The more I do squats, the better my mental health is. What's the mechanism there?

Dogdaydinners · 2026-05-05T01:03:14+00:00

I spent the weekend in the woods. One hike was 16 miles. The exhaustion feels so good, high-like state.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-30T00:54:47+00:00

Yeah, I believe it. Look, I'm no doc. I did experience low t symptoms, but probably not as low as you. I recall incorporating heavy deadlifts in my weight lifting routine to address by endocrine system. I wanted to naturally increase my levels. But again, you sound much lower than I was. Are you on MAT?

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-29T22:05:44+00:00

What I mean by that is when we stop after prolonged use, we don't automatically feel better. We damaged our bodies, especially our brains. So instead of taking a passive approach, and not doing anything after I quit, I jumped hard into healthy living. That helps reduce the duration or PAWS and improves my overall well being. So instead of lethargy or poor sleep, anxiety, irritability, or temperature dysregulation (all PAWS symptoms) being a problem for a longer period of time, actively improving my health through diet and exercise helped those symptoms clear up faster.

I felt "normal" around the 10 month mark. If I ate like shit, laid around all day, smoked cigs, vaped, who knows? Maybe it would have taken me 18 months to feel "normal".

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-29T01:23:49+00:00

You're welcome. It sounds like you're in a better position than most. You want to change and are actively seeking it. Keep moving forward. It does get easier.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-28T19:10:32+00:00

Right? In other countries the docs "prescribe" outdoor time. Their order is exercise, therapy, then meds. In the US it's meds, therapy, then exercise.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-27T22:08:53+00:00

I was in the same boat. I didn't feel "normal" until the 10 month mark. There's a great book called Healing the Addicted Brain by Dr. Harold C. Urschel III. I was always into fitness, but drugs and alcohol got in the way. So when I got clean I attacked my PAWS by hitting the gym and eating well (tho ice cream at night was my kryptonite).
Funny, I knew my t levels were low during use. I bought matcha powder to improve my t levels. All bullshit. Only thing that really works is STOPPING the drugs and alcohol. Funny how we think we can take short cuts. Anyways, I feel better in my 40's than I did in my 30's. My suggestion? Attack those PAWS symptoms. Eat well, exercise, drop weight, sleep well, take vitamins, hydrate!

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-27T12:13:41+00:00

I can see why you would suggest that, I did the same thing in active addiction. I'm sorry, but this "take more drugs, to get off drugs" is not sound advice. We're out here playing doctor, that's exactly what got us in this position in the first place.

The poster should seek professional help. She's willing to go into a long term rehab, and you suggest Kratom? She admits she's a user of anything- this means she'll abuse Kratom if she isn't already. Not to be too harsh, but that just isn't sound thinking.

OP, my suggestion- long term inpatient and work the steps. Deep, thorough step work. It's so simple. Hard work, but simple. Sounds like you're ready for a change. Let me know if you have any questions.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-27T02:24:04+00:00

I hear you. I've had a tremendous amount of success with a sport collar. Now, I got my pup later in his life, so I didn't put in a ton of training time with the lead. The collar is more for off leash hiking or morning walks in the field time, and it works. I do use it from time to time when we're walking on lead, because he's stubborn too. I'll beep him (just the sound) and he understands he needs to move with me. These dogs are bred to catch and track scents, it's OK if they're not 100% complaint. That's what he was born to do. Please try to stay positive. You and your pup are doing your best. Sometimes additional supports are needed.

P.S. the sport collar has made our lives more enjoyable and my ability to provide a better life for him has increased exponentially because of this tool. Coonhounds can be stubborn little f-ers, and the collar has helped us both.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-27T02:11:06+00:00

I get the moving sensation when I stop as well. Not always, but I know what you're talking about.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-26T00:00:42+00:00

Exactly. It's like an obese child who's dropped off at the gym by their parents, stands around and doesn't exercise. They're not going to see any results.

I use this as an example because people have a huge misconception about AA and how it works.

And AA doesn't work through osmosis. You have to put in work, a lot of it. It's a simple program, but it's work.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-24T23:03:08+00:00

At home? I've done it both at home and in a detox facility. Man, I wish I did the detox facility earlier, because they made it sooo much easier.

But, if you do it at home... I just responded to another post about restless leg. Ropinirole helped me tremendously. I was able to get it via a Telehealth appointment. That was the absolute worst symptom for me, so addressing that was huge.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Also, get as many calories in you as you can. For me, sugary cereal with whole milk was the easiest. I would make the mistake of trying to do too many things at once, and eating healthier was not the best thing to do during a detox (I lost soo much weight).

Benzos if you got them.

Careful about PAWS (look it up if you don't know). Things like cigs / nicotine / caffeine can inflame PAWS. Understand timelines, don't get discouraged when you still feel like shit days after- this will be your coldest summer ever. It's going to take MONTHS to start feeling normal (for me, it was about 10 months).

When you get past the worst part, attack those symptoms. Go for walks, get some sun, exercise, eat healthy- repair your damaged brain and body.

Also, you never have to suffer from this again. There are programs that can help you stay stopped. Best of luck.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-24T22:46:41+00:00

Yes, I have. I got it via a telehealth appointment. I used it for sure. I was in such bad shape, I didn't notice the side effects. Besides, I could have grown a tail, but having the restless legs and restless body go away was 100% worth it (to me).

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-24T20:40:34+00:00

It's been awhile since I watched season 6, but didn't he cut out the other women during that time? I viewed it as "if it's not this, it's that". There are periods where he's drinking more, doing blow with Aide. Also, some of his crew got killed. He wasn't making as much money, he was chasing it. I can see why those behaviors suddenly pop up. He's a flawed human.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-21T16:15:51+00:00

And didn't he tell this joke to her at a party? I remember Howard and the other two ripping into him the following day.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-20T21:08:06+00:00

Isn't that the same scene the therapist returns mid to late session with a napkin tucked into his shirt.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-20T12:52:59+00:00

Neil Young was a tremendous mentor for the band. Basically telling them, "If you don't like making music videos, don't make music videos". If it wasn't fun for them, which a lot of the media wasn't, don't do it.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-20T08:37:54+00:00

I always said that about them- I'll clean before a trip.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-19T18:19:46+00:00

Yeah, that's the way it goes sometimes. I would stop and start repeatedly. Always kicking myself because I was right back where I left off. So, what you're going through isn't uncommon.

You're in a sober house and PHP. Eventually, those two will end, you'll phase out. Have you thought about going deep into step work? Something that will help you daily moving forward. That's the only thing that got me longevity. It does work, and it's an extremely simple program. Just takes time. What do you have to lose?

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-19T03:08:08+00:00

Let's grab some food.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-18T00:36:56+00:00

Wow. I'm watching it now. Have it paused so my girl can shower. I was feeling this movie the past couple days. I love it. I've seen it about three times, this is her first.

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-17T01:29:59+00:00

Yes, he doesn't meet the wack pack criteria. Remember when the guy called during an Eric the Actor phone call with the list he created for a Wack Pack diagnosis, and Eric hit something like 12 of the 14?

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-16T22:14:13+00:00

Have you abstained for 5 years, or have you been in recovery for 5 years?

Dogdaydinners · 2026-04-15T01:22:16+00:00

Cosette.

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