I do not take painkillers. I take painhealers.
We all know what painkillers are. These are medications that relieve different types of pain. Why do I not use them? Because I do not have to take any medicines, and because I do not feel ill. But what are painhealers? For me, these are activities that help me heal myself by exposing myself to pain. How? By taking cold showers, walking in summer clothes in frigid temperatures (I wrote many times that cold hurts!), and rucking (walking with a heavy rucksack). As of today (I wrote this text on the 14th of October, 2025), my record was walking with a backpack that weighed 37.5 kg (83 lbs).
Do I have to tell you, my Dear Friend, that taking over 13k steps with such a heavy load hurts?
Believe me, it hurts a lot! Still, I have no doubts that by exposing my body to cold and heavyweights, I treat myself properly. I feel much more powerful thanks to doing all these things. Exposing my body to cold and rucking, indeed, are my painhealers. While writing all these things, I started to wonder whether intermittent fasting could also add to the group of painhealers. After all, eating is a convenient pleasure. Not eating is a stressor on the body. Perhaps it does not hurt that much, as cold or rucking, but it is some kind of mental and physical stress to one’s body, especially when one starts their journey with fasting. Do I recommend all these things?
Yes. I recommend doing all these things, but start slowly with each one.
For example, begin ending showers with lukewarm or cold water. Regarding rucking, start walking with relatively small weights in your backpack (e.g., put two full bottles of water and observe how your body reacts to this weight; if it does not hurt, add additional kilograms – you can even put heavy books into your rucksack – focus on what you have and what you do not have). Regarding intermittent fasting, please start with the classic 16:8 method (Google it for more information).
