My wife has been bothering me about my bad mood for a couple of years. I have had long-term back pain and I thought there was nothing short of surgery that would give me relief. I don't like to go to doctors, and I felt at first I had been "forced" by my wife to listen to info about how I don't eat right and I need to take better care of myself. However as I started to review the information from Jennifer about how sleep and food impact my overall health and mental state, I started to get interested. Growing up I was told to eat everything on my plate and meat and potatoes/chips instead of vegetables at every meal is fine. But as I started to pay attention to how I feel and how I react to others when I eat certain foods or have long periods of bad sleep or inactivity it started to make sense. As I have cut out certain foods, like how beans increase my inflammation, and taking them out of my chili recipe makes me feel so much better without sacrificing anything, I can see in myself a clearer and lighter head space with others. I am grateful that my experience has not been more of the same, but rather good discussions about what I do not know on my own, how to break bad habits without feeling like I have to give everything I like up, and how when I stay mindful I can have a real impact on how I feel physically and mentally in a new way. I still have back pain, but the increased activity and better sleep have helped. And cutting out the heartburn and food discomfort I was previously experiencing on top of it has made It all very manageable.
Mike