When we do anything, there are going to be obstacles. It is a fact of life. Some of them are bigger and some of them are smaller. And we have to find a way to deal with them. Most of the time we have to power through them, find a way to work around them and keep on going. Sometimes the obstacles are big enough that they stop us in our tracks. Yet when that happens, we have to find a way to get back on track soon enough and put that obstacle behind ourselves.
Today I found myself in one of the latter situations. For those who are not aware, I have PTSD. It's part of the reason that got me into the shape I am in today, subconsciously though it contributed. It's been an active part of my life since high school when it came to the forefront of my life.
Today it was the nightmares. I think they were worse than they have been in a good long while. I am not going to get into the details about what the dreams were about or entailed. Suffice it to say that it made for a harrowing night with little real rest. For all that it is psychological in nature, there is still a physical effect and toll on the body. For me today it has been exhaustion, wooziness from a lack of any real restful sleep and a physical pain in my body. My body was tense from everything going on in my dreams and when I woke up I got to deal with that tenseness. I got through the first half of my exercises, the ones where I was seated, but when I tried standing up or to go on a walk I nearly fell because I was so woozy and my body just wouldn't move.
As a result of that I decided to try sleeping today and resting. It ended up leading to more nightmares, but on the balance I ended up getting -some- more rest. I'm still stiff, but slowly it's getting better. The important thing that I had to recognize about today though was that today was a time when I just couldn't do the things I would normally do. This is something that my physical therapist and I have talked about. Recognizing what my body is telling me and knowing when to step back a little.
However, I cannot and we cannot use that as an excuse to be lazy if we aren't feeling up for it. We still have to try and sometimes if we do a little bit we can start to feel better. It's about learning to read our bodies rather than letting our mind dictate. And it is important that tomorrow I get right back on the horse, as it were and get back to working out again tomorrow.
Today is just an obstacle, a stumbling block, but in the greater scheme of things, it is going to end up being a minor blip that will be forgotten about and I will be on my way again and doing better. The goal is still in sight and a small slip won't prevent me from getting there, it won't prevent you from getting where you are going either. You just have to pick yourself back up, dust yourself off and keep on going.
photo credit: Innocent X via photopin (license)
No comments:
Post a Comment