Emotional Hygiene.
APRIL 10, 2016
The sun came out today! – thank the Lord! You see, a month ago I found out I had developed a vitamin D deficiency. The reason I found this out is I felt like I was losing my mind. Fatigued, emotional, unable to cope, it wasn’t until I collapsed and banged my head on our bathroom floor that Dom and I started to put two and two together, my iron deficiency (that had sent me loopy last year) must of returned. So the next day I waited in line at our local hospital to have some blood tests. Then I grabbed the iron tablets and started chugging them down. Two days later a call from the doctor confirmed that my iron levels were fine but my vitamin D was low. Which was quite a surprise to me as the symptoms I had felt last year with an iron deficiency were exactly the same as how I felt with a vitamin D deficiency. So I am on high doses of Vitamin D until the sun comes out!
I am just so relieved that I got to the bottom of what was wrong with me but it got me thinking, how many people feel the same way but try to brush it off or believe they are becoming depressed. Especially, if they don’t have any physical signs of something being wrong. What this experience has taught me is we treat physical ailments a lot more seriously than mental ones. When you are feeling useless, emotional and anxious, you say things to yourself like “pull yourself together” …….”stop being so pathetic”……”It’s all in your head” but it wasn’t until I had physical signs like numbness in my arms and hands and losing consciousness that I thought something might actually be wrong. Why is that? Why do I respect my physical health more than my mental health? Maybe if I had had the confidence to say I am not “feeling” right I might not of had to put up with these symptoms as long as I did. Also, maybe we don’t take vitamin and mineral deficiency’s seriously enough. I believe I have a healthy diet. I love vegetable juicing and we stay away from processed foods as much as possible but I discovered both of my deficiencies were not related to my diet. That is why it is so important to check your bloods. If you feel you are taking care of yourself but you don’t “feel” well then it is time you gave yourself permission to dig a bit deeper. Go to your doctor and get some basic blood tests done for peace of mind.
I heard a great phrase the other day “emotional hygiene” Maybe if we were as thorough with our emotional hygiene as we are with our physical hygiene our overall well being would be healthier. If we tuned into our emotions and learned to show them respect rather than shutting them down because we are too busy or don’t want to seem weak, then maybe our lives would be just that little bit easier.
It’s time that we take care of our minds and believe them when they tell us things just aren’t quite right. I’ve started the process of listening and I’ve been thinking about my “Emotional Hygiene”. I think the best place to start the spring clean is at the front of my Yoga mat. Watch this space…
Namaste!
Lots of love,
Laura x