[whatshisface]

Would it help if you had the balancing knowledge that washing your hands for 10+ minutes is bad for them, causes inflammation, and that that also probably hurts your brain? You really can't win, honestly, life is about hitting that sweet spot in-between trying and giving up.

[aidepast]

If this were true, then it would help, but I doubt it.

The ideal is to give up on timewasting/unimportant activities(Quadrants 3&4 on Eisenhower Matrix) and try/begin important activities(Q1&2).

It is incredibly challenging, to accept uncertainty & to do what you are SURE is important & will result in a positive outcome.

If I run for 30 minutes every day then I KNOW that it is beneficial to my health. I am certain. My OCD will ruin it by suggesting that I could breathe polluted air, et cetera. By that suggestion alone, I will not run.

It's a strange dysfunction of your brains executive/decision ability. I value what I am not certain of MORE than what I am certain of.

It is my goal to reverse that logic & when your brain is working against you, it feels as if you're swimming against a current.

[whatshisface]

It's not that strange, the fact that fear (bias towards inaction) and hope (bias towards action) seem slanted towards fear was commented on by Machiavelli. He explained that the most people, when confronted with uncertainty, will choose to do nothing. TBH, I don't think that most people go out for runs because they've weighed the air pollution against the health benefits of exercise, I think they do it because they feel like running and it doesn't reach the point of an executive-function thinking-about-the-pros-and-cons decision.

The inflammation thing is probably true. Here's a random study. Don't do anything that keeps you in a constant state of injury!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3390758/

[aidepast]

I appreciate this response & the link, thank you!