Life can be hard…or not

How do you self-medicate?  Statistically, most of us do in some form or another.  I just read that over 17% of adults routinely binge drink; I also read stats that indicate that 1 in 4 of us are on some sort of anti-depressant.

So, really, is life all that bad?  Or could it be that you aren’t doing what you need to for your own health and well-being, minus drugs and alcohol?  To stay physically/emotionally/mentally/spiritually healthy takes effort, but when you have liquor stores and bars on every corner, that’s just easier.  Or when you go to your doc and tell them that you’re ‘unhappy’ or ‘restless’ or ‘moody’ and they give you a prescription, it’s just easier.

We want things to be easy because we’re told our lives are difficult in these modern times.  After all, we have debts and conflicts and blended families and single parents and cultural decline and obesity and ADHD and ADD and bratty kids and horrible bosses and low paying jobs and pollution and wars and pain and suffering and the Kardashians. And that’s just what I saw on the “Today Show”. Yup, it sure sucks to be walking about on the earth in 2012.

So, why NOT drink too much/eat too much/sit around too much/pop a pill too much?  How else can you cope?

Well, you can STOP drinking too much/eating too much/sitting too much and obsessing too much.  Sounds kinda preachy coming from someone who self-medicated with alcohol for much of her adult life, eh?  Well, as they say ‘it takes one to know one’.  I’ve outlined my drinking history enough on this blog, but in a nutshell, I started making the world go away with booze as a teenager.  I continued with this strategy throughout my 20s, part of my 30s and most of my 40s. I’ve quit drinking 3 times, now.

Having been sober for a few years, with new coping strategies in place, I feel like I’ve quit for good, but since I’m an alcoholic, I have to be vigilant to stay off the booze and to not fall into some equally destructive habits.

For instance, menopause and it’s first cousin, peri-menopause have thrown quite a monkey wrench into my physical, emotional and mental well-being.  The symptoms march into your life singly or in herds; they wax and wane and there are times when you just want to escape with our favorite friends: food, booze or pharmaceuticals.

A few hours of relief results in a doubling down of those symptoms, meaning you crave more self-meds and that’s destructive.  Identify your triggers and take a long, hard look at how you’re dealing with them.  For instance, I’ve been working on identifying the things that trigger me to shove carby food into my piehole; bread, chocolate chips, pita chips, coooooookies.  I ended up eliminating them from my diet, thanks to a book I recently read, outlining why those things are so addictive and ultimately unhealthy.  I feel great and have begun eating much more mindfully.

About six months ago, I began using bio-identical hormones for my menopausal symptoms and it’s made a tremendous difference for me physically,  sexually and for my overall quality of life.  My husband and I just read a great book by Dr. Andrew Weil, called “Spontaneous Happiness” that has opened up a whole new holistic medicine cabinet for coping with the physical and emotional aspects of aging.

Be proactive.  Don’t just live for the next bottle of wine to ‘take you away’ or pop those meds that your doctor lazily gave you for “anxiety” or shove another 4 brownies in your mouth and call it good.

Here are some books that I found invaluable in my quest for physical/mental/emotional/spiritual health.  I’m always searching for a better way, so I welcome your suggestions as well.
Cheers!

Dr. Christiane Northrup:      “The Wisdom of Menopause”   Dr. Northrup’s book is an invaluable resource, as are all her books on women’s health
Dr. Andrew Weil:      “Spontaneous Happiness”   Dr Weil is the father of “integrative medicine” and I love all of his books on holistic health
Mark Sisson:       “The Primal Blueprint”   A less restrictive “paleo” diet/eating style that is well-researched and might change the way you eat and feel.

HRC Medical :  This is where I go for my bio-identical hormone therapy.  The website has a lot of information, but many practitioners also offer them around the country.

Grateful……..

My husband and I are reading a great book by Dr. Andrew Weil called “Spontaneous Happiness” and I would recommend it to any of you who struggle with the whole concept of ‘what is happy?’.

Huge numbers of us are on anti-depressants; something like 1 in 6 Americans!  Dr. Weil has been working toward a more holistic approach to traditional medicine for many years and he asserts (I agree, by the way) that we are over-medicated.

If you’re interested in his message, grab the book; it full of drug-free strategies to deal with…well, life and it’s ups and downs and disappointments.

One of the things he suggests is to list what you’re grateful for.  “Sayin’ your gratefuls” as we like to say on The Dom and Jane Show.  That’s my radio show on Mix 100, Denver, for those of you who may not know I’m a morning radio host.

So, as we head into a brand-spankin’ new year, I’m sayin’ my gratefuls and tossing ’em out to the world.  I’m grateful for:

–My husband, for reading Dr. Weil’s book along with me.  We could both use more joy

–Peanut butter and to a lesser extent, almond butter.  Fresh ground is best

–Gardening…who knew?

–My intellectual curiosity

–My job, that contains the three Fs: Fun, Fulfilling and Financially perfect

–My parents, who, at 91, are still available to me. I can’t even express my gratitude for this

–My home and the surrounding beauty of the Rocky Mountains

–My K2 Lotta Luv skis…you have NO IDEA!

–My dogs who remind me everyday that there is joy in everything and that a nap is always a good idea

–The Detroit Lions for reminding me that it’s NEVER hopeless

–My Kitchen Aid mixer; how did women make bread without one?

–My vibrantly, good health

–My pragmatic approach to life

–Cheese…all of it

–The internet; I LOVE having so much information at my fingertips.  Amazing.

–My sobriety.  Much harder than it seems, if you’ve never been there

–Ice cream.  ‘Nuff said

–Friends, particularly ones that have stuck with me over the years and miles and the old friends I’ve recently re-connected with

–Michigan.  It’s “home” and I’m glad that I can go back when I need to get back to my roots and the epic water

–My family who taught me the values and strategies that have contributed to all of the above

So, there is my list for this morning.  I’m sure I’m missing a ton of stuff, but I have a lot of football games to watch, which reminds me that I’m grateful for my HDTV.