clevermanka (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clevermanka) wrote2012-11-30 10:07 am
clevermanka) wrote2012-11-30 10:07 am
Entry tags:
The stress post
One of the first questions that my alternative health practitioners (chiropractor, acupuncturist, naturopath) asked me when I started seeing them was about my stress levels. I always said I was pretty stress-free. I thought that was true. I don't have a demanding job, my home life is good, my family is in generally good health, and I don't, as a rule, get terribly worked up about things for more than an hour or two, after which I've either resolved the issue or come to grips with the fact that it's something I can't change. In either case, I move on. I don't dwell on problems, and I rarely feel what I considered to be stressed-out. That all changed in the past month or so, as I've come to realize that I've spent the last ten years of my life in varying stages of stress.
Dallas Hartwig, of Whole9, showed a page from one of his presentation workbooks that lists sources of stress. It's a long list:
Anger/Fear
Worry/Anxiety
Depression
Guilt
Overwork
Physical and mental strain
Excessive exercise
Sleep deprivation
Light-cycle disruption
Noise pollution
Late hours
Surgery
Trauma/Injury
Whiplash/Head injury
Inflammation
Pain
Temperature extremes
Infections
Chemicals/Heavy Metals
Electromagnetic fields
Radiation
Mal-absorption
Mal-digestion
Illness
Low blood sugar/Poor diet
Nutritional deficiencies
Inhalant allergies
Food reactions
Molds
The ones in bold are the ones I've experienced with some regularity (some more than others) over the past decade. That's a lot of stress. Some of them I've eliminated. I very much hope that my days of mental/emotional strain and depression are over. Those things and the issues that caused them are (thankfully) behind me. I crushed the blood sugar/diet problems by going Paleo. I've lightened up on the exercise considerably. Maybe a little too much, actually. Ahem.
But several of the items are things I'm still working on: inflammation, mal-absorption and mal-digestion, allergies, food reactions. I'm not sure how to address the issue of temperature extremes since I can't control the weather or the temperature of my work environment (which seems to be All Cold All The Time these days). And 90% of my job requires sitting in front of a computer, so I can't escape those electromagnetic fields. So even with other stress-triggers eliminated, my system is under a lot of stress just dealing with my intestinal and autoimmune issues and my environment.
Moderation is not one of my strong points, and I have a tendency to go all out or not at all in regards to things like, oh, Exercise. Failing to keep up with anything resembling a regular movement schedule since summer might be somewhat helpful for my adrenals, but the toll it takes on the rest of my body (increased inflammation, less restful sleep, muscle atrophy) outweighs that small benefit by far. In order to decrease the overall stress on my body, I need to slightly increase my participation in low-stress movement. I admit that it's difficult for me to get excited by this. But I've watched the admirable Melissa Joulwan go through a similar set of circumstances, and her experiences and results are encouraging.
Coincidentally, I found this article about how Intermittent Fasting might be not-so-great for women. This was particularly frustrating to me, having spent months and months in various pursuits of IF techniques. As the author of the article points out, once I'm in the swing of fasting, it feels great. I'm more alert, focused, and energized. Unfortunately, a couple of studies show that these sensations (as a result of IF) take a toll on a woman's hormonal health. This was another helpful, if not necessarily desired, lesson that what makes me feel good and strong is not always what's best for me.
The example of Intermittent Fasting is similar to the situation with CrossFit. I love it. It makes me feel positive and empowered. But it's not what's best for me right now. Andrew never wrote me back, and I'm taking this as an indicator that I should just leave CrossFit on the shelf for now. I'm going to resume Scott Sonnon's FlowFit program until the end of the year, after which I hope to have regained enough mobility and strength to start the TacFit program.
One of the beneficial aspects of Sonnon's programs is they have a strong yoga mentality component. The focus is internal, with a constant loop of breathing, checking in with your body, and concentrating on form rather than effort/exertion. This is, I think, why I had such problems sticking with the programs in the past. I like pushing myself physically. But right now that's not good for me. I need to use a program that embraces a mentality of slow, restrained effort instead of trying to mold an externally-focused program (CrossFit) to my current needs.
Then there's the dietary component. By eliminating the remaining possible inflammation/autoimmune triggers from my gut, I hope to minimize the remaining sources of stress in my life/body. Quite frankly, the idea of giving up some of these things (all seed spices, booze) causes me no little amount of stress right now. But so did the idea of giving up Dolly Madison Powered Sugar Gem Doughnuts all those years ago.
I can do this. I am doing this. I look forward to a minimal-stress life.
Dallas Hartwig, of Whole9, showed a page from one of his presentation workbooks that lists sources of stress. It's a long list:
Anger/Fear
Worry/Anxiety
Depression
Guilt
Overwork
Physical and mental strain
Excessive exercise
Sleep deprivation
Light-cycle disruption
Noise pollution
Late hours
Surgery
Trauma/Injury
Whiplash/Head injury
Inflammation
Pain
Temperature extremes
Infections
Chemicals/Heavy Metals
Electromagnetic fields
Radiation
Mal-absorption
Mal-digestion
Illness
Low blood sugar/Poor diet
Nutritional deficiencies
Inhalant allergies
Food reactions
Molds
The ones in bold are the ones I've experienced with some regularity (some more than others) over the past decade. That's a lot of stress. Some of them I've eliminated. I very much hope that my days of mental/emotional strain and depression are over. Those things and the issues that caused them are (thankfully) behind me. I crushed the blood sugar/diet problems by going Paleo. I've lightened up on the exercise considerably. Maybe a little too much, actually. Ahem.
But several of the items are things I'm still working on: inflammation, mal-absorption and mal-digestion, allergies, food reactions. I'm not sure how to address the issue of temperature extremes since I can't control the weather or the temperature of my work environment (which seems to be All Cold All The Time these days). And 90% of my job requires sitting in front of a computer, so I can't escape those electromagnetic fields. So even with other stress-triggers eliminated, my system is under a lot of stress just dealing with my intestinal and autoimmune issues and my environment.
Moderation is not one of my strong points, and I have a tendency to go all out or not at all in regards to things like, oh, Exercise. Failing to keep up with anything resembling a regular movement schedule since summer might be somewhat helpful for my adrenals, but the toll it takes on the rest of my body (increased inflammation, less restful sleep, muscle atrophy) outweighs that small benefit by far. In order to decrease the overall stress on my body, I need to slightly increase my participation in low-stress movement. I admit that it's difficult for me to get excited by this. But I've watched the admirable Melissa Joulwan go through a similar set of circumstances, and her experiences and results are encouraging.
Coincidentally, I found this article about how Intermittent Fasting might be not-so-great for women. This was particularly frustrating to me, having spent months and months in various pursuits of IF techniques. As the author of the article points out, once I'm in the swing of fasting, it feels great. I'm more alert, focused, and energized. Unfortunately, a couple of studies show that these sensations (as a result of IF) take a toll on a woman's hormonal health. This was another helpful, if not necessarily desired, lesson that what makes me feel good and strong is not always what's best for me.
The example of Intermittent Fasting is similar to the situation with CrossFit. I love it. It makes me feel positive and empowered. But it's not what's best for me right now. Andrew never wrote me back, and I'm taking this as an indicator that I should just leave CrossFit on the shelf for now. I'm going to resume Scott Sonnon's FlowFit program until the end of the year, after which I hope to have regained enough mobility and strength to start the TacFit program.
One of the beneficial aspects of Sonnon's programs is they have a strong yoga mentality component. The focus is internal, with a constant loop of breathing, checking in with your body, and concentrating on form rather than effort/exertion. This is, I think, why I had such problems sticking with the programs in the past. I like pushing myself physically. But right now that's not good for me. I need to use a program that embraces a mentality of slow, restrained effort instead of trying to mold an externally-focused program (CrossFit) to my current needs.
Then there's the dietary component. By eliminating the remaining possible inflammation/autoimmune triggers from my gut, I hope to minimize the remaining sources of stress in my life/body. Quite frankly, the idea of giving up some of these things (all seed spices, booze) causes me no little amount of stress right now. But so did the idea of giving up Dolly Madison Powered Sugar Gem Doughnuts all those years ago.
I can do this. I am doing this. I look forward to a minimal-stress life.