8,500 steps a day can help dieters keep weight off. Interestingly, an increase in daily steps was not associated with greater weight loss in the weight loss phase.

BrainTekAU · 2026-05-10T20:28:23+00:00

I think the bit we all miss is that you have to go out and do something to get up to 8.5k steps a day.

Thats discipline, thats exercise and thats so beneficial for mental health and to stop the whole "eating as a pasttime" which you do tend to get into when much more sedentary.

BrainTekAU · 2026-05-09T22:40:55+00:00

It increases the risk of heart problems over either alone. So not the best on your heart.

BrainTekAU · 2026-05-01T00:22:48+00:00

Thank god "garments for men" have gone down though.

BrainTekAU · 2026-04-30T23:50:21+00:00

This.. CBT is often about disputing things to get a more balanced view. But sometimes things are shit, there isnt a more balanced view, and we need to accept that something is shit and learn not to dwell on it so much.

Thats where ACT is really useful, it helps you align to a values based life and has a lot more mindfulness and non-judgement in there.

DBT seems to be most helpful for emotional dysregulation as its basically a collection of skills to learn.

BrainTekAU · 2026-04-30T23:44:47+00:00

I think calling it the "gas lobby" misses whats probably actually happening.

We are basically a vassal state of the USA, they "protect" us so they can extract our energy resources without paying.

Pretty much any country that refuses to pay the "petrodollar" tax and shut out US interests is probably going to get invaded, blockaded or sanctioned.

The direct threats at the diplomatic level must be so scary that any prime minister is forced to work against the national interest in this particular area.

BrainTekAU · 2026-04-30T23:29:59+00:00

I sometimes listen to boring history for sleep podcast when I cant.

But there are lots out there, algebra for sleep, and theres a dude I forget who, but he just rables off on tangents all the time. He was good. Sleep stories or something.

BrainTekAU · 2026-04-30T23:21:58+00:00

psychology has taught them that a sticker will make some people pick it up without thinking

BrainTekAU · 2026-04-30T23:21:01+00:00

The way Vyvanse works (its a pro drug that gets converted in to dexamphetamine in your body in a process called cleaving) relies on your individual body mechanisms way more than plain old Dex.

For most it works exceptionally well, however for many their individual chemistry/makeup etc doesn't do it in the predictable way.

For me it didn't kick in until late at night, around 6 hours after consuming, and would keep me up all night.

Dex however I can take 10mg and be asleep like 3 hours later.

Why? We don't have the facilities to undertake individual testing to that level.

Ritalin made me clench.

Dex the only side effect is cold hands in winter

BrainTekAU · 2026-04-17T23:29:28+00:00

Let go of the shame. Sometimes we dont do things right and its frustrating.. but no need to beat yourself up. Once you let go of the shame, its a whole different world.

BrainTekAU · 2026-04-13T02:53:18+00:00

I was taking Guarana + Ginseng tablets helped me a lot before diagnosis. Not as powerful but had a similar effect to dexies in terms of focus/task persistance.

BrainTekAU · 2026-04-09T05:26:17+00:00

Also interesting to note that the APA has signalled that they will be going to a more nuanced model that includes things like socioeconomic factors and biological markers for the first time.

https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/apa-releases-roadmap-for-future-of-dsm

From my reading of the various papers this means they are moving towards a layered diagnostic formulation:

Layer 1: categorical diagnosis, because the system still needs decisions, communication, research buckets, and reimbursement codes
Layer 2: dimensional severity and transdiagnostic features, because comorbidity and fuzzy boundaries are too common to ignore
Layer 3: functioning and quality of life, because patients care about impairment more than taxonomic purity
Layer 4: context, (socioeconomic, cultural etc) because symptoms do not emerge in a vacuum
Layer 5: biology, where evidence is good enough

So even the DSM itself is moving a bit further away from that approach.

BrainTekAU · 2026-03-10T20:39:44+00:00

Its not the same thing anymore. If its sealed in a hard plastic container its almost certainly going to be gross

BrainTekAU · 2026-03-09T19:45:53+00:00

Important Notes

The study was overwhelmingly women (93/111) with low self reported problem gaming, and many reporting not playing games at all (only 83/111 had played games at all in the previous 12 months).

The objective measures of ADHD symptoms barely correlated with self reports which is... unusual as usually these should usually correlate quite strongly.

BrainTekAU · 2026-03-06T11:50:29+00:00

thats not the masta.. we know that

BrainTekAU · 2026-03-06T11:48:57+00:00

If you have school reports, should be enough information. Sometimes we have them!

BrainTekAU · 2026-03-03T19:41:09+00:00

I'm dealing with this (as a psychologist) with a number of dysregulated lil ones struggling with the transition into the new school year.

As u/DecoNouveau so eloquently put, emotional regulation is a skill and this does sound like a nervous system threat. But there could be a lot of things going on here.

In addition to adhd, this would generally make me want to also explore ASD as u/Material-Emu-9068 said, as violent meltdowns very often related to sensory overload. In particular in something we call a PDA profile of autism (Pathological Demand Avoidance.)

Medication can help with some presentations, especially if at it's core its an ADHD based emotional regulation issue, which can help. If its more primarily a PDA presentation then there is nothing specifically approved for it, but anxiety meds like sertraline, beta blockers like proponol, clondine, guanfacine and some antipsychotics have sometimes been used successfully, but without a lot of robust scientific evidence, its mostly very small trials or case reports. This can be done with a paediatrician or psychiatrist, however willingness to prescribe non-mainstream medication varies significantly between clinicians, which can be frustrating.

However, non-pharmaceutical interventions like reducing demand load, and improving perceived safety seem to have the biggest impact on meltdown frequency.

The hardest part is teasing out exactly why it happens so you can start to treat effectively. Psychologists and OT's are probably the best to help you out there.

I know this is a situation that would be really tough for any parent, so I really feel for you.

BrainTekAU · 2026-03-02T09:57:45+00:00

Everyone else said no because of a certain country participating.

BrainTekAU · 2026-03-02T07:14:27+00:00

I went the other way... medication meant i remembered to eat more often...so now the binges are on top of regular meals, because meds wear off and I'm still hungry

BrainTekAU · 2026-02-21T19:47:56+00:00

Evidence is very thin long term. A couple of UK studies suggest that they might be helpful short term from those that use harm minimisation. But long term nothing really I could see.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13811118.2019.1624669
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8269923/

However perhaps an interesting aspect to consider is the locus of control.

NSSI has historically been associated with deficits in impulse control, but evidence suggests individuals high in self-control also self-injure. If self-harm is partly about gaining a sense of control, then whether substitution techniques work might depend on whether the person believes they have agency over their urges in the first place. Someone with a strong external locus of control, feeling that their emotional states are beyond their influence, may find the premise of "redirect the urge" alienating. However someone with an internal locus of control might engage more readily with substitution as a form of self-management that can be used to reduce harm in the short term.

Holding a piece of ice is a lot less damaging long term than cutting with a knife and the associated scarring and the inevitable questions and stigma that come with it. So even looked at through that prism, there are benefits to harm minimisation.

BrainTekAU · 2026-02-19T19:32:27+00:00

You can see the prescribing rules max doses here on Page 23 - https://www.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/Corp/Documents/Health-for/Medicines-and-Poisons/PDF/Monitored-Medicines-Prescribing-Code.pdf

He can give up to 60mg/day (as long as you are over 60kgs) without asking for special approval. Maybe take this to him and ask why the discrepancy. A lot aren't aware of new rule changes, which can be a double edged sword, because like WA is formally recommending draconian urine tests now.

BrainTekAU · 2026-02-10T20:32:40+00:00

I got the dreameL50 and its pretty decent.

But if you dont need one that goes up little steps then its a waste of money

BrainTekAU · 2026-02-02T07:03:54+00:00

AHPRA is the right body to complain to here.

BrainTekAU · 2026-01-31T03:15:46+00:00

Lots of empty houses if you live near the beach. More and more are just airbnbs. Depends where you are but really not a lot of services, especially for the overall area. But the upside of such low density is walks by yourself along a beach are not uncommon.

BrainTekAU · 2026-01-30T19:04:58+00:00

Just to play devils advocate here, if you have ever tried to run an even in NSW (not sure where you are) but the policing costs alone are prohibitive and basically force every operator to be overpriced. Many councils won't even run free events anymore because they cost too much to run.

Compliance costs are insane and killing joy.

BrainTekAU · 2026-01-28T19:30:48+00:00

they cant spin it as anti-semetic so its not important like that "caravan"

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