I was asked to write on the topic of healthy living this week, which if you knew my current health ailments, it would be a laughable. Healthy living is like a puzzle, if one piece is missing, the puzzle cannot be complete. In my opinion, healthy living is a good balance of adequate sleep, low stress, healthy food consumption and an active lifestyle.
This spring I was working hard on achieving an active lifestyle and healthy eating, but neither did me good without lowered stress and adequate sleep. I can handle a lot of stress and am great at multitasking, until I take on more than I can handle. This spring, I did take on more than I can handle, and to keep up, I began to neglect sleep in effort to manage our life which naturally increased my stress.
One night, I had a sudden onset of chills, body aches and severe stomach pain. After a couple of hours of unrelenting stomach pain, I decided a visit the emergency room was warranted. I feared that I was having a gall bladder attack. After an expensive emergency room visit, later visits to a specialist and three uncomfortable intestinal tests later, I was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer. The suspected gall bladder attack was likely a virus or just a spasm of my intestines.
Fast forward a couple of months, I have discovered that I have not paid attention to what I am putting my body through despite the diagnosis of an ulcer. I have broken out into a rash that is very suspiciously shingles. Shingles is a viral condition only suffered by those who had chicken pox as a child. Having had it once before following a move and house renovation, I am aware that the virus is activated by stress and a weakened immune system. In essence, my continued lack of a complete healthy living has resulted in my second case of shingles. It is not fun.
Twice in the last few months, my body has warned me that I am not sleeping enough and my stress levels are likely too high. I have two puzzle pieces missing in my quest to optimal health making it impossible for my puzzle to be complete. Unfortunately, the shingles virus has made me feel lousy, and I have a no energy to exercise. In essence, my puzzle has completely crumbled.
Like any puzzle, my pieces can be put back together. I have maintained eating healthy to try to keep one puzzle piece constant in my life and to fuel my body with the nutrients it needs. When my energy levels improve and the shingles virus has deactivated, I hope that my energy levels will increase to add some more health puzzle pieces back into my life.
Writer Bio: Summer Bolte
I spend most of my time and days with my three kids, husband and dog. My kids frequently play near me as I garden, cook, DIY and volunteer. My most unusual paying job has to be feeding fruit flies in a research lab, and my most fulfilling job was being an oncology nurse for seven years.
