Tag Archives: health

Sometimes

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Sometimes you’re on fire
Sometimes not

Sometimes you’re just tired
Even as you ‘bring what ya got’

Sometimes it’s exactly clear why your head is not
Other times you can’t quite see the whole plot

Sometimes you operate at your very best
Then inevitably your ethos is put to the test

Sometimes you notice something coming on
Not sure what, but it just feels off (ha!)
So you stay alert; you’ve been here before
You wait patiently for insight to come to the fore

Sometimes you just have to say f*ckit
I’m doing my best
Put forth enough effort
And let go the rest

This too shall pass, and ‘learn from it you will,’ as Yoda might say
So you complete the required work by the end of the day
Then you give yourself some grace and step more lightly
Carry the stress just a little less tightly

ODOMOBaaT, I say and write often
When I remember and breathe, my rigidities soften

So now I go to practice what I preach
Let my own calming breath expand its reach
Beyond the intellectualism of my thinking brain
Into a deeper, limbic domain
So my peace may be easier to sustain

Sometimes we just have to give ourselves a break
Let what is give what we think should be a little shake

Sometimes we rhyme on a Sunday night
Because heavy ideas may require words that are light
So I sign off now, with bedtime in sight
And trust that tomorrow and beyond will be bright






Bit Post: How to Get Me There

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The loving space

OH how I hate these conditioning workouts.

And yet here I am, on the other side of another one, feeling *AWESOME* in spirit and absolutely spent in body.

I sign up only partially wanting to come. I still have the “I should” voice, which I appreciate and continue to reframe as “I know I will thank myself later. I will be glad that I did it. STRONG OLD LADY!!”

But the catalyst that gets me past the activation energy is the people. I know the coaches; I know they are here to encourage, to keep me safe, and never to judge. I may or may not know my classmates, but they are reliably friendly and welcoming, and we all follow the coaches’ lead, leaving any and all judgments at the door.

They say that how we treat ourselves underlies how we treat others, and we are generally kinder to others than to ourselves. So being in this space, where others are so kind to me, coming here regularly, teaches me to strengthen my body and soften my self-talk.

Melissa taught me the five factors that keep kids in sports; they are the same factors that keep adults in an exercise program:

1. It’s FUN
2. Our friends are doing it
3. We feel like we fit in
4. We feel competent, like we know what we’re doing
5. We feel we are making or can make progress

Generally I think if we have three or more at any given time, it may be enough to keep us going.

At Ethos I have all five. Well, today not the first one. But the other four, absolutely, no question, in spades.

There are simply not enough words for the gratitude.

Bit Post: Dementia

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Posted on Facebook, in rapid response to my friend’s share of an Alzheimer’s Awareness Week message:

More and more of my patients seem to live in fear of dementia, and rightly so. I see it as my job to hold that fear, validate it, and also monitor for its immediate effects. Constant fear that looms over us like a black cloud is threat stress, and that has significant negative health consequences in itself, both immediate and long term.

How can we get to peace with our inevitable end, however it may occur? I was just thinking about it this morning, as I have written about it often the past 8+ years on the blog. Today I believe that if I were to die tomorrow, and I had five minutes at the end to relfect, I could be at peace. But who TF knows? I could be a thrashing rage case at the end of my life, depending on the circumstances. But I realized this morning that this may be an excellent example of a Useful Delusion. Because I feel, however irrationally, at peace with my own death today, I can live more peacefully now, freed from that particular fear. Maybe. That’s the story I tell.

Of note: None of us can actually control our future health and death. But we have so much agency to influence risk and likelihood. Thankfully, all of the behaviors that help prevent heart disease also lower the risk of everything else: cancer, diabetes, obesity, and dementia. None of us can be perfect in all of our health habits; some are easier than others for each of us. But if we focus more on goals and trade offs, acting intentionally and mindfully as much as possible, assessing and adjusting often, I think we will have less to regret at the the end, no matter what happens.

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Someone once said when you love someone with Dementia you lose them more and more everyday. When they are diagnosed, when they go through different stages, when they need treatment and when they die. This is called “Ambigua Loss.”

I wouldn’t wish Dementia on anyone. As the brain slowly dies, it changes physically and eventually forgets who their loved ones are. They can end up lying in bed not moving and not eating or drinking.

There will be people who will scroll by this post because Dementia has not touched them. They may not know what it’s like to have a loved one who battled or is fighting Dementia.

To Raise Awareness of this Cruel Disease, I’d like my Friends to Put this on their Page Today.

Hold Finger on Post to Copy and Paste to Your Timeline.

A Special Thank You to All Willing to Post This On their Timeline for Alzheimer’s Awareness Week 💜💜