Are You Listening To Your Body?
Knock. Knock. Who's there? YOUR BODY. Sometimes it takes drastic changes in our body for us to finally realize that maybe we should be listening to what it's saying. I myself am guilty of not listening to my body. Now that I am 24, I have made a lot of progress with this subject and feel as if it's a very important topic. The human body is very complex and also very simple at the same time. It knows how to react when we are sad or scared and is able to digest food in order for our hormones and organs to functions properly. So it makes sense that we should be listening to what it is trying to tell us. However, our first reaction may not always be to listen to what our body is telling us.
I remember waking up in the mornings on my days off from clinic or school and feeling depressed and tired. My first thought was "stop being so lazy and get some work done". On these days the only thing that sounded good was laying in bed and reading a book or taking a nap. One morning, I did exactly that. I went back to bed and took a long nap. After I woke up, I felt refreshed, less irritated and ready to do whatever homework needed to be done. My point is, my body was trying to tell me to rest and recover. The radiology program was mentally and physically taxing for me personally and my body needed to relax on my days off. At first I felt guilty relaxing, but then I realized how much better I felt. Don't feel bad about taking time for yourself. You can still get things done after you wake up from a nap or lay on the couch and binge watch Netflix for a few hours. We are human, and we are not perfect. Don't put pressure on yourself to wake up everyday to feel and look perfect. It is normal to have off days. On those days, take care of yourself and do what feels right.
Next topic of discussion: DIET...AKA the food you consume. Please don't cringe, I promise this topic won't be painfully annoying. I am a lover of all foods. But seriously, I love to eat. My husband and family can definitely vouch for this. I am planning my next meal before I am even done eating breakfast. Over the years I have figured out how to consume plenty of healthy foods while also indulging on pizza and pasta without feeling bad about it. It's all about balance #treatyoself. However, sometimes I get a little carried away and eat a few too many bagels in a week and feel like a slug at work. My job requires physical and mental focus, which is not easy when I feel exhausted. When I eat too many processed carbs my body reacts with exhaustion. Therefore, I need to consume plenty of fruits and vegetables in order to feel my best. My body is telling me that it cannot run around like a crazy lady taking x-rays with crappy bagel fuel. In other words, I need to have plenty of energy during the day to perform my job and that is incentive to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Next on the list: HORMONES..AKA the topic that nobody likes to talk about. Well lucky for you, I'll talk about pretty much anything. I went off the pill in December (No I'm not pregnant!) and my acne flared up like an f-ing wildfire. I was so confused and frustrated because my skin has been relatively clear for the past few years. I finally realized that my hormones were probably out of whack, hence the reason my acne flared up after going off the pill. So like any 24 year old, I started googling adult acne and found a lot of signs pointing to hormonal acne. This can be caused by irregular gut bacteria that can then affect your adrenals, which can then affect your estrogen and testosterone levels, etc. With that being said, I have scheduled an appointment with a naturopathic doctor that specializes in hormones. I am seeing a naturalist because I have been to the dermatologist countless times and nothing has ever solved my acne for the long haul. I will update ya'll on my acne after my appointment!
If you have made it this far, thank you for reading my chatty blog about listening to your body! Remember that everyone's lifestyle is different and every body is different. That means that you make your own rules and get to take care of yourself in a way that work for YOU.
Cheers to treating yourself and listening to what your body needs!