Three Tips to Living with Low Energy or Chronic Pain

 

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I have a secret. I am not an energetic person. Never have been--even as a kid, I got tired before everyone else. I was the one who was relieved when parents came to break up sleepover shenanigans so I could get some much-needed sleep. I was in a car accident years ago, and the residual pain taps my energy further while adding its own problems.

My practice focuses on the chronically ill, so I see a lot of people like me. Many of them have trouble mentally dealing with their health issues.  They feel like they're missing out on life, or that all they can do is get the daily requirements done, then drag off for as much sleep as possible before doing it all again. They are constantly tired, and usually depressed.

I get frustrated at my energy levels, but all-in-all I handle them pretty well. I look at my life, and it is full--I go out with friends, I have a career that uses my talents, and a husband and cat who love me. I get a fair amount done most days, and stay better rested than I have been at any earlier point in my life. How do I do it? I'm glad you ask!

• I accepted there were limitations. This idea is anathema to many. They want to fight with everything they have to get one more thing done, add one more activity, one more commitment, one more accomplishment. For those whose personality fits this lifestyle, it is great--the constant challenge energizes them, so fighting their limitations is a great coping strategy. Most of the people I see day-to-day don't have this personality--they just wish they did. I stopped wishing for it a long time ago, and made a few policies: I rarely commit to extra responsibilities because I know I can't be reliable at them.  If I get so little sleep that I cry when it's time to get up, I cancel my day. I avoid places, other than my office, where sick people are likely to congregate--no trips to the drugstore during flu season, and no unnecessary gatherings with a gaggle of small children. Being sick takes a lot out of me, and since setting up this policy I have a lot less illness than I used to.
• I eat well. As much as I used to like soft drinks and french fries, I almost never eat them now. I don't digest either of them well, and the "hangover" of eating any kind of junk food gets in the way of the things I want to do. My husband and I invest a lot of our income on healthy food that tastes great. We both enjoy food, and both know how important it is to give our bodies good things. It was a lesson we have only really committed to in the past five years or so, but now that we have we get reap great dividends--a clear mind, better moods, and a gradual improvement in health all-around. My pain levels are usually very low, and my energy improves the better I eat.
• I try to have only positive things in my life. Lest you think I live my life focused on what I can't do and cannot eat, let me tell you my philosophy: I am a valuable commodity, I have a lot to give, and like any precious thing or entity, I must receive excellent care to be at my best. So I put as many good things into my life as I can. The lesson of positivity is relatively new for me--I used to feel that saying my life was going well was a form of bragging. Now I see it as a way to improve the world around me by not adding to the complaints that burden society. I try to look at my life with a positive perspective ("change your story, change your life"). I seek out positive people to read and emulate, like Michael Hyatt, Marc and Angel Chernoff, Chris Guillebeau, and others. Putting upbeat, can-do, honest words into my mind each day helps fight discouragement and gives me the raw materials to create my own positive creations. Taking care of my mind also gives me a safe place to deal with hard things. When I'm tired, cultivating a positive outlook means I don't bow to discouragement as often, and dark days when I see only the negative are easier to turn around.

These are just three tips for dealing with fatigue and stress. They are simple, but not always easy. Do you have any tips you use for dealing with the issues in your life?

How Socks Made My Day--Simple Self Care

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I bought these knee socks last week. They are kind of a big deal. I bought them to go with my new boots--the boots come up to my knees, and I didn't have any socks long enough to protect my legs from getting chafed.

Usually, I am a frugal shopper when it comes to clothes. I buy very nice stuff, but I buy it from thrift stores, where Liz Claiborne jeans cost $5. When I got the boots and realized I needed socks that no one would be able to see, I planned to buy some plain socks in a pack from a department store. Then I went to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, one of my favorite places. Their gift shop is full of beautiful garden-oriented things, from jewelry to plant markers. Wandering through the shop is like a small museum tour for me, oohing and ahhing over the the butterfly, flower, bird, or bee-themed cards, lamps, mugs, nightlights, and other items. So I stopped to admire the scarves, and saw a display of knee-high socks. Full of color, with patterns from paisley to butterflies to flowers. And saw these. I fell in love.

While they were reasonably priced, one pair cost more than I had planned to pay for my three-pack of plain socks. They were totally impractical--no one but my husband would ever see them under my boots. I walked past them, then circled back. Then took them to the cash register and on to their new "forever home."

New socks are not a big deal. But I emphasize self care in my practice. Sometimes I find I need my own advice. These socks represent my plan to do little things to take care of myself, so I have plenty of resources to give to others.

Sometimes patients resist the idea of self-care, because they feel others in the family have a bigger need, or they equate self-care with selfishness. Since I've been in that place--and go back and visit occasionally--I try to help. Self-care does not mean ignoring others' needs to have whatever you want in life. It is taking care of yourself, so you can joyfully give to others. When I look at my socks, I feel happy. I smile. The touch of beauty in my day changes my mood. When I take my new, improved mood to the office, or to my husband, or anywhere populated by my fellow human beings, I am able to be a more positive version of myself. Solutions to problems come easier and can encourage people and be believable, because I am happy myself.  Interactions with cashiers, sales people, and my fellow drivers are friendlier--moments that may be fleeting for me, but can make the day of someone who needs a smile and basic respect.

Too often, I find myself seeing life as something I can only manage by a combination of running full-tilt and hanging on for dear life, scraping by and fighting through fatigue and frustration. One of my goals for the next year is to have fewer moments in that mentality, and more moments enjoying the life I've been given, and sharing what I have and know with others. My pretty socks are a small item that enriched my life. The feeling of luxury they gave me made me feel expansive, and more capable of giving to the people in my life.

Are there any small ways you take care of yourself? Please share them in the comments!

I Can See Clearly Now: Part Two of the Five Taxations--Vision

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Recently, I wrote an article on The Five Taxations. They are five ways we can over-(or under-) exert ourselves and have consequences on specific areas of our health.  Today I want to cover the first in my Five Taxations series. The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine (Huang Di Nei Jing) states: "to observe over a long time harms the blood." 

Almost everything we do in our modern day involves "observing over a long time." Many of us spend hours at computers, dealing with lighted screens, flashing ads, and that ever-moving cursor. Our modern age, with its televisions, smart phones, artificial lighting, and fast pace give us unique challenges to our vision.  I often remind patients that 150 years ago, the only reasons someone would have their eyes darting rapidly from side-to-side would involve danger--someone or something was after you, or you were after it. Today, our eyes constantly track rapidly back and forth--whether we're watching for traffic while driving or reading an ebook. All that use strains your eyes.

But it does more. In Chinese medicine, eyes relate to the health and function of the Liver. Wearing them out stresses this organ system. Your "Liver energy" also manages your body's response to stress, it's ability to do things smoothly and on time (whether that's getting sleepy at the right time or digesting food without incident), and has a lot to do with pain. The Liver governs the movement of qi. Qi getting stuck causes pain. (See this article for an explanation of stuck qi, and how to fix it) The Liver and Gallbladder meridians, which work together, affect the head, eyes, inside and outside of the legs, and influence the workings of every other system. Keeping them happy is a big deal. Here are a few ways to help your vision, and your Liver and Gall systems working well.

•  Give your eyes a regular break. If you read or work out on the computer a lot, take regular breaks--at least every 90 minutes. Whenever possible, find a quiet place and close your eyes. Gently rub around your eyebrows and under your eyes. Give yourself time when you don't have to "observe frequently." Allow your eyes to unfocus and take a few moments off in a quiet place a few times a day.
• Get enough rest. Lack of sleep is so common as to be endemic in modern society. Now we know what Chinese medicine has known all along--sleep is absolutely necessary to process stress. One of your Liver-Gall Bladder's jobs is to file away the stress of the day while you dream--and it is at its most active between 11pm and 3am. Many creative people use these hours because they have a burst of energy. But they sacrifice their "unconscious sorting" time when they do so. Get the rest you need, and especially get your rest during these hours--you'll find you have more creativity during the day if you allow it to build and do its job at night.
• Eat Liver-and-Eye healthy foods. Foods with a slightly sour taste, like berries, vinegar, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, citrus foods and green vegetables, are good for "soothing Liver." Not surprisingly, a lot of foods currently considered good for eye health are in these categories. Goji berries and chrysanthemum tea (made from the flowers of the
  Chrysanthemum morifolium or Chrysanthemum indicum plants) are used in Chinese herbal remedies to strengthen Liver blood and especially to strengthen the eyes. Most Asian markets will have instant beverages called "Chrysanthemum Tea," which may be heavily sweetened but can be used to help your Liver qi. You can also buy an unsweetened version online (see bottom of page for an affiliate link).
• Deal with stress. Stress, especially emotional stress, is one of the major obstacles to Liver and Gall Bladder meridian functioning. Dealing with stress as it occurs will allow this organ system to keep up with its job of making thing happen at the right time in your system, and will allow it to properly nourish your eyes. 

Our modern world is especially hard on Liver energy, and especially hard on eyes. Take steps to prevent wearing out the windows to your soul. You'll be more creative, less stressed, and better able to build the life you want. 

 

Huang Di Nei Jing quote taken from Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen: An Annotated Translation of Huang Di's Inner Classic - Basic Questions: 2 volumes

Hitting The Problem From All Angles--Using Multiple Modalites

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For the past four months, I have been in pain. An old back injury got aggravated, then aggravated some more. As an acupuncturist, this situation has hurt my pride. I treat back pain all the time, and one of the reasons I got into acupuncture is because of the pain relief it gave me. I've tried lots of different things--acupuncture, of course, but also stretching, acupressure, massage, and chiropractic. Each one seemed to help, but after a day or two the pain returned. And I was discouraged.

In the past two weeks, I decided to play "what would I do for a patient in the same situation?" The answer was easy--I would suggest a slew of treatments all at once--throw everything we had at the problem in hopes of subduing it.

So that's what I did. This week, I've had two acupuncture treatments, two chiropractic adjustments, and one massage. I have also had better improvement than I have in months. I believed I couldn't spare the time to make these treatments a reality. But now I see that the time I wasted feeling bad led to reduced productivity, reduced creativity, and certainly did not help me be an example of the benefits of natural living.

Natural remedies, while often quite effective, are also often quite gentle. They guide your body back into balance instead of dragging it, kicking and screaming, to a level of forced functioning. Building health sometimes takes many layers of effort--a little adjustment to diet, some slight changes to exercise, and maybe a few forms of treatment to address all areas that affected by a health problem. So if you're dealing with depression, therapy or herbs or diet changes or exercise alone may not be enough to solve the problem--they may need to be used together. If allergies are your issue, you may need to avoid known allergens, build your system with health food and supplements, and deal with stress, which compromises your immune system.

Going the natural path sometimes requires more effort than filling a prescription and popping a pill. (And, of course, there are some things in our modern age that require doing that in addition to healthy life changes.) Layering therapies is a way to get more out of your natural living strategy.

I'm not completely out of the woods yet, but I am hopeful that slow and creaky is not my new normal. Sometimes when you have a problem, you have to attack it head-on and throw all your resources at it. Have you had a similar health experience? Tell me about it in the comments!

So, There's a "Picky Eater" Coming to Thanksgiving. . .

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I had a friend who was asked on a date by a man who wanted to make her a home-cooked meal. Very romantic. That is, until he found out she was a vegetarian. Suddenly the date was off--he said he "had no idea what to cook for her." For some reason, the idea of cooking for vegetarians makes people afraid--very afraid. Other special diets--dairy-free, vegan, paleo, etc., also seem mysterious to those who do not follow them. Thanksgiving is especially trying--perhaps because there are traditional food expectations, extended family, and more people, which means more food preferences to indulge or risk offending someone.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I spend a lot of my practice time encouraging people to eat more vegetables. I was also a (mostly) vegan for two years before I realized it was not the best diet choice for me. I know a lot of people who choose to eat vegetarian meals for one reason or the other, and I'm used to screening restaurants to be sure there are good veggie options when I meet anyone for a meal. And since I have a lot of food sensitivities myself, I've been the one at a table full of food and nothing I can eat without getting sick. Sometimes less-understanding friends and associates call those with special diet needs or preferences "picky." But most people who follow a restrictive diet have a reason for doing so. Many of the "picky eaters" I see in my clinic must eat carefully to avoid being seriously ill, or even have allergies so severe a slight exposure to the wrong food can cause anaphylactic shock and death. Making a meal for people used to feeling excluded for their health or diet needs is a wonderful way to show love to a friend or family member.

Here are a few tips for successfully feeding your "picky eater" at Thanksgiving.

• Communicate. When I invite someone over to dinner, or set up a time to meet at a restaurant, I ask them if they have any food restrictions. It doesn't do to find out after you've slaved over a beefy lasagna that your guest doesn't eat meat, is allergic to wheat, or hates tomatoes. Ideally, your guest will be able to politely warn you if they have a different diet. I often offer to bring my own food--I don't eat processed food because I'm sensitive to the chemicals. If the cook is willing to accommodate me, I keep an idea for something simple (plain baked chicken and frozen veggies with a little butter, for instance). If not, having a few extra vegetable dishes with no butter, eggs, or other animal ingredients available will insure even the vegan in your group will have something other than carrot sticks to eat.
• Be confident and respectful. This suggestion is for both the host and the invitee. Thanksgiving is not the time to argue your different eating choices. While planning this post, I realize I have been guilty of looking down my nose slightly at those around me who don't care whether their food is organic or not. Shame on me! If someone invites you to her house and is willing to cook, appreciate it--even if you cannot eat the food she offers, acknowledge that another person wants to share a meal with you. For the host/hostesses, don't make fun of the person who doesn't eat as you do. But don't leave out dishes that are important for your traditions, either. If Grandma's special dressing calls for turkey drippings, and just isn't the same without it, make some rice with mushrooms and parsley for the vegetarians and make Grandma's dressing. Have fun carving your turkey, and trust your vegetarian guest to be respectful and not hand out PETA bumper stickers at the table. (Really, I've never had a problem with anyone with a different diet being pushy about their viewpoint except in family settings. Most people just want to eat what they eat and not be stared at for it. But since sit-com plots revolve around the food philosophy fights this time of year, I figure my experience may not be typical.)
• Cook what you cook well, with minor adjustments. It's really not that difficult to tailor food for a special diet. I make gluten-free dressing using cornbread and a loaf of (ridiculously expensive) gluten free bread. Because my husband doesn't eat chicken, but I love it, I often make a vegetable dish, and then augment it with beef for him and chicken for me. Some firm tofu with lemon juice and lots of garlic (made the night before so the tofu absorbs the flavors) does a decent imitation of cheese cooked into casseroles. Mushroom broth makes a hearty base for gravy. And most dishes that have vegetable in them (stir fries, pasta dishes, etc.) are easily turned vegan by simply upping the veggies, and maybe adding some mushrooms for extra texture. Check out Pinterest or do an internet search for versions of your favorite food that follow your guest's diet. Many of my recipes on What's Teresa Cookin'? have vegan, low starch, or other variations included in the recipe.

Feeding friends and family with special diet needs does not need to be stressful. With open hearts all-around and little sense of adventure, helping the "picky eater" enjoy your cooking will be fun and educational.

Goldilocks and The Five Taxations: Balance in Chinese Medicine (Part 1)

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One of the reasons I love Chinese medicine is its attention to moderation, or what I call Goldilocks Medicine: nothing should be too much or too little, everything should be "just right." One example of this philosophy is the idea of the Five Taxations.

The Five Taxations have nothing to do with the IRS. Rather, they include various ways you can be out of balance by your activities. Too much activity, whether mental or physical, will wear your mind and body out in specific ways. Too little activity, or too much staying still in one position, will harm you as well.

Like food, where the more variety you have of wholesome, natural food, the better your health, your activity level should include time for vigorous movement, deep thinking, rest, and gentle work. If you spend all your time on one activity, whether it's watching TV or doing yoga, your systems will become unbalanced.

Here they are:

• Excessive use of the eyes, which damages blood.
• Excessive lying down, which damages qi;
• Excessive sitting, which injures flesh;
• Excessive standing, which injures bones;
• Excessive walking, which injures sinews.

I'll be covering one of these taxations with a blog entry for a few weeks. If you have any questions about a specific taxation, please feel free to comment or contact me.

Warm Food for Cold Weather

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I am an acupuncturist. My training is in Chinese medicine, which emphasizes giving your body what it needs to live in harmony with your environment. It's surprising to me how often I'll ask a new patient about their diet, and she will say "Oh, I eat very healthfully. I eat a bunch of salad, almost no fat, and only drink diet sodas." I'll tackle the low-fat and diet drinks another time, but today I'd like to focus on the salad.

In Chinese medicine, we teach that your lower torso area holds your "pilot light"--the dan tian in front and the ming men in back. While they are different areas, their function is similar. They provide the foundation for both yin (the body's cooling, calming, sleeping, peaceful energy) and yang (the body's warming, active, moving energy). Our day-to-day energy comes from a combination of Congenital Qi (the energy we inherit from our parents, which acts as our reserve energy in times of excessive stress or work, and Acquired Qi (the energy we get from food, the air, and the functions of our various organs). Two major sources of Acquired Qi are the energy we get from food, and the energy from the Spleen/Stomach system that digests the food. 

In order to maximize the benefit of our food, we must digest it properly. If it is hard to digest, we will use too much energy trying to break it down. So we will either tire easily, or we will do a halfway job of digestion. When you don't digest food completely, you make extra phlegm, which can show up as cholesterol build-up in your arteries or as simple congestion in your nose and throat.  Poor digestion can also cause problems up-and-down your digestive system--everything from acid reflux to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or food intolerances. 

So how do you digest your food well? By eating good, wholesome, natural food--that is cooked and warm. It is true that if you take a raw carrot and a cooked carrot and analyze them in a laboratory, you may find more nutrients in the raw carrot. However, there is more to consider in choosing how to eat your food. Raw food is hard to break down into its composite nutrients. It does not add warmth to the body. Cold food--whether a salad or a milkshake--is hard to digest. So if your body is already struggling with making enough energy to thrive each day, trying to digest cold or raw food limits the energy you get from food. You will also actually have to dip into your reserves--your Congenital Qi. Anything that dips into your reserve energy is a serious health concern, because that energy is hard to regain once lost.

So raw food is never a good idea. But in cold weather--the nice crisp weather of fall and winter--it is even more of a problem. Your body needs extra energy to warm itself in cold weather. When it gets too cold, qi, or energy, cannot move well. Muscles tighten and hurt, digestion slows down, energy retreats deeper into your body, numbing your extremities. The cold also "tightens" emotions--when qi cannot flow, the body systems that process emotions do not work well. Many people find themselves becoming depressed, apathetic, or easily frustrated.

The simple act of eating warm food--all year long, but especially in the cold months--will make a huge difference to health. A belly full of a healthy warm meal feels content. Contentment leads to a peaceful feeling, which reduces stress. Cooked food is less work to break down, so your body gets the benefit of it immediately.  The warmth relaxes your torso, improving back and neck pain.  Warm food also assists digestion, diminishing the chances of gas, bloating, constipation, or pain in digestion. 

If you are not used to eating mostly cooked food, I suggest choosing two weeks and trying it religiously. Have nothing cold--no iced drinks, no salad, no ice cream. Drink plenty of hot liquid--tea, hot water with lemon, brothy soups--and have wholesome meals that are warm. At the end of two weeks, most people feel  improvement in their overall health--fewer pains, better digestion, a more peaceful mind. Give it a try and let me know what happens!