proper Kriya Yoga practice over the next year in order to grab the problem by the root. I have also been writing in my journal, which I feel has helped. Do you happen to have any other suggestions?

@Uraycrab Thank you!

@Nivsch You are using spirituality as a way to escape very human emotions. So yeah, loving your emotions and your human experience could very well be something that you've missed.

I am not sure if these have been answered: Is love just a different word for non-resistance? What differentiates love from not loving? How do you know whether your love will truly be the best thing for all? Can love be abused?

@Michael569 Excuse me, so which one is it? The area of the nori sheet that my thumb covers, yes? @pluto Thank you, if seaweed works well I might acquire some Nascent Iodine at a later time. I've been taking magnesium supplements daily and I feel like it helps. Will look into the other stuff.

@studentofthegame The thing about neuroticism is that it can't really be willed out of existence through neurotic means. If you can access a non-neurotic state of mind you might be able to heal it that way, or you might invite its dissolution by doing calming things that deprives the neuroticism. That is, activities that in your mind gets you nowhere. However, if you now do such things with the intention of getting rid of neuroticism you are back where you started. So it's a kind off catch-22.

This is really the key mechanism of neuroticism. The non-neurotic way would be to simply focus more on the things that you want more of.

By double the size of my thumb, are we talking the area or the volume of the thumb?

Note that this question is itself neurotic. Wanting to get rid of stress, fear and anger is neurotic, as it is a direct conflict with what is. There is absolutely nothing you can do to get rid of neuroticism, as trying to do so is itself neurotic. Stop distracting yourself and let the dust settle. That might help. Might.

It sounds to me like you missed the human aspect. Using sprituality to deal with your emotional issues is just spiritual bypassing.

@Michael569 Thank you! I will supplement my diet with seaweed and brazil nuts and report back how it goes I might ask my doctor for a test some day. I'm just tired of spending money and hearing that everything is fine, when I don't really feel fine at all. Anthony Williams' book looks really interesting. I've added it to my wishlist. On a sidenote, I just read that yogurt is also a decent source of iodine. Maybe that's why eating greek yoghurt every night has caused such a drastic improvement on my sleep quality and mood. My sleep has been somewhat horrible for many, many years and I never wake up feeling refreshed. I even had a sleep apnea test which showed no results.

@Michael569 Thank you Michael, very insightful answer like always. I would say I usually live in a state of chronic stress, although it's gotten better. I have noticed that eating fish gives me a mild burning sensation in my throat area, which is kind of uncomfortable. But it also makes me more calm and relaxed, and I sleep better. I easily get cold feet I am very sensitive to cold. Last winter I was wearing thick wool sweaters all the time and never really felt warm. I haven't noticed anything now in the summer though. Sometimes Again, sometimes Yes Yes I barely ever sweat I can recall having that, but it's been a while

@DawnOfReality You could try repeating an affirmation every time you notice yourself stressing. Like "I make better decisions when I'm relaxed and at ease with what is". I literally cured my insomnia by repeating "whatever you resist persists" over and over every time I could feel the resistance and stress coming. That might just be because it put my mind on something else, however. Which brings me to my second point: I would advice you against focusing on stress, negative thinking, neuroses etc. In general you would like to cultivate the things you would like more of, and NOT focus on whatever you would like to minimize. Because just by focusing on it, even with the intetion of removing it, you are making it more present within your state of mind. This is neuroplasticity 101. You need to litterally forget your problems. You might wonder, if I don't think about them then how am I going to solve them? Now this is where the leap of faith comes in. Can I think of something enjoyable right NOW? When you feel stressed, just let yourself be stressed. You might crash and burn a few times, but that will only increase your awareness of what is going on and what is triggering it. And as you might have heard before, awareness alone is curative. Notice what is going on, and let the subconscious do the work. Notice that this requires a great deal of trust.

@Bill W I have taken several blood tests over the years and all of them have been fine. Doctors are not interested in me and I'm not interested in whatever solutions they might come up with. Those were really just a few examples but I can answer your questions: Hair: Yes, but on your eyebrows and eyelashes too? Hearbeat: Stress and anxiety maybe. I also have very shallow, poor breathing. Metabolism: I have a REALLY hard time putting on weight. If I eat normally I lose weight to the point where I'm really skinny. I'm not asking for any diagnosis, and I'm not gonna do any reckless interventions. I'm just gonna take your suggestions and see what works. Greek yogurt has done wonders to my gut health and health in general, and I wondered if there might be something similar for the neck and thyroid? I know, it's kinda vague. But I figured it might be worth a try.

You need to take a leap of faith and trust that you don't actually need these neuroses. Think of something enjoyable instead. Notice that it's really hard, but do it anyway. And then, after a couple of weeks / months of doing this, you will know if it worked. Again, you must take a leap of faith, as your neuroses will give you thousands of reasons to not do this.

You might want to read "Understanding the Borderline Mother" by Christine Ann Lawson. That was the first thing that came to mind while reading your post, as it goes really well into the dilemma you're facing. As in, should you sacrifice your own well-being in order to take care of emotionally immature parents who can't help themselves? (Hint: it's not..)

Yes, I totally get that. It's a criticism he gets a lot so I'm sure he's pretty aware of it himself. The thing about him though is that he consistently sides with the child. This is so unheard of in a world where children are so often blamed and treated as if there's something inherently "flawed" about them, and that their behavior is not just a completely natural response to growing up in a dysfunctional home environment. I personally find his views about psychotherapy and coaching to be accurate, although it might no resonate with everybody. Particularly not those who have had predominantly positive encounters with the mental health field. I've found this to be rare though, as people often report of having to sift through several therapists in order to find a good one. Also, the mental health field does in general has very low success rate in dealing with even the most common mental health disorders. Personally I think talking to someone else can only be effective up to a certain point. Most people have so much unhealed trauma themselves, and there is so much collective trauma in our culture that is nearly impossible to heal from just by talking to others. In my case self-therapy has been such an extremely valuable skill to have, and it has offered me support when no one else could. Here's his critique of JBP if anyone are interested:

@studentofthegame I do both First I write down anything significant that happened during the day and how I felt about it, in addition to any important insights. Just writing down my whole experience of the day. And then if there's any inner conflict that has been going on for some time I adress that troubled part of me like in the example I gave you. The former is very useful for awareness and emotional health in general, and the latter is very useful if you feel stuck in some way. Again, when adressing a part of you it's very important that you do not let ANY other parts interfere. For example if you're feeling rageful over something then give the rageful part of you the sole attention. The right brain / left brain dichotomy can be a bit unnuanced, as sometimes a condeming left brain part for example might try to interfere. This notion might be a bit confusing, but when the Higher Self (as you might call it) is talking you really feel it. It's positive, solution-oriented, validating and wants the best for everyone. Like you ideally would talk to a small child or a loved one. But yeah, simply adressing the right brain (or Inner Child) is a very good way to go on with the practice. It's just worth having in the back of your mind that there might be multiple parts of you trying to interfere. Like, a harsh and cold left brain part trying to take the place of the Higher Self, or a guilty part getting upset with the rageful part. With time you will notice the Higher Self increasingly becoming your default state of mind in all facets of life. It's really amazing how well this form of self-therapy extends to external relationships.

You're not that which you can observe. At the same time, there's clearly a guy sitting there on the computer. So it's a quite paradoxical thing, really.