blessed,
I played an unwitting little science experiment on myself this past week.
I've been away from home for a few days, traveling back east to bury a family member I loved. During those days, I slipped back into the habits I used to have when I was full-on unrecovering codie: High-fat foods, no fresh anything (my father-in-law won't eat fresh fruits or veggies), more alcohol & caffeine, tons of sodium, very poor sleep, no B vitamins, no exercise, no fresh air & sunshine, high stress.
In the space of four days, I became a miserable wreck. By the time I got home this weekend, I was vacillating between comatose and a raving lunatic. Retaining water like crazy, crying, nervous, stressed, sad, exhausted, and just plain old & weary. I actually had to go back to one of the posts I made a long time ago on another board, and start following my own advice LOL. This is my standard recipe for getting out of the doldrums:
--Start again taking a full multivitamin and a stress B complex
--Start taking calcium again
--Pull out all the stops and get a full, uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep
--Eat fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and drink a glass of water every hour, even if I don't feel like it
--No alcohol, very little caffeine, no chemicals (ibuprofen, sleep pills, etc.)
--Spend 30 minutes outdoors walking
--Take 15-minute blocks of time to meditate, listen to quiet music, or just sit and count my alphabetical blessings: I'm grateful for...al-anon, my brother, cool summer breezes, dogs....
--Call one friend and make a plan to do something great soon
--Take a little time to help somebody else out....
It's my "doctor's prescription" for getting out of the quagmire. My blood pressure is already down, my outlook is better, and I'm remembering all the joyous possibilities again.
How many of those things have you been denying yourself lately, or not "had time for" ? What would it look like if you prescribed yourself a plan to feel better? Anything we can do to help?
:ghug3