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It occurred to me when I was writing the series on happiness that someone might be reading it and thinking that I was naive or lacking in brainpower: What about all the people who need antidepressants? What about Seasonal Affective Disorder? I hadn’t forgotten, nor am I particularly crazy. Critical in both cases is looking after the hardware.
Let’s go back to the computer analogy. No matter how good your software is, if the hardware is faulty or unreliable, you aren’t going to get a good result. The same is true for us. While we are more than our bodies, we are living in them. As such, we need to take proper care and see to it that our hardware is running properly.
My first thought about this was after I had run myself ragged with my schedule. Too much busy, not enough sleep. I found myself drifting into old patterns of thought. I found myself running mental tapes from back in the bad days when I worked all night and schooled all day. (Literally. I figure with a little more regularity and some pointers I could have become polyphasic, but it’s better this way, I think.)
I stopped myself and asked why I was running the old tapes? After I took a mental inventory I realized that not only had I been running old tapes, I’d also been borderline surly, and not very good company in general. Of course I took corrective measures to change the direction, but I realized that when my body had been run ragged, I started coming apart. I didn’t have as much “fire” as I did before. I was listless, and had drifted back into old patterns. I’m still not sure if I drifted into the old patterns simply because I ran them for so long or if it was because the last time I ran them was when I was similarly exhausted.
When I realized what was going on, I figured I should share this with you. All that annoying stuff your parents told you? Eat your veggies, get your sleep, get outside and get the blood flowing…. Do it.
I know it’s easy for me to say “do it”, but it’s not so easy for me to do it. Added to what I call my list of “procedurals”, or things to mentally check throughout the day, I have added the question “Is this going to make me healthier, or more ill?” If you start asking yourself this and listen to the honest answer, you’ll find some serious ideas coming through.
For example: I have been eating very cheap, not-very-nutritional food for lunch for years. When I started keeping my physical health in mind, I noticed that my lunches aren’t helping. After a couple healthy but impractical ideas flashed through my mind, I found a compormise wherein I can still
eat inexpensively, yet give my body better nutrition.
Although I chose to focus on nutrition, the same applies to sleep, exercise, cleanliness, or even our physical surroundings. Going back to Seasonal Affective Disorder: You need light. Don’t sabotage yourself by not making sure that you have adequate light. Same for those who need medicine. Denying that you need something will not remove that need, it will only impair you and make you unable to live your life the way you want.
Just the same, it won’t do you much good if you tell yourself that you are somehow “broken” when you are doing what you know you should. Everyone has different needs. If you need extra workouts, or if you need to watch your diet, or if you need to cut down on the caffeine, or if you need to make sure you take your prescription, it is all the same. You are not broken. You are treating yourself with the respect you deserve. It’s been said that the body is a temple. This is normally used in a bid to turn away from some tasty treat. However, it is very true. By taking care of the body, your body provides the raw power to keep You on an even keel, and keeps You going so You can put your more cerebral inner techs to work.
Try treating yourself right for a week or two and see what happens. If you have any input or suggestions, please leave us a comment!
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