All the materials of thinking are derived either from our outward senses or from our inward feelings:
All that the mind will do is to mix and combine these materials.
David Hume, (XXIV)
It's my mind, and I reserve the right to change it as often as I like.
(XVII ) Sir Billy Connolly
Every man is, no doubt, by nature, first and principally recommended to his own care;
and as he is fitter to take care of himself than of any person, it is fit and right that it should be so.
Adam Smith (XVIII
401 aware
To function well, you must be self aware.
Self-awareness is the starting point to recovery.
This means being able to understand your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.
This is done by honestly assessing your strengths, weaknesses, and values.
Also, the impact of your actions on others.
You need to pay attention.
Health can go wrong quickly like mine, or slowly over a lifetime.
Some people's lives are a battle, like others in my family.
In some situations, it's easy to lose yourself, …I did
However, I have always been aware.
There's one part of me that isn't broken. .
The part that feels shame.
The part that's worried about my future and scared of my past .
The part, that worries about my mum and sister,
That part that sometimes needed it to be easy, but often found it hard.
What is referred to as our, inner nature, inner child, consciousness, soul, or personality,
The part that makes me,... me,
Sometimes it's the only part that is not broken
Sometimes, you are the only person, that you can rely on.
Recovery can happen, if you go easy on yourself.
I had to fix my own health, with some surgical intervention.
Noticing change requires awareness.
If you need things to change, you need to pay attention.
Self care is difficult in this country.
It is necessary, and it is possible
402 separate
To function well, the separation of mental and physical health, causes confusion
It ignores the broken connections between self, mind and body,
The labels attached to each aspect of my health, were ignored, repeatedly
By focusing on medication and symptom reduction, the elements that really impacted my health were overlooked
Things like, discrimination, poverty, isolation, unemployment, housing, and social safety nets.
In addition, the lack of access to treatment, housing and affordable food.
Leading to over-diagnosis and over-reliance on drugs, excluding all other interventions.
Mental health causes stigma, meanwhile, physical health does not.
This is wrong, there is only health. …It's a balanced of both
My physical health caused the problem, my mental health was affected.
The treatments offered for both were laughable at times.
It is hard but not impossible to feel well in your mind, when your body is broken. The opposite is also true.
My journey to recovery, began by adopting a simple functional view,
Viewing my body as hardware, and my mind as software.,
And by accepting that I had issues in both.
Which I my-self, was aware of.
I’m more than just labels, the whole is greater than the broken parts.
It's my responsibility to make the right decisions, despite the damage and financial devastation
That part that has never changed, the spark in my machine.
While my hardware was repairing . I went to work on the software
Keeping my mind active, while my body was broken.
It is mental to neglect your body and expect your mind to function well
Three parts make the whole, there is no separation
I am not my mind and I am not my body ,
I am both and a lot more.
This is a Holistic view
My body is the environment in which my-self needs to survive in.
We are not separate from our environment,
Realising this, created the conditions required to heal.
I was a victim of my own stupidity, now I’m a survivor.
Improving physical health benefits mental health, and it works both ways.
Sometimes simplicity can solve complex problems.
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
The man who wrote this also had a leg saved in Edinburgh
403 miracle
To be function well, it helps to understand how complex we are.
The mechanical view tries to fix bits, while ignoring the whole
As a human life, biologically, we have a lot in common, and there's a lot going on
Same bones and muscles , we are all 11 different systems
We have 39 trillion bacteria and 50-100 trillion cells (estimates vary) and too many connections to count.
The same ingredients, in different packaging.
Life is the same, its our lives that are different
So medical science hasn't quite figured it all out…yet
Conditions like the common cold and cancer,
For my shattered leg , orthopaedic specialists installed some framework and loads of screws.
A scaffold to support my bones, allowing them to repair, themselves
Healing happens slowly, from the inside out.
I had an infection, for 4 weeks. The wounds healed, slowly.
My bones began to repair, first my pinky, then, my left foot, and arm,
But not my right leg
Bones need stress to heal, although overwhelming stress prevents healing.
It was a miracle, I healed at all
404 confused
To be functionally well, it helps to have a road map to health.
There are systems designed to help .
By monetising health and creating a service industry, everyone’s an expert
There are specialists with different perspectives.
I find two annoying.
Number 1 ,
Four pillars of Health
This complex system has so far required 5 books.
Number 7,
Five ways to well-being, by an economic think tank,
A waste of time.
It's better to know a little, about a lot .
Especially when its your own health.
405 coherence
To be function well, you need coherence.
Is it a hardware issue, a software issue or both.
The human body is comprised of systems that should work in harmony. To maintain health and functionality.
Here are some systems I affected.
1 Circulatory System :
Responsible for transporting blood, nutrients, and oxygen throughout the body.
2 Endocrine System:
Controls body functions via hormones produced by glands.
3 Integumentary System :
Comprises the skin, hair, and nails, protecting the body from external harm.
4 Musculoskeletal System:
Supports movement and provides structure to the body.
5 Lymphatic System :
Manages the body's immune response and transports lymph.
6 Nervous System :
Processes sensory information and directs bodily responses.
Six of mine were affected
Medications cause incoherence, so I used them minimally.
To recover, I use my self awareness to pay attention to the things within my control.
1 Safety
Maslow was right we need to feel safe.
Someone I k now needed a hip, her GP referred her to an exercise program at a gym.
An exercise professional, got her on the treadmill and made her walk uphill.
Doing the thing that made her feel unsafe, only this time with an audience.
Recovery is private, it's not a spectator sport. You MUST feel safe
2 Nutrition
Movement requires energy, so does thinking, feeling, repair and immune function .
If you are injured or unwell you have less, because healing places a heavy load.
Proper nutritious food is fundamental, though the NHS don't seem to understand this
30 different foods from, 5 food groups, eat the rainbow, It's one way to bring colour into your life.
3 Energy
Eating well provides energy
Every single human function requires energy.
Even doing nothing .
I have more energy at the start of the day, so I do the hard stuff first.
4 Repair
Repair happens in stillness.
When we are asleep, if you can sleep properly.
I spent years counting steps as a measure of progress.
Poor sleep will undo everything.
You wake up as sore but feeling worse.
5 Movement
When my world stopped , the world outside kept turning.
Existence relies on movement.
Bodies are designed to move.
Range of motion is all that’s needed.
Using your joints, works your muscles, which creates stress, then good things happens
Your food needs to move, your blood needs to flow and bones need stress.
Not too little and not too much