{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"7MS #727: Securing Your Mental Health \u2013 Part 7","description":"Hello friends! It\u2019s been over a year since we did a dedicated mental health episode, so today I\u2019m doing a big catch-up and running through my 7-point plan for being a more mentally secure me. None of this is professional medical advice (I am most definitely not a doctor or therapist \u2014 well, actually, I am in therapy, but that\u2019s tip #5), so take what\u2019s useful and leave what isn\u2019t. Terms and conditions apply. Here\u2019s my current mental health toolkit: Drink a ton of water \u2014 I try to chug a full Yeti thermos before my morning mint hot cocoa, then keep it going throughout the day. I taper off around dinnertime to minimize, uh, nighttime tinkle stops. Science agrees this does good things for your brain. Brick your phone \u2014 I\u2019ve been using a little Bluetooth device called Brick that hooks into your phone\u2019s screen time features so you can block distracting apps on demand or on a schedule. I\u2019ve got a \u201cBrian Needs Sleepy\u201d timer set for 9 p.m. every night \u2014 pretty much everything except the clock app goes dark. Outlook, Gmail, all the socials \u2014 gone. It\u2019s not revolutionary advice, but it turns out doing what people have been telling you to do for years actually works. Get enough sleep \u2014 Directly related to the Brick. Phone goes dark at 9 p.m., I yap with Mrs. 7 or we watch a show, and by 10:30 p.m. my peepers are drooping. I feel more refreshed and less anxiety-ridden during the day. Supplements \u2014 I\u2019m not here to hawk some magic elixir with 47 mystery ingredients. What I\u2019m currently trying is Nello Supercalm \u2014 a powder you mix into water. It\u2019s got magnesium glycinate, L-theanine, vitamin D3, and ashwagandha. I thought it was placebo at first, but kept it up for a week and noticed a legit mood\/pep boost. Your mileage may vary, but it\u2019s doing something for me. Therapy \u2014 I\u2019ve been in therapy since 2019 when my house burned down (link to those episodes here if you want to get thoroughly bummed out). If I could go back, I\u2019d have started way earlier. The biggest benefit for me isn\u2019t some parade of uplifting affirmations \u2014 it\u2019s having a neutral third party with no stake in my life help me see situations from different angles and cut myself some slack. Take care of the TMJ \u2014 A few years back I started getting tinnitus bad. ENTs were basically like \u201cyep, try not to think about it\u201d \u2014 super helpful, guys. Eventually a jaw specialist found an irregularity on the left side of my jaw and fitted me with a heavy-duty custom mouth guard. That alone made a monumental difference in the ear ringing. But I also picked up a TMJ Pen on a chiropractor\u2019s recommendation \u2014 it\u2019s a 3D-printed vibrating\/heated massager specifically designed for jaw muscles. Looks exactly like a vape (fun times at the airport), but it\u2019s been worth every penny of its ~$200 price tag. Between the mouth guard and the TMJ Pen, I wake up feeling way less like I survived a Saving Private Ryan scene. Forced fun \u2014 After a full work day plus all the dad\/house stuff, my go-to is to be a blob on the couch. Nothing wrong with that sometimes. But I\u2019ve found that the things that actually recharge me \u2014 like singing and playing guitar \u2014 require a little push to get started. So tip #7 is basically a note to future tired Brian: go downstairs, plug in the guitar, and start playing. You\u2019ll be glad you did. Got mental health tips that work for you? I\u2019d genuinely love to hear them \u2014 this is the kind of conversation I want to be two-way. Find me and all things 7MS at 7MinSec.com, our Substack at 7MinSec.club, and our constantly growing pentesting wiki at 7MinSec.wiki. ","author_name":"7 Minute Security","author_url":"https:\/\/7MinSec.com","html":"