5
submitted 1 week ago by half@lemy.lol to c/youshouldknow@lemmy.world

Why YSK: There is a lot of cortisol going on right now. A lot of people are stressed, angry, and afraid. Those emotions all deserve to be felt, but over time, cortisol becomes neurotoxic (inflicting permanent damage on the hippocampus).

Oxytocin (responsible for feelings of love, attraction, affection, etc) is a perfect foil to cortisol. If you notice yourself feeling angry or afraid for an amount of time that bothers you, adding some oxytocin to the situation might be helpful.

Luckily for us, our biology makes oxytocin pretty easy to come across. Different activities work better for different people, but cuddling with a pet or loved one, watching cute cat videos, or having sex work for a lot of people.

Here are a few interesting sources for further reading, if you are curious.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33632072/ https://www.nature.com/articles/srep30187 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5619133/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33632072/

top 32 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Grimy@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

cuddling with a loved one, having sex

Why do I feel attacked. I'm guessing you want me to start eating healthy too. Unrealistic.

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 2 points 1 week ago

I consider jerking off sex with a loved one.

[-] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Will this work if I despise myself?

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 1 points 1 week ago

Might count as hatefucking but endorphins are endorphins!

[-] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

On one hand I see what you're saying, on the other hand...

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 1 points 1 week ago

Try switching hands

[-] gofsckyourself@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

This post is basically "there's a lot of stress and anxiety right now. try feeling good"

No shit

[-] Electric_Druid@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Awareness of the process can sometimes be helpful, especially if it catches people in the middle of a doomscroll.

[-] gofsckyourself@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

I've only ever heard people saying these kinds of posts make them feel worse, rather than being helpful.

It makes it seem like "it's so simple, just be happy and the stress will go away" while they, obviously, already want that but it feels unattainable to them. Thus making them feel even more like there's something wrong with them because they can't achieve something that is portrayed as a simple thing.

I get the intent of this post is in the right place, but in this case the execution is done poorly. It's best to leave this sort of thing to people more skilled and knowledgeable in the very important nuances of this kind of communication.

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 1 points 1 week ago

It's not easy, and it's not simple. It takes real effort and time, but it is also important.

[-] gofsckyourself@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Exactly. This post makes it seem easy. Which can be infuriating when you're struggling with it already.

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 0 points 1 week ago

Harness that fury into something good for yourself: Go for a run, train at the gym, do something physical until your anger subsides. Doesn't even have to be crazy, could just be going for a walk or jumping rope. Some days, it may eventually become easier for you, but when (at least some) people you see say stuff like that, all you can see is them in the present, and not all of their struggles, efforts, and even courage to get there and stay there.

Everyone is fighting their own internal battles, invisible to others, but real enough to them. Try to be more forgiving and understanding both to yourself and to them. It's not always easy, but it's worth it.

[-] gofsckyourself@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

I'm not sure how this comment is relevant to this conversation. My point is that this post is seeming minimizing the effort required to fight against the different causes of cortisol and may even make the situation worse.

[-] RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Read the title as Oxycontin and was like "damn, slow down Lemmy"

[-] Telorand@reddthat.com 1 points 1 week ago

Gonna be a really rough political cycle.

[-] ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago

This isn’t wrong, per say, but it’s an oversimplification of a complicated relationship

Cortisol can influence how sensitive the body is to oxytocin, for one. Similarly chronic stress can inhibit oxytocin release. Most people can recognize this effect: high stress scenarios lower the effect of all the stress remedies you’ve suggested. Doesn’t mean to not try them of course

The timing and context of cortisol release play an important role in whether it supports or hinders oxytocin's effects. Short-term stress responses might be adaptive, while long-term chronic stress can be harmful to the body's oxytocin system. As a result cortisol isn’t inherently “bad”. (This is aside from its role in metabolism, insulin response, circadian rhythms, etc)

[-] Chronographs@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 week ago

Let me just go to the loved one tree and grab a few to have sex with

[-] Tangent5280@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Around these parts that is frowned upon

[-] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

option 1: die of neurotoxicity.

option 2: amuse oneself to death.

option 3: destroy the fascists.

[-] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

Ysk this is pop science

[-] entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 1 week ago

What in the four humors?

This is not how human brains work. It's a wild oversimplification of one of the most complex hunks of meat on the planet, to the point of silliness.

[-] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Meh. We know cortisol is bad, OP is suggesting ways to lower cortisol levels. I'm not sure why your immediate reaction is so inflammatory, pun intended, but maybe your complex hunk of meat should take OPs advice and chill out.

[-] dizzy@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

Cortisol is awesome for many things though!

[-] lemonskate@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

them:

this is wild oversimplification

you:

cortisol bad

checks out

[-] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

It is an oversimplification for the study of neurochemistry, psychiatry, or neuro pathophysiology, yes. This is a casual YSK forum, where medical jargon is not useful, and plain language casual understanding is much more apropos. But thanks for the condescending comment!

[-] entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 week ago

So why not just say "stress is bad for you" instead of "cortisol is bad for you", if plain language is better?

It would be more accurate, too.

[-] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world -1 points 1 week ago

You'd have to ask OP. I find that the average person has cursory knowledge of what cortisol is, and the 175 upvotes on the post seem to support that.

[-] entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

And as we all know, popularity is the ultimate measure of good taste and scientific accuracy. /s

[-] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world -1 points 1 week ago

Just keep moving those goal posts buddy

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

It’s not an oversimplification to suggest countering negative and hostile thoughts/feelings by doing something that makes you happy. In fact, that’s one of the first things my therapist asked me about: what do you enjoy doing for fun?

[-] entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It is a wild oversimplification to suggest that oxytocin is love/happiness and cortisol is stress/anger/fear.

I'm not saying picking yourself up emotionally when you're down is bad, it's like, the most obvious advice that almost anyone would give.

I'm saying the science here is shit. It's woo-woo masquerading as brain chemistry knowledge by co-opting a few key words and phrases.

If you're gonna give cliche advice, just own it instead of dressing it up as science when it isn't. It's insulting to the audience's intelligence.

[-] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org -1 points 1 week ago

Daddy owners set up a system that causes a lot of stress while limiting personal ability to obtain positive experiences.

Destressing and enjoying your life is a huge fuck you to these parasites. A happy person won't doom spend.

It is a sad world when only some people are able to enjoy this higher quality of life.

this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2025
5 points (100.0% liked)

You Should Know

33929 readers
125 users here now

YSK - for all the things that can make your life easier!

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must begin with YSK.

All posts must begin with YSK. If you're a Mastodon user, then include YSK after @youshouldknow. This is a community to share tips and tricks that will help you improve your life.



Rule 2- Your post body text must include the reason "Why" YSK:

**In your post's text body, you must include the reason "Why" YSK: It’s helpful for readability, and informs readers about the importance of the content. **



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Posts and comments which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding non-YSK posts.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-YSK posts using the [META] tag on your post title.



Rule 7- You can't harass or disturb other members.

If you harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

If you are a member, sympathizer or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.

For further explanation, clarification and feedback about this rule, you may follow this link.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- The majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.

Unless included in our Whitelist for Bots, your bot will not be allowed to participate in this community. To have your bot whitelisted, please contact the moderators for a short review.



Rule 11- Posts must actually be true: Disiniformation, trolling, and being misleading will not be tolerated. Repeated or egregious attempts will earn you a ban. This also applies to filing reports: If you continually file false reports YOU WILL BE BANNED! We can see who reports what, and shenanigans will not be tolerated.



Partnered Communities:

You can view our partnered communities list by following this link. To partner with our community and be included, you are free to message the moderators or comment on a pinned post.

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, you may comment on the pinned post of the time, or simply shoot a message to the current moderators.

Credits

Our icon(masterpiece) was made by @clen15!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS