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Update on the new lifestyle


Fabalicious
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Man that stuff is all SO GOOD TO READ ABOUT.

You (and your family) are a revolutionary force of positivity Fabac, and those good vibes are highly contagious. I think I'll go be nice to someone or a dog right now just because I read this.[smiley=vrolijk_1.gif]

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hey everyone! Many apologies for my lack of posts this past week, but my beast is calmed down a little (only getting hit 2-3 times a day now, and has not been above a 6, WOOHOOO!!) But in a previous thread I stated that I was going to start a healthier lifestyle to reduce stress and report back the results, so here goes.  First off, I really kinda balked at the idea that I had stress, I have had problems and events of stress in  my life sure, but I got through all that, and now since it is in my past it does not affect me right? well that was my thinking anyway.  Then my little brother, who is a psychologist working at a large college that does a lot of research, wanted to try some of his research on me. First he interviewed me and asked me a LOT of questions, the gist of this was to find out where I thought my own stress level was at.  The results were that my stress level was very low, almost non existent. (keep in mind that this was MY thinking) Then he gave me a little questionnaire that is designed to measure actual stress levels, including repressed emotions, buried feelings etc.  Anyways after I took his little "stress test" , he took my results back to his lab and ......lets just say my score was high enough to get the attention of the doctor who was running the whole research study.  In his words it was "off the charts".  Seems like I internalize everything, and though my mind thinks I deal fine, my body is telling a different story.  Neither of these gentlemen believe that the hidden stress is the total cause of the clusters, but the think it might be a factor in the frequency and the intensity. So theres that.  Then I started a regimen of yoga, healthy eating (organic and raw foods at least for 2 meals), I am also taking the time to meditate every day. This was VERY hard for me, I had a tough time even sitting still, much less getting my mind to quiet down and clear out.  I started with just 15 minutes, and for the past week I think I can actually get to the "zone" for about 5-7 of those minutes.  I keep on plugging away at it, eventually I will get there.  The yoga is REALLY helping.  Not really with the CH but it help my body feel more relaxed and stretches out all those muscles that get all tensed up during the attacks ( even some muscles I didnt know I had..lol) Sooooo, is it a coincidence that my CH slows down the same week I try all this ? For the record I was also using seeds, but took my last dose of them and am now off of everything in anticipation of my crop maturing ;D. Will keep you all posted. So far so good. HUGS and PFW!!!   

I strongly believe that there is a direct correlation to what you said in this . I think that could be one thing we all have in common is the way we deal with stress and other emotions and how we just kind of burry things and keep on chugging along. Really cool stuff...

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I was actually wondering who all had really stressful things happen to you as a child? Not the normal childhood stresses but heavy duty stuff? Apparently this is the time when we learn how to deal with outside stresses and if there was something really bad...and no one to really help you through or teach you..you would learn to internalize at a VERY early age....then the older we get we just keep adding to it until it blows.  "When the Body Says NO" ( :) thanks for that recommended reading Tony and LT2) .....

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I have explored my past for the early childhood PTSD thing... it sure feels like I have some of that... but not really anything showing up other than the usual childhood stuff. Not to say anything even mildly stressful couldn't be interpreted as traumatic by a newborn infant. It may just be the defect in processing (what I believe CH is) made life itself look that traumatic.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We talked in this thread about meditation (and mindfulness exercise), and I think it was also in this thread that we talked a little about neuroplasticity: that the brain changes shape in response to what we ask from it.  So here's a recent report tying the two together: A Harvard study that shows significant changes in brain structure from just eight weeks of meditation/mindfulness practice for 27 minutes a day. The part of the brain associated with self-awareness and compassion (hippocampus) grew; the part associated with fearfulness (amydala) got smaller.  (Of course, if this much happened in 8 weeks, then something has to have happened after one week, and even after one session, and even during one session.) http://www.feelguide.com/2014/11/19/harvard-unveils-mri-study-proving-meditation-literally-rebuilds-the-brains-gray-matter-in-8-weeks/

And just for the heck of it, unrelated to anything, here is something I was just writing yesterday, related to the field called "embodied cognition."  I just think it (like so much other brain stuff) is fascinating.

>>Someone who holds a cup with a warm beverage in it for a couple of minutes—just holding the cup, not drinking from it—will be more inclined to think well of the next person they meet (that is, they will feel more "warmly" toward that person); while someone holding a cup with a cold beverage in it will be inclined to think more negatively of the next person they meet. Someone holding a heavier clipboard while answering questions will judge the subject matter of the questions to be more important (“weightier”) than someone who is holding a lighter clipboard.<<  Here, if you're interested, is a video about the first thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1OVhlRpwJc . And here's a longer article on the general topic: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/11/embodied_cognition_metaphors_about_the_physical_world_help_us_reason.html   

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Awesome read CHFather! Thank you so much for posting this! I am printing it up to add to my file.  HUGS!! and many many PFD!! and please excuse me while I go watch the you tube videos! This cortical plasticity stuff is really interesting to think about.  You also got me thinking....I am going to scour the net today and see if anyone has ever some a series of imaging while someone (who is practiced in the art of meditation) is medding.  Those would be really sweet to look at and compare.

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