I wrote this bc I think this is THE single biggest reason why healing from MH challenges is so difficult. Our brains’ rules for healing are SO counterintuitive to what we THINK we need to do, & are wired to do, when we don’t feel right.
Little bit of a story: One of the 1st times I noticed something was majorly “off” w my MH, I was in Vegas. I say “MH” now, but at the time (mid 20s) I had no idea what MH was.
Vegas (at least for me at the time), was heaven. Tons of friends to go out w, tons of eating, drinking, gambling. All the things many of us enjoy – but that can also be vices.
After going out a little too late one of the nts…I went to meet friends at the buffet in our hotel. Typically a breakfast buffet for me – can’t get much better. Yummy deliciousness.
One issue – I didn’t seem to desire anything on the buffet line that mid-morn. It had nothing to do w being hungover. I felt fine physically. My drives just were not there. I looked at the fluffy eggs & the cheese next to them – didn’t have a craving. Went to the carb-rich station &, nada drew me in. I even went to the ice cream machine – & had no desire to pull the lever on the soft serve.
Know what I did? I freaked out in my head & tried to figure out WHY. Why no interest in great, unlimited food I’d already paid for?! Why not even a sliver of some, let alone a plate full of all?
I tried to outthink my brain. I tried to figure out WHY this was happening. Know where that got me? To crave the food even less, & end up a dog chasing my tail. Didn’t eat much the rest of the trip.
When it’s not MH, if something happens, we go into “fix it” mode: Turn an ankle – go get ice & raise it. Scrape your knee, find some Neosporin.
But when our brain’s not clicking – we CAN’T outthink it & try to fix it. It’s got it’s own rules. That activity just gets our sympathetic response MORE revved up – making our symptoms WORSE.
One of the brain’s main rules – acceptance. Not in a tag line, you literally have to be OK w NOT being OK…& accept the fastest way to “get back” is to accept that.
Just one of many rules the brain has that we MUST follow, to heal.
