How have YOU made sure that you were in the 'zone' mentally so as to exploit hits?

Field Reports & Anecdotal Experience Men's Pheromone Advice & Field Reports
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a.k.a. (February 9, 2006):

“I’d say it’s mostly uncharted territory.

Over time, it’s hard to draw the line between changes that are based on pheromones and changes based on improved confidence. I leave that for scientists to figure out, and focus on the whole self-enhancement package.

From my experience, pheromones tend to make a strong impression and a lot of what happens the day after depends on how you took advantage of the increased attention while the pheromones were working their magic.

You probably won’t hear a lot of people say this, but I personally believe that they can become a crutch or an escape — if that’s how you use them.

I haven’t noticed any weird sexual vibe with my family, but there have been subtle relationship changes — all for the best.

I don’t know what they do to your own pheromone levels but they can affect your mood, energy and confidence. Not to mention some of them can make you very aroused. I’m a minimalist — I wear small amounts with the theory that it entices people to get closer to me — so I don’t notice any residual effect after two days of being without them. And the self-arousal seems to go away after about 8 hours.

I’ve never gone back to my “normal” self, but then again I started martial arts training right around the time I started using pheromones — hard to say which is the greatest confidence builder. But other people do tend to ignore me if I’ve gone two days without the stuff.

Hope some of this helps, and do check out JVK’s book.”

Wrlprchnx (January 15, 2009):

“… Being in the zone is SUPER important socially, it is part of the reason why Sports people tend to be popular - training towards being “in the zone” for sport allows them to naturally be more “in the zone” during social interactions. (IMHO)…”

More hi performance communication swill
tacitus (January 31, 2007)

“Ummmm… there’s a lot of backstory on this usage… probably too damn intense for the noobie ot the intermediate user… for some reason I do fine with gobs o’ pheromones, except maybe to much androstenone or androstadienol unless it is heavily buffered… I think this is like the difference between driving a Formula 1 car and a nice street legal Beemer… because of my extensive, and ongoing acting training I am used to maintaining unusually high levels of social and conversational concentration, and being in “head spaces” that would be strange, uncomfortable, too freaking intimate, whatever… so there is a long development of background emotional/communication and self regualtion skill that allows one to function easily in extreme psychological states, over time these have come to seem/feel/operate as completely natural to me… this might not be true (at all) , just like the beginner actor stands in front of a group of people and is paralysed with stage fright… because pheromones foster powerful states of connection and real communication, the kind that you gain large strides in emotional growth from, they also entail being able to go to places of emotional nakedness, risk, truthfulness, and real intimacy that might be completely foreign to John Q. Regular Guy… which always returns me to the belief that pheromones and emotional skill are intertwined things… the use of pheromones CAN be part of the process that lead one to places of much higher emotional intelligence… I suppose in the hands of a emotionally limited, neurotic, rigid, or highly suspicious personality, these dose ranges might seem like having all of one’s defenses removed before one was prepared… but the discomfort is psychological, although many psychological issues present themselfs as physiologic… so one might report tension, or tightness, or any number of autonomic-bodily sensations that are, in reality, emotional in orignin…”

Dating advice after a long break: start online or talk to people in person?
Man, I just feel like a failure
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The problem us guys have all grappled with, particularly given that many of the pheromones result in inviting smiles, is coming on too strong from these hits or signs of interest. ‘Active disenterest’ and a ‘level head’ sounds like the perfect remedy for this. Don’t turn into some ‘puppy dog’ when a desirable woman flashes her whites at you - easier said than done I guess…

TAF = Fearless
MHarris (June 30, 2006):

“That’s right. Good advice.

The PUAs call this “The 3 second rule”. You approach within 3 seconds (or the bare minimum to get over there), because then you don’t have the time required to feel approach anxiety.

Internal feelings are slower than that. They’re the slowest part of our internal experience (which is one reason why people get “stuck” in emotional states, despite their conscious wishes to feel something else).

Also, this impresses the heck out of a women, both consciously and unconsciously. Men, in nature, are supposed to be doing the approaching.

A man who approaches almost immediately is the most alpha. Women get a real tingle or other internal response out of this.

You’re fulfilling both your and her biological destiny by approaching right away. Makes you both feel really good. You both get immediate psychological & physical rewards from it. Sort of like a pre-relationship orgasm (which is another physical reward for a job well done in the mating game)”

Rob (June 30, 2006):

“…Lol.. just on the side.. make sure this immediate psychological and physical reward does not over whelm you. Its funny how women can easily manipulate men by making them light up with just a smile. Its like they turn men into puppy dogs or something.

If you want to maintain Alpha, then you must maintain a level head in all situations and DO NOT go total EMO HARD CORE over any girl. Besides, you would not want to be seen as a fruitcake (you being a guy).”

MHarris (June 30, 2006):

“…Yes, they shouldn’t feel as if they’ve won you over (i.e., if you instantly melt in response to their smile)

Otherwise, they get an internal feeling of completion, and a little voice in their heads that say “onto the next conquest”.

Something won too easily is not enjoyed. That’s why you utilize active disinterest.

Re: emo hard core fruitcake… hahaha… you have a way with words ”

We have seen above that we need to be composed when a target flashes a smile or gives us some other indicator of interest after being exposed to the pheromones (as well as the wearer’s charms of course ).

But, of course, we also need to be composed ourselves after exposure to these molecules. Here, some of the big names from the forum in the last few years show that even the best can lose composure at times…

Relatively new to pheromones- Turn up the heat
catlord17 (April 24, 2006):

“…Alpha androstenol makes me blabber after a certain dose, and I never realize it until I’ve been doing it for a while. It has that effect on the people I’m around, too…”

Androstenone overdoses are no fun

Rbt (August 15, 2006):

"Sigma’s comment about the -none OD where he says he knew he was being affected by the OD , but was unable to “control” it, is what has me concerned about the effects of pheromone products like Instant Honesty .

Unless there is enough difference between how -none affects you, and how -nols (-Beta Androstenol in this case) affects you, I still have this fear that using Instant Honesty in a way that you get as much of a dose as your “target” may cause the unintended result that you blab too much “truth” or reveal too much in a situation where you are wearing the product with the intent of having an advantage over the target.

(There are times I’m sure where we are wearing pheromone products with the intent to influence someone else, not ourselves.)

Opinions/observations?"

P74 - Good for everything?
Sigma (April 5, 2007):

“…I think for guys sometimes you can be a bit too fun. Being fun is good, but it can work against you if you go overboard and seem to lose your composure.

This is what happened to me when I wore a high dose of P74 and got drunk. A pinch A314 is a good anchor though. Keeps you more consciously aware of yourself, while allowing others to react positively to the P74.

As for the boyfriend effect…I’ve seen some evidence of this myself. Women seem to get very clingy when I wear this stuff out (as mentioned in one case during my earlier trials with it).”

genesis theory: friend zone=failure.
PheroQuirk (December 13, 2007):

“Quote:

Originally Posted by Genesis

i’ve read Tater said that “once you trash your signature on a target, it’s over, you’re done”

the major way you can screw up is by wearing a too sexual/aggressive mix in the wrong context when she isn’t ready for it. so a none/Edge overdose can ruin peoples’ perception of you semi-permanently almost independently of how you behave (and the self-effects are likely to get you deeper into trouble).

I haven’t had any experience of wearing a friendly mix (eg Androstenol , Instant Openness ) and screwing things up - unless I didn’t steer it right (eg talking too much or revealing things I shouldn’t due to combined effects of betanol+alcohol)…”

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Mak’s great post from last week is pasted below - point being that he “visualises” the effect he needs, then fits the most suitable phero or mix to it, not other way around.

I have to say in terms of results, a well thought out, disciplined approach like this will win in the end over something more random and spontaneous.

Off topic…

the contrast reminds me of the Soccer World Cup. While some of the African teams show brilliant skills and improvisation (and are often along with Brazil, ‘the fan favourites’ and ‘entertainers’), it is the less ‘tactically naive’ and more ‘disciplined’ teams (like Italy and Germany) that more often than not make semi finals and finals.

It also reminds me of some of my nights out when the mones might have given me a head start and push at times but at the end of the night they were no substitute for a natural PUA’s ‘game’ and experience developed over time…

How have YOU used mones to create a more attractive lifestyle (‘to be a better man’)?
Mak (March 2009):

"The reality is, you must “Act in Accord”

Phero’s won’t many anyone a better man on their own, they are just little helpers …

You must “Act in Accord” … as they say in Magick teachings ..

And for people here that have spent some time reading and experimenting, phero’s work wonders … because they instigate and prime the person mentally to work (with) the particular phero intended goal …

You have to have known & experimented with the effect of a particular product, then pre-work with it.

For example;

A314 : When knowing I’m up to some quite unfortunate professional situations, I mentally prepared and (planned) on A314 , and I turned those situations around as much as feasible to better results

A7: I hocked up the girl I aimed for, regardless of her reservasions of her best friend presence who was my ex. and present at same time (that was fun)

A7 + P79 : Similar results, just no effort on my side this time

RawPower: Planned interfering with a super-rich and bit senior then me group … and ‘gained the favour’ of the best looking female - long story but point is, I wanted something so I “worked with” the most suited phero

And few others …

Point is, I “visualise” the effect I need, then fit the most suitable phero or mix to it, not other way around .."

4

…pretty damn good… Pretty Damned good Mate.

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PheroQuirk’s great contributions in this area particularly relating to shifting from the sympathetic fight-or-flight state to a parasympathetic, rest and repair state…

TAF 5mcg
PheroQuirk (December 2, 2006):

“…I wonder how it would be for bodywork - like Alexander technique or Feldenkrais. Much of Feldenkrais is about building new neural pathways so that you are more aware of your body and what it can do…”

MX204 (TAK) - good for insomnia?
PheroQuirk (March 5, 2007):

“…I wonder how you think your autonomic nervous system is balancewise? I’m pretty sure my sympathetic arm is permanently overly activated so tilting that a little towards the parasympathetic side always makes me feel better - whether that is via massage, Feldenkrais or sex. I’m wondering if perhaps you could have the opposite bias but that’s pure speculation.”

MX204 (TAK) - good for insomnia?
PheroQuirk (March 5, 2007):

“…BTW manipulation of the sacrum and soft tssue of the pelvis will have a lasting impact over time on calming down an overly active sympathetic nervous system. (Google Feldenkrais pelvic clock if curious to learn more).”

Approach me
PheroQuirk (March 18, 2007):

"…What determines whether model one or model 2 dominates? It’s not likely to be based on beliefs held at a purely rational level, so one needs to find ways to address levels deeper than that. If you’re able to go through the pain of practising lots then perhaps that can work.

But as you hinted before maybe also addressing sympathetic-parasympathetic balance of the autonomic nervous system is a way to make initiating social interactions less of a big deal. It’s inappropriate activation of the fight-or-flight response that gets in the way. One can address that via Rolfing, Accupuncture, Alexander/Feldenkrais, …"

sensitive personalities and vigilance
PheroQuirk (April 7, 2007):

"…Try stuff to balance your autonomic nervous system (you need to enhance the parasympathetic and bring down the sympathetic). Bodywork is one way that works - massage, Alexander, Feldenkais, Rolfing. Acupuncture may also be effective. Also look up some of the techniques that actors use to loosen up before rehearsing/going on stage.

All this stuff will make more of a difference than you can imagine…"

Social Anxiety
PheroQuirk (April 30, 2007):

"Re: Social Anxiety

…Look up the five points NLP exercise for inducing a parasympathetic state. Also the NLP techniques for making a movie where you are disassociated from events.

If your problem is that your baseline state is overly activated/vigilant (ie in a sympathetic mode) you may find certain kinds of bodywork helpful. Eg Alexander technique or Feldenkrais."

Aha ! P96… unlike other pheromones…
PheroQuirk (May 16, 2007):

"…any tips on how to better access this state? The NLP 5 points technique seems to work q well, but I am interested in others. (Umm, I just found the link via google - no idea about the rest of the site).

http://www.lifeafteradultbullying.com/4390/index.html

Look at the wall opposite you and find a point which is straight ahead and a little above eye level. Continue to look at this point in soft focus throughout this exercise. After a while you may find that as you concentrate on this point the rest of the room goes a little dark, or vague, or fuzzy, and you develop a kind of tunnel vision. We use this tunnel vision a lot in modern society - watching TV or using a computer, we only see the screen; when we read or write, we are focused on the words; even when we talk to someone, we often only look at their eyes or their face and ignore the rest of them. This tunnel vision goes with a kind of inner ‘tunnel vision’, where we get obsessed or fixated on things, and it goes with worry, adrenaline, rushing around, stress…

But there is another way of looking at things, and I’d like you to experience that now. Keeping your eyes on that point, begin to broaden your field of vision and notice more and more of what’s either side of that point, so that soon you’re paying attention to what you can see out of the corners of your eyes on each side. And you can take your awareness even further around behind you than that; all the way round, 360 degrees; of course I’m not suggesting that you can see behind you, but you can use your sense of hearing or spatial awareness to be aware of what’s behind you as well.

As you stay in peripheral vision, you may notice that your breathing has moved lower down in your chest and maybe slowed down or become deeper; that the muscles of your face have relaxed, perhaps especially your jaw muscles, and you can help those along to relax even more; and it’s probably too soon for this to have happened just yet, but if you were to stay in peripheral vision for any length of time, you might find your hands begin to get warm; or even your feet. But it’s probably a bit soon for that to have happened just yet.

The interesting thing is that when you go into peripheral vision you seem to activate the parasympathetic nervous system; the part of your nervous system that calms you down, and slows you down, and lets your mind, and body and emotions come back into balance.

So begin to come back by letting your field of vision return to normal. Peripheral vision is particularly useful when speaking in public; not only does it calm your nerves, but you can see the whole audience, and you are much more aware of any little movements they make, so you can gauge how they are reacting. You only need to go into peripheral vision a little way to contact that deep reserve of peace and tranquillity that exists in each one of us.

If you’re the kind of person who normally has a lot of internal dialogue or commentary, what happened to it while you were in peripheral vision? Many people find it slows down or stops altogether."

Phero cures for social anxiety?
PheroQuirk (August 21, 2007):

"Re: Phero cures for social anxiety?

P96 , TAK - do a search on these. 25mcg P96 fixes my stage fright and anxiety when I am dancing with partners I don’t know.

hypnosis work by Lloyd Glauberman. personal ecology, presentation stuff. play with nova photosonix mind machine.

warm up by talking to people beforehand - ask directions, talk to the barista at your coffee shop.

read up on the autonomic nervous system. use peripheral vision to shift

from the sympathetic fight-or-flight state to a parasympathetic, rest and repair state.

PracticalEq.com is for sale | HugeDomains "

Instant Jerk: Nothing is a more powerful pheromone than the fresh smell of sex
PheroQuirk (August 24, 2007):

"In “The Potent Self: A Study of Spontaneity and Compulsion”, Moshe Feldenkrais says that sex has the secondary function of regulating the autonomic nervous system - in particular to restoring parasympathetic tone.

If you’re not getting any you may be a stress monkey running in flight-or-fight mode all the time. This will be very clearly subcommunicated by poise and posture."

Women’s Pheromones on Men to attract women?
PheroQuirk (December 24, 2007):

"Subcommunication + pheromones. Copulins aside, if you have just had sex your autonomic nervous system will likely be shifted to a more parasympathetic state and people will pick this up from your vibe. (Too often these days we are rushing around stressed out, in chronic fight or flight mode).

Another funny subcom phenomenon is noticing increased success with women after a pay rise or other success (at work, although I suspect the same effect may be in play if your sports team wins an important match)."

PheroQuirk (September 3, 2008):

"read eric http://approachanxiety.com/?page_id=2

moshe feldenkrais and f.m. alexander have good things to say on the bodilu manifestation of anxiety also."

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surfs_up (August 24, 2006)

"Getting laid gets you laid…

The body radiates information in a multitude of ways… when you’re getting a lot of sex, somehow, someway… everybody seems to sense that you’re getting a lot of sex, therefore must be worthy of getting a lot of sex… and the opposite is true as well… deprived folks give off the “ain’t been loved in a durn long time” Lo N-R-G body waves… have to prime the pump if you want the water to flow…"

7

I don’t know about “being in the zone,” but just put the shit on–like a friggen nice shirt–forget about it and go about my day the best I can. Kick ass, take no prisoners and enjoy the moment (and forget about the bad ones). That’s really all you can do. If you spend too much time fretting over your mones you won’t get anything constructive done.

8

for me being in the zone basically is:

-being in the moment (not in your head)
-appreciating whatever is happening (no negative feelings, acceptance)
-being perceptive to your surrounding and noticing things around you with all senses without judgement
-spontaneity
-not trying hard (letting things flow, no need to be a step ahead)

so basically what Gegogi said…:stuck_out_tongue: (but unlike Gegogi i say that you can improve much of the above with exercises…)

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a vibe that says easy lol.
PheroQuirk (October 23, 2007):

"…Here is a good piece written/edited by ijjjji. BTW I think the benefits of appreciation are undervalued by many…

Seducing girls (new version)
Appendix B - Appreciate

Appreciation is to hold something in your mind with gratitude. When doing this, bad feelings are shut down and good feelings are strengthened. When a person is in this mental mode, its easy for others to see - its as if the bliss/happiness is bleeding out from every pore. Those feelings are contagious, so others will start to feel good too, even if they don’t know why the person is happy. This creates a feeling of friendship and GOOD INTENTIONS. This is why appreciation is the ideal mental frame to be in when meeting new people (and socializing in general).

When focusing on things you dont have, you open your mind to the feeling of need (wanting something). This is the opposite of appreciation and leads to feelings like frustration, insecurity, sadness, discontent and so on. This is also easy for others to see, and it makes others insecure and uneasy about you. They can see you want something. They DOUBT your good intentions. This is why need is the WORST POSSIBLE frame for meeting people.

Needy people suffer from habits of seeking validation from others. Two things must be done to end this habit. The first is to focus your mind on appreciation - stop dwelling on all the stuff you want, and learn to appreciate areas that already satisfy you. Practice this every day. I recommend you do this during a daily routine like teeth brushing. Go through all the things that are going well and take moments to really feel the gratitude for each one.

Secondly, focus on appreciation when you socialize. Look actively for positive qualities in others, and let them know you noticed. Also look for positive things about surroundings or situation and talk warmly about them. Also talk about good experiences you have had lately, emphasizing how good it made you feel. Discipline yourself to steer all conversations down this path. In no time, this will transform you from a needy guy, to the type of guy everyone love to hang with.

A note on BL: Neediness (validation seeking) materializes itself as a large ‘awareness radius’ (how far away from yourself, you are aware of whats going on). To avoid sending out this bad vibe, try this little mind trick: Imagine a sphere around you. Everything outside the sphere doesn’t exist. Then make the sphere as small as possible…"

10

On my lord this is really good stuff… we should make this a sticky!!!

11

Naw, man. This is the kinda crap we talk about every day.

It ain’t nothin’ special.

This is just how we live.

OoohYahhh

12

The seduction link here has a bunch of material i’ve never seen brfore.

Armored by gratitude.

Our big buddy Steve turned me on to this:

GratitudeLog - The Happiest Place on the Internet

On the bads days, the days when you have stepped off into that black pit, when it is the hardest to do, that’s when it is most important to be grateful for what is good.

Slip into the armor of gratitude. Strap it up nice and snug.

And it all rolls off of you like water off a duck’s back.

OooohYahhh

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Congruence? What’s That?
nbully79 (March 9, 2008):

“…We also need to be conscious of the fact that pheromones affect the wearer as well so we need to have very good control of our appearance and manners and the ability to block the self effects, so, for example, even when wearing Instant Jerk we are not behaving like a jerk and just coming across as a high on testosterone super confident guy who gets lots of women!..”

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To get into the ‘zone’ mentally to exploit pheromone hits ideally one should not rely on one crutch (whether it be a boost in confidence from the pheromones themselves, drugs, or supplements or anything else including Feldenkrais). Rather one should attempt to change their own baseline ‘mental situation’ over time and this would include learning from the experiences gained from pheromone use (as MHarris talks about in the posts below). RussianBEAR offers some great advice in the posts below about how to get to the root sources of your internal problems rather than relying on drugs or supplements or anything else. I believe a two-pronged approach where you use ‘external aids’ like Pheromones (and say if you need them, alcohol/medication/supplements) along with work on targeting your root problems (which may involve some of the things mentioned by RussianBEAR and professional therapy) is the ultimate solution to ensuring you are more in the ‘zone’ mentally not just to exploit pheromone hits but in life generally…

“Beer dudes”, “fat tires”, plant estrogens and friendly guys
MHarris (October 15, 2005):

"…Your baseline can change over time, too.

A user may start off not very charismatic (using pheromones as a crutch), and get along better with more people with pheromones. Then eventually their behaviors change and they become more comfortable around people in general. Then they start should get better social flow even without pheromones. No longer will they need their “crutch”, although it may still be useful to get that extra 10%…"

Instant Openness, Instant Honesty, Instant Shine, Instant Female Magic, A314!!!
MHarris (January 4, 2006):

"…Originally Posted by tacitus:

Sometimes this is the result of a combination of good social interaction skills and pheromones, where the pheromone by itself can’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse… OTOH, intelligent use of pheromones will, over time, enhance the social skills of the pheromone user because of the increased depth of interaction… so there is a synergistic learning curve here, you may attribute your success over time to the pheromones, where you may be overlooking your own increased social competence… then think, some months later, wow, this new pheromone is so good, and maybe it is, while you’ve gotten better too.

A self dissolving crutch (or stitch) is the best kind.

Many people definitely increase in competence as they use pheromones, and that’s a good thing.

Like physical therapy, it can sort of be like “social therapy”. Relearning how to use “social muscles you haven’t used in years”, or have underused (and even the best and most skilled of us have “muscles” of all sorts which are underused).

Then those users may switch from using pheromones as crutches to using them as enhancement and playful experiments. They can also collect the self esteem bonus along the way for having themselves gained in competence.

And they are great for enhancement, great for those already quite competent. We’ve seen skilled salespeople their close rates with the right mixes…"

Asking a girl to prom but dont know her…
MHarris (May 7, 2006):

“…Behavior is all important. Don’t lean too much on any one tool, or that tool is no longer a tool. It’s a crutch.”

MX102: How to get a job with pheromones!
MHarris (August 25, 2006):

"…Originally Posted by nfs:

Mx102, if i spray on bout 4 full sprays, lasts a good 5-6 hrs, … Pretty much an entire outing. When I put it on, I never notice the effect fade off till I take a shower really. After the shower, I feel like a pussy again in a matter of minutes. I don’t know if it’s a placebo thing or if the pheromones are actually affecting me that way. Whatever it is, when I put it on, I feel like the best I can be, which in a way is a bad thing, as I have become reliant on the pheromone. Not a physical, but a mental addiction. When I don’t have A314 on, I don’t quite feel like myself anymore. I should take some days off using it so I can work on my inner-self a bit more and improve the way I see myself.

I understand your concern.

It terms of behavioral psychology, it really doesn’t matter how you generate a behavior. Eventually, if you act a certain way long enough, you’ll grow the mental legs to support that behavior.

In a very real sense, “Fake it till ya make it” has been shown to work, for those who stick at it long-enough.

Originally Posted by nfs:

I am a person who’s got very little confidence in myself when it comes to social interactions and dating for some reason, and I should be taking some sorta self-help course to overcome that…But in the time being, A314 /mx102 /shine shows me the way I SHOULD be. It’s a quick fix, that I know, but I’ll sort out myself in time, when I’m ready.

When you feel good, for whatever reason, throw yourself into as many social interactions as you can… and you will build the proper mental experience necessary for the “temporary” effect to extend itself.

Remember, even if you’re using it as a crutch… a crutch is there to help you walk. Soon enough, you’ll be able to walk without the crutch.

After you no longer need it, your relationship to the tool becomes enhancement & want based. You can use it for enhancement, if you like. You can use it because you want it, not because you need it.

Despite what the Buddhists say about “want”, to me, want is involved in true mental freedom. To me, need is the prison, while things that are optional are involved in freedom. And things you want are totally optional.

The best relationships I’ve had in my life have been want based, and the worst, need based…"

Neil Strauss “The Game” - a fascinating read!
MHarris (December 10, 2006):

“…If nature rewards you for one thing, it’s variety. You shouldn’t do any one thing to the maniacal exclusion of others, or use any one thing as a crutch…”

I Only Feel “Alive” When I’m Drunk - ImmInst Forums
russianBEAR (June 2, 2009):

"Topic: I Only Feel “Alive” When I’m Drunk, Not a helpful post, but a post asking for help.

Didn’t read the entire thread, but I’ve had my issues with drug/alcohol abuse in the past, and still do to a certain extent. (Hey I’m here and I like pharmaceuticals, you know…)

I think what you want to do is have a deep and honest look at yourself. Try to track what situations cause you negative emotions/feelings, and what the basis of that feeling really is. You can almost always trace it to some kind of an unfavorable situation in the past. Another thing, some of the post sounds like self-pity. That was really hard to me to deal with, as were my numerous fears which I’ve acquired due to not being raised in a functional household by both parents.

Society also creates these images and stereotypes which make you feel “unworthy”. You have to be aware of that, as a lot of negative self-invalidating feelings stem from all these social stereotypes, because you feel like you have to compete with others to be a functioning member. And you really don’t life is a journey and your own quest and yours only.

Taking drugs, alcohol etc. just masks the problem and allows you to validate the positive sides of your experience, but negative experiences IMO are CRUCIAL to growth. It’s an easy solution to just pop some pills which will make you happy NOW. Yeah let’s go to the doctor and get a load of happy pills prescribed so you don’t have to actually DEAL with the issues. Sounds like an easy way out to be honest. All depression is curable once you figure out the root cause of it. Cause in a sense it just an emotion, gotta figure out its cause. These pharm giants just love selling you antidepressants and tranquilizers, because you get hooked on them, and if you do em long enough you’ll have no chance of getting off (especially benzos, OMG stay away from those!)

It’s very difficult admitting certain stuff about yourself, because your self-esteem will create all kinds of justifications and denials, as well as distortions (well I’m not THAT BAD…some people are worse etc.)

I’m still a work in progress but I was in a similar boat. Yeah I still got my demons and my vices, but it’s constant improvement."

Tried Piracetam and Alpha-GPC - Choline and got depression - ImmInst Forums
soulfiremage (June 4, 2009):

"…Note if you are new to any of this stuff [nootropics and supplements], it’s easy to rely only the on the “pill”. I’m sure you are already more than aware of this, however I’ll be a jackass and tell you anyway.

1)Exercise-if you are sedentary then 45 minutes brisk walk 3 times a week will have a marked effect. Daily exercise is better and a mix of aerobic, skilled and strength workouts even better.

2)Social-if you can mix your exercise with social stuff (team sport, classes etc) even better-but simply being social most days or more makes a difference. A huge difference as the brain evolved and was designed for precisely this.

3)Varied experiences and new skills. Seriously challenge yourself-physical, mental, creative. Daily! even half an hour a day study can turn you into a semi expert in a bunch of new fields. Gaining knowledge alone can build a stronger sense of self.

4)Healthy diet. There’s anyone on here that even needed that comment? Um probably not. It’s the obvious that gets forgotten.

5)Not essential but try this out for 20 days @ 20 mins a day.Brain Workshop - a Dual N-Back game - it’s free, plenty of material written and some research behind it-non biased. I used it and since last november completed Mark Bear’s Neuroscience - twice and a load of other neuro material. I’m into this as I’m about to get into an OU degree encompassing Neuroscience and hope to reach pHd level in time to come.

6)Teach yourself some cognitive behavioural therapy (For Dummies works fine) or REBT (very similar). Or try motivational interviewing. Learning a few basics of self counselling/coaching skills is now a common strategy employed by many of the best therapists-giving you the tools to work with yourself.

Thought I’d throw my two pence worth in. For me working on the brain is a multi self discipline approach. I find it hard to overcome certain things myself - I work from home and need to get out of my own comfort zone in order to earn more money in the future. Part of this is feeling “smart enough” to be any good at the things that would genuinely fire me up. The introspection offered by my use of piracetam has given me plenty of insights into “why” I am as I am–and also informs me that knowing why means shit. It doesn’t help you move forwards ."

5-HT1A Antagonists.. as a nootopic - ImmInst Forums
russianBEAR (June 5, 2009):

“…Exactly. You have to strive for self-improvement with nootropics being “your little helper” as opposed to a “crutch”. If you’re interested in somethin, learn all about it and analyze and verbalize your mistakes. Make an effort to get off your butt and realize negative experiences are key to growth. It’s all easier said than done and it’s a daily challenge, but you can’t just hope to take some pills to replace an actual learning experience.”

Anything to get a little extra energy at the club? - ImmInst Forums
russianBEAR (June 6, 2009):

"Topic: Anything to get a little extra energy at the club?

This may sound harsh, but the conclusion I came to in life is this:

If you feel like you can’t perform a particular activity unless you’re “on someting” - then you probably got absolutely no business performing that activity in the first place

And this goes for everything."

My Epic Journey of Mental Illness - ImmInst Forums
russianBEAR (June 6, 2009):

"I know this will sound like blasphemy (sp.?) after all these posts about neurological disorders and various diagnoses, but I’ll say it anyways.

There’s not a single supplement, anti-depressant, anything else, that will help you solve internal problems. They can mask them temporarily and be a sort of an “assistant” in solving external problems (daily tasks etc.), especially when your body doesn’t have a tolerance to it. You just temporarily forget about everything and focus on the fact that you’re in sweet-bliss denial and enjoy those feelings.

But unless you do some “soul searching” and figure out what caused initial problems, every medication is bound to fail and will produce mostly side effects after some time.

You said you thought it’s “normal” to feel miserable and depressed and thought that you just “weren’t taking it” like everyone else was. That right there is a BIG sign of LOW internal value. By looking at “everybody else”, you’re automatically saying that you’re worse and just not as valuable as others. The fact that you never told anyone about this also indicates your lack of comfort with yourself. This stuff never went away when you took Paxil or whatever bullshit pill you were prescribed at the time. It was just stored away for later, so it could pop up with 6 times the strength as before, because it’s an issue you did not deal with.

Look, I was in the same boat. Moving to the United States at an early age of 12 (I’ve since moved back to Mother Russia) was a really traumatic experience. Getting picked on and beaten in school, being told to “go back to your communist country” and basically being made fun of repeatedly slaughtered by internal value big time.

So I turned to weed. Then I turned to harder drugs. Then I thought hey, if I just take some nootropics I’ll be able to do all the things I’ve had trouble with, like social interaction. And at first it was great. I was doing the same things when high - being in my own shell, and depsarately trying to please everyone, because god forbid someone tells me something negative or there’s an “awkward situtation”.

After a while I started making excuses and justifications. Looking up stuff like schitzophrenia (sp.?) and other mental diseases made it seem like I got it 100%. Hey it was CONVENIENT to think that so I didn’t have to work on my personality by just chalking it up to “illness”. It was also great so I could feel SORRY FOR MYSELF and just mentally mastrubate that thought repeatedly.

Then I started looking back into my life experiences and realized the root cause of the problem. My parents got divorced early, and I was raised by my mom and a very neurotic grandmother who’d sometimes beat me etc. My father wasn’t around that much, and he never really provided me with the “male discipline” part of life experience. He actually instilled alot of fears in me. I never received VALIDATION for things I did RIGHT - it was always “ooh you got a B+ on this really hard math test…how come you didn’t get an A!!!”

So what I did is I started trying to figure out where it all began - and by tracking my thoughts and emotions I realized that I needed to work on myself. And here’s the catch - PAIN and NEGATIVE STUFF are KEYS to GROWTH! People wanna avoid pain by popping a little pill, instead of taking it all in stride and learning from each experience. That’s weak shit right there son.

All these anti-depressants are bullshit drugs that ruin your brain. There are maybe 1% of people who legitimately need any medication that has to do with psychological disorders. Therapists also don’t help because they want you to keep yapping about your problems, make their $500 per hour and send you home. God forbid you solve your problems - they lose a CASH COW!!!

So, what I suggest you do is pay close attention to your subconscious and the kind of emotions certain thoughts trigger. Then try to realize wtf is causing this. Also look at your parents to see where you picked up certain traits. Then just ACCEPT all these thoughts, both negative and positive. Accept yourself how you are, but work on it.

Get disciplined, push yourself. You need to learn about how your mechanism of denial works (making excuses, justifications, and distortions "oh I’m only A LITTLE BIT late it’s OK, oh I’m only A LITTLE ANTI SOCIAL there are people who are worse = BULLSHIT).

Otherwise you’re gonna end up in a very bad place once you get older, trust me I was in the same boat and this has NOTHING to do with some bs DSM-IV manual that says you got this or that!"

16

Basically I agree on how being “in the zone” can give you better hits or make you actually notice what the pheromones are doing better. I have noticed that on days where I’m not 100% at my best mentally (due to general life stresses or whatnot) I don’t seem to notice much hits, even with proven mixes. Not because they don’t work, because I know they do (especially with proven mixes.) It’s just that obviously having your mind pre-occupied with worries, or stress can really affect your [pheromones and yourself obviously. Not just pheromone wise, but also for your own good. Another reason why I don’t like to test when I’m down, like for example with the recent passing of my mother, it’s pretty hard to be 100% into my pheromones. And well, the pheromones need your 100% in order for them to help you out as well. The pheromones can’t do it without you, as you are the vital part to pheromone success. So trying your best to remain mentally OK and relaxed is always important by using whatever technique works best for you.

17

I highly agree, most of the time it’s all in your head, and sometimes all it takes is a good amount of guts and glory to fight the good fight and keep on trucking. However, there are some people that do need help/medication because just having that tough mindset is not enough for them. I wish it wasn’t like this, but there are people that are really messed up mentally that not even self help will do. If it were that way, there wouldn’t be so many mental institutions or psychologists. It’s sad, but true. Some people just need more help than others, and it’s not their fault.

However, for the others who may not have it as bad a simple analyzing of your situation and how you should deal with it either by trucking on (or whatever) is all that’s needed. Plus all the support you can get from friends and family.

18

Deleted post

Yea that’s true. I wasn’t in complete agreement with that part of russianBEAR’s post but included the entire post in its entirety anyway. I think a main point I was making was that it’s a great idea to work on permanently improving one’s baseline ‘mental level’ - medication too for some people can help in that department as long as the person isn’t using the medication as a ‘crutch’ in order to get a temporary lift they cannot sustain… Like MHarris said: “A self dissolving crutch (or stitch) is the best kind.”

19

Deleted post

So for example if you if you have relatively high ‘pituitary adrenal reactivity’ (Adrenocorticotropic hormone/corticotropin, cortisol) - this can lead to reacting to stressful events moreso than the next person. Now in the short term something like PhosphatidylSerine supplementation might help you in this area (as might doing regular Meditation and even Feldenkrais). And PhosphatidylSerine might even be a good idea to take in the long term as it looks to be quite a side-effect free nutrient.

However it also makes sense to see why you have this high ‘pituitary adrenal reactivity’ and how to go about trying to fix the root causes of the problem. Perhaps this reactivity was because you have posttraumatic stress disorder and you need to be treated for that. Perhaps it is to with being bullied as a kid? Perhaps it is to do with being chronically sleep deprived? In any case, its really good to have a band aid solution available to you (like PhosphatidylSerine) but in the long term true healing with whatever therapies are available to you should always be the best option. Even if the problem seems ‘mild’ and you do not want the stigma/labelling of being some kind of ‘mental patient’ (not to mention the costs!).

So why does this have to do with pheromones and being mentally in the zone to exploit hits? Well pheromones can bring dramatic reactions from others (and not always entirely positive). And staying cool in the face of drama (cool, calm and collected) is a really important trait that needs to be mastered (see post by MOBLEYC57 below). If you have high ‘pituitary adrenal reactivity’, you may try to be calm but sooner or later people will be able to tell that you are not (it will be given away through body language, voice, etc)…

MOBLEYC57 (February 16, 2005):

“…9) Stay totally calm in the face of drama. Younger women often have a lot of drama happening around them, and they often act dramatic. I could write an entire book about all the things that a young woman has going on around her that are TOTALLY UNSTABLE… And the most influential one is the other people in her life. If she freaks out about something, don’t let it get to you. Stay cool and calm. Don’t try to fix all her problems, and don’t try to stand in for her dad. She isn’t looking for advice, so don’t give it to her (unless she asks seriously, and in a non-emotional tone). One of the things that makes you attractive as an older man is the stability that you bring. So BRING IT…”

Sleep Deficiency Causes Emotional Overreaction
PheroQuirk (October 25, 2007):

"Sleep Deficiency Causes Emotional Overreaction

Skimp on the sleep and your emotional control will decay.

Without sleep, the emotional centers of the brain dramatically overreact to negative experiences, reveals a new brain imaging study in the October 23rd issue of Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press. The reason for that hyperactive emotional response in sleep-deprived people stems from a shutdown of the prefrontal lobe—a region that normally keeps emotions under control.

The new study from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, Berkeley is the first to explain, at the neural level, what seems to be a universal phenomenon: that sleep loss leads to emotionally irrational behavior, according to the researchers. The findings might also offer some insight into the clinical connection between sleep disruptions and psychiatric disorders.

Have a hard time controlling your emotions? Get enough sleep. You can’t afford to cut corners on your sleep.

Maybe people become more primitive when they lack sleep.

In the new study, Walker’s team assigned 26 healthy people to either a sleep-deprivation group—in which participants were kept awake for about 35 hours—or a normal sleep group. On the following day, the study subjects’ brains were scanned by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures brain activity on the basis of blood flow, while viewing 100 images. The images were at first emotionally neutral, but became increasingly aversive over time.

“We had predicted a potential increase in the emotional reaction from the brain [in people deprived of sleep], but the size of the increase truly surprised us,” Walker said of the study’s findings. “The emotional centers of the brain were over 60% more reactive under conditions of sleep deprivation than in subjects who had obtained a normal night of sleep. It is almost as though, without sleep, the brain reverts back to a more primitive pattern of activity, becoming unable to put emotional experiences into context and produce controlled, appropriate responses.

Do we have free will? At best the extent of our free will varies as a function of how much sleep we get, whether we take steroids (roid rage), and countless other influences.

By Randall Parker 2007 October 22 09:46 PM Brain Sleep "

Bulk Nutrition - Now Foods Phosphatidyl Serine at discount prices!
Review of Now Foods Phosphatidyl Serine (with Choline and Inositol):

Phosphatidyl Serine Review by Alex57726

Product: Phosphatidyl Serine

Date: Monday 08 May, 2006

"This has to be one of my favorite supps, I owe both my degree and my masters to this keeping me sane during time of stress..let me preserve my strength and minimise muscle wastage too!

In all honesty this is the one product I will happily continue to take, along with ala both very very worthwhile (for different reasons, just products I like). As for a former reviewer, why would you take instead of protein, it’s a totally different compound. This is all about preserving gains and sanity. Eliminate cortisol and your protein is made far more useful.

Works for me at 600-800mg split over two daily uses. Morning and prior to training. When studying, just take 3x200 or 4x200 dependant on length of concentrated effort. Really keeps you cool, screw using it for guys down the gym, great when stacked with gorgeous, but argumentitive girlfriends, winds them up a treat as they just can’t stress me out.

In terms of training and studying 400-800mg a day will give a far better effect than ergop[harms psychotropin as you remain awake and stress free. 100% love the stuff whether it’s NOW or Bulks powder, although now’s is more convienient to carry round and the added choline is useful.

10 stars if poss.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]"

1: Nutr Neurosci. 2001;4(3):169-78.

The influence of phosphatidylserine supplementation on mood and heart rate when faced with an acute stressor.

Benton D, Donohoe RT, Sillance B, Nabb S.

Department of Psychology, University of Wales Swansea, United Kingdom. d.benton@swansea.ac.uk

There have been previous reports that supplements of phosphatidylserine (PS) blunted the release of cortisol in response to exercise stress and that it improved mood. The present study extended these observations by considering whether PS supplementation influenced subjective feelings of stress and the change in heart rate when a stressful mental arithmetic task was performed. In young adults, with neuroticism scores above rather than below the median, the taking of 300mg PS each day for a month was associated with feeling less stressed and having a better mood. The study for the first time reports an improvement in mood following PS supplementation in a sub-group of young healthy adults.

PMID: 11842886 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

1: Stress. 2004 Jun;7(2):119-26.

Effects of soy lecithin phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylserine complex (PAS) on the endocrine and psychological responses to mental stress.

Hellhammer J, Fries E, Buss C, Engert V, Tuch A, Rutenberg D, Hellhammer D.

Neuropattern, Trier, Germany. juliane.hellhammer@uni-trier.de

Phosphatidylserine, derived from cow brains, has been shown previously to dampen the ACTH and cortisol response to physical stress. Further research investigated the influence of soy lecithin phosphatidylserine supplementation on mood and heart rate when faced with an acute stressor. In this study, we investigated the effects of soy lecithin phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylserine complex (PAS) supplementation on pituitary adrenal reactivity (ACTH, cortisol) and on the psychological response (Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory stress subscale) to a mental and emotional stressor. Four groups of 20 subjects were treated for three weeks with daily dosages of either 400 mg PAS, 600 mg PAS, 800 mg PAS, or placebo before exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Treatment with 400 mg PAS resulted in a pronounced blunting of both serum ACTH and cortisol, and salivary cortisol responses to the TSST, but did not affect heart rate. The effect was not seen with larger doses of PAS. With regard to the psychological response, 400 mg PAS seemed to exert a specific positive effect on emotional responses to the TSST. While the placebo group showed the expected increase in distress after the test, the group treated with 400 mg PAS showed decreased distress. These data provide initial evidence for a selective stress dampening effect of PAS on the pituitary-adrenal axis, suggesting the potential of PAS in the treatment of stress related disorders.

PMID: 15512856 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

20

Awesome post Visionary, and yes as long as you don’t use the medication as a crutch but also do your part in improving your mood (therapy for some that really need it is also very helpful along side other techniques of your choice to improve your mental health.)

I will check out the Phosphatidylserine, but aside from this L-Theanine has also shown some improvement for me, and it also helps with stress. As mentioned, being in a good mindset (for me) really helps me notice hits better and work with pheromones in a better way since my attention isn’t fogged up with stress. Stress will always be there, but helping yourself out be at your best mental state is always good for you, your pheromones, and for your health in general.