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Stress relief!

We all know how stressful prostate cancer can be. What do you do for stress relief?

  1. Exercise with heavy weights on one day and cardio the next one. Not only it helps fight off the fatigue from the hormone therapy, it also generates feel good hormones (dopamine?).

    Breathing exercises using the Wim Hof method (research the guy, he is a phenomenon). It's basically a mix of yoga meditation, breathing and cold therapy.

    I was always a video game player but after my diagnostic I began to focus more on Dark souls games. Many people say that those games are too difficult but it is more about figuring out how to approach a challenge. And there is that sentence from the first game which says "Don't you dare go hollow". I even considered getting a tattoo with that sentence which roughly translates to "Don't you dare get depressed and give up".

    Right before bed, I try to watch some stand up comedy for 15-30 minutes as I try to clear my head of negative thoughts and worries before I fall asleep. Once my head is on my pillow, I try to find at least one thing from my day to be grateful for.

    1. Thanks Jill. And thank you for bring up endorphins. I somehow could not conjure that word when I wrote my post as my brain kept going to dopamine. I'll blame that on the ADT brain fog 😀

    2. no problem. We are fortunate that movement can give us such a great mental feeling. Jill (team member)

  2. When I want to distress my options are a long walk in a wooded environment. ... OR ... Put on headphones, close my eyes, and zone out listening to Steven Halpern's Sound Healing or Ocean Suite. Dennis(ProstateCancer.net TEAM)

    1. I know it's not a healthy answer, but drugs. I exercise and lift weights but that doesn't relieve any stress. Instead, I find taking very large amounts of THC on weekends (90 milligram or more) completely detaches my mind from my body. It's as if I'm floating in the air above my diseased and hideous body and for about six or seven hours my body doesn't belong to me, it's just a husk, and I exist just in my mind. Sleep also does the same. I take Ambien and have amazing technicolor dreams that are 1,000 times better than my real life right now.

      1. , It is nice to hear you found something you are comfortable with and at the same time offers some relief. Dennis (ProstateCancer.net TEAM)

    2. Big picture thoughts and sildenafil

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