I work with a lot of people who are struggling with adrenal fatigue and depression. It's almost an epidemic in our world today, and if you stay up with current events, watch the news and read the newspapers, there's a good chance that you're experiencing some adrenal fatigue symptoms and heavy mode as well. The media thrives on shifting people into fear mode. Fear sells. When you are fearful, the part of your nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system takes control, getting you ready for fight or flight. In this mode, your heart rate increases, your blood pressure increases and your digestion shuts down. The aftermath is fatigue, nutritional deficiencies and depression.
I just wrote a very detailed article for Purely Delicious magazine about stress, fatigue and burnout. It will be published soon.
When you're burning the candle at both ends, you are much less able to deal with stress. To compound the problem, when stress levels are high, you have a tendency to sleep less, because stress can cause insomnia or frequent night time awakenings.
And of course, taking time for fun goes out the window in times of stress because of the perception that there just isn't “enough time”.
My commitment for this month is to incorporate more fun and sleep into my life. Yours may also include eating balanced meals, eating more slowly, becoming more conscious when eating. These are all VERY important and I support you in your commitment.
So try this. Before you begin to put food into your mouth, stop. Take a nice deep breath. This alone is enough to shift you out of your sympathetic nervous system – remember–the system that causes your digestion to slow way down. Then take a few seconds to appreciate the food you are about to consume. Think about where it came from, how it was prepared, how it will nourish every cell. Only then, begin to eat, staying conscious of each forkful.
No kidding, it will take some focused effort to do this! Yet the time and attention to conscious eating, appreciative eating, is well worth it!
Go ahead and give it a try, and post a comment about how it went for you.
Join me on Wednesday March 10 at 12:30pm CST for my Blog talk Radio Show: Creating a Vibrant Life, during which I'll reveal 5 strategies for balancing your mood through food. www.blogtalkradio.com/dr-ritamarie
My Report Card for Monday:
1- Green Smoothie – 2 quarts Done
2- weight training exercise Done
3- bed by 11:30 (how daring of me!) maybe even earlier a little later – 12:20
4- write a chapter in my new book did the research but didn't complete the chapter
5- quality time with the kids – family conflict rather than quality time…
Commitments for Tuesday:
1- run 3 miles
2- bed by midnight
3- Drink 1 quart of green smoothie
4- drink 1 cup veggie juice
How about you? What are you committed to today?
Let us know. Post your comments below.
Love, Health and Joy to you,
Dr. Ritamarie
Oh thank you for the great advice. I am going to try that tomorrow the concious appreciative eating!
So today was a good day for me I decided that eating slowly and not overeating go together because they both involve paying attention to what you are eating. So I committed to both of them today and I did not over stuff myself and I did chew my food conciously. So I am feeling pretty good about that. Also I did not eat any nuts today even though that wasn’t a commitment of mine. Every day away from nuts for me is good.