The brain fog of grumpiness.
Better today. A few theories on recent grumpiness:
-I ran out of 5HTP on Saturday nite, and didn't remember to get more until Tuesday evening. It's a chemical that the body turns into serotonin. Durh.
-I've still been a bit extra grumpy before I ran out of supplements and missed other vitamins. Could it be that the brain fog is clearing enough for me to be frustrated about having brainfog? Instead of just staring into space and immediately forgetting what I was thinking about as per usual.
My tummy also isn't helping. Moar fat didn't fix mah guts. Back to the drawing board. Tummies greatly contribute to grumpiness in all forms.
I've also been dealing with a couple of chronic facial-muscle-twitchings on the right side of my face for the last few days. For over a week it was just the outer/lower corner of my right eye, but then it spread to a spot on my upper right lip as well. After complaining and getting suggestions, I may be going thru potassium withdrawl. I'm used to getting an occasional leg twitch, but when IN MY FACE spasms are way extra distracting.
I gave up on my morning banana bread b/c of the fiber in the coconut flour, but this recipe included both normal banana K plus extra from the almond butter. So now that the heatwave seems to have moved off, Ima start baking that on the weekends again. Maybe my old, normal fiber levels + extra fat will help my tummy too?
Also, hardboiled eggs for breakfast was just so annoying. I always forgot to prep them the night before, and peeling eggs in the morning before work was just not good.
Face-spasms are still here today, they were REALLY bad yesterday when I forgot to bring my chocolate dose to work, and decided not to pick any up from nearby to see what would happen. Conclusion: not eating chocolate does not prevent after lunch crash :-P Today I have chocolate, spasms are less bad. Chocolate is also a source of K, but I'm not sure that the stuff I get from Costco is the best for that. Will look at the bag label when I get home.
Also had more headaches thru Wednesday, but I'd missed my daytime vitamins for 2.5 days (took them after work Tuesday) so today that seems to have sorted itself out.
I also wondered if the face-spasms were due to stress, like post-costume-crazies stress deferred until later, but ... that didn't make any sense. I finished my costume project, and its like a taught string in me completely loosened up. Or was just cut. Snap, done. The potassium problem seems to make more sense.
In terms of stress, found this article today on Paleo for Women, Where does your energy go? (answer: STRESS) It is good brain-noms for someone with anxiety probs. My stress doesn't look like other ppls (food paranoia and 'I'll never finish X project' *angst*) but it is stress. And I did feel like I had more energy during the weeks of the costume-sewing, when I limited it to 1 hr intervals. So it broke up my anxiety and stressing, but without adding *more* stress. Will have to try applying that 1-hour idea to more things.
Actually, for three days this week I've been queueing up Etsy postings on Tweetdeck, but limiting myself to one hour/page per day. And that seems like a good idea, tho tweetdeck can get buggy with a big queue. Its helping my page views a bit already, and 500% increase sounds really impressive until you find out the change was from 3 average to 15 in a day. Lol.
I think reframing my life to appreciate how not-stressful it is would also help. My job= very low stress. VERY LOW. Especially compared to self-employed ventures I'd like to try someday, but definitely not soon. For someone with CF, commuting can be annoying, but at least I have a set routine and responsibilities laid out already. Not much extra thinking or worrying to be done. And its quiet here :-)
More good news: my fall scheduling idea is OK with everybody, so next semester I'll still work 1:30-9:30 on Mondays, but every other day will be 9-5 and I'll do the opening shift every morning. So I can keep my sleep schedule more regular, and it helps keep me from staying out late on weeknights (not that its really a problem right now :-P). It also helps those tai chi classes fit my schedule nicely, if I manage to get out there a few times a month. Can get my allergy shots after work from now on, that also fits better this way.
Found this article too, on Scientific American Your thoughts can release abilities beyond normal limits. Includes a study where a fatigue-response was suppressed with a placebo that was supposed to be caffeine. So how do I *consciously* hack my brain into not being all fogged up all the time? I've changed my diet and habits in the hope that they would fix all-the-things, but did I not believe it enough? Are there some disorders even placebos can't solve?
Overall, I've decided *not* to push myself on body hacks or socializing for the next couple of weeks, until after DragonCon. Them maybe I will be rested when I arrive. For once. Assuming there isn't an earthquake and/or hurricane between now and then (2011 was f'ing weird). There will (hopefully) be a meetup of our B5 cosplayers before con, but that's it. Ima enjoy being leisurely and at home this weekend (with optional sewing project :-P), and next weekend there will be lots of laundry and con-prep.
Also... I'm a bit overbudget. More b/c of the electricity bill than anything else. Only a little bit over on groceries (darn fun Indian food section), and I'll still need bananas this week, so *shrugs*. Its still a lot less over than it used to be, yipes. But staying home for inexpensive fun = yay, and con gets its own budget/revenue stream.
Well, OK, I would like to at least try to remember daily light exercise. 10 minutes of yoga per day won't hurt me. Now if only I could *remember* it. Like the tai chi classes, I just forget that they're a thing :-/ I don't really have a goal aside from the exercising itself, weight loss isn't really a thing I care about right now. Its more like I want to prove to myself that I'm capable of remembering it. Is that odd?
Tuesday nite, tho, I completed many tasks written in my dayplanner in a frustrated migraine-infused fatigue-rage, and did not explode or pass out. So that's a good sign:
-I remembered I have a dayplanner! OMG!
-Finished bug-proofing the bathroom.
-Finally fixed my paypal account.
-Got that 5HTP.
-Organized my vitamin case for the rest of the week.
Yay, accomplishments, however modest. That was another nice thing about sewing, completing tasks that *stay*. Unlike cooking.
<3 Chrysilla
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, http://chrysilla.dreamwidth.org/
-I ran out of 5HTP on Saturday nite, and didn't remember to get more until Tuesday evening. It's a chemical that the body turns into serotonin. Durh.
-I've still been a bit extra grumpy before I ran out of supplements and missed other vitamins. Could it be that the brain fog is clearing enough for me to be frustrated about having brainfog? Instead of just staring into space and immediately forgetting what I was thinking about as per usual.
My tummy also isn't helping. Moar fat didn't fix mah guts. Back to the drawing board. Tummies greatly contribute to grumpiness in all forms.
I've also been dealing with a couple of chronic facial-muscle-twitchings on the right side of my face for the last few days. For over a week it was just the outer/lower corner of my right eye, but then it spread to a spot on my upper right lip as well. After complaining and getting suggestions, I may be going thru potassium withdrawl. I'm used to getting an occasional leg twitch, but when IN MY FACE spasms are way extra distracting.
I gave up on my morning banana bread b/c of the fiber in the coconut flour, but this recipe included both normal banana K plus extra from the almond butter. So now that the heatwave seems to have moved off, Ima start baking that on the weekends again. Maybe my old, normal fiber levels + extra fat will help my tummy too?
Also, hardboiled eggs for breakfast was just so annoying. I always forgot to prep them the night before, and peeling eggs in the morning before work was just not good.
Face-spasms are still here today, they were REALLY bad yesterday when I forgot to bring my chocolate dose to work, and decided not to pick any up from nearby to see what would happen. Conclusion: not eating chocolate does not prevent after lunch crash :-P Today I have chocolate, spasms are less bad. Chocolate is also a source of K, but I'm not sure that the stuff I get from Costco is the best for that. Will look at the bag label when I get home.
Also had more headaches thru Wednesday, but I'd missed my daytime vitamins for 2.5 days (took them after work Tuesday) so today that seems to have sorted itself out.
I also wondered if the face-spasms were due to stress, like post-costume-crazies stress deferred until later, but ... that didn't make any sense. I finished my costume project, and its like a taught string in me completely loosened up. Or was just cut. Snap, done. The potassium problem seems to make more sense.
In terms of stress, found this article today on Paleo for Women, Where does your energy go? (answer: STRESS) It is good brain-noms for someone with anxiety probs. My stress doesn't look like other ppls (food paranoia and 'I'll never finish X project' *angst*) but it is stress. And I did feel like I had more energy during the weeks of the costume-sewing, when I limited it to 1 hr intervals. So it broke up my anxiety and stressing, but without adding *more* stress. Will have to try applying that 1-hour idea to more things.
Actually, for three days this week I've been queueing up Etsy postings on Tweetdeck, but limiting myself to one hour/page per day. And that seems like a good idea, tho tweetdeck can get buggy with a big queue. Its helping my page views a bit already, and 500% increase sounds really impressive until you find out the change was from 3 average to 15 in a day. Lol.
I think reframing my life to appreciate how not-stressful it is would also help. My job= very low stress. VERY LOW. Especially compared to self-employed ventures I'd like to try someday, but definitely not soon. For someone with CF, commuting can be annoying, but at least I have a set routine and responsibilities laid out already. Not much extra thinking or worrying to be done. And its quiet here :-)
More good news: my fall scheduling idea is OK with everybody, so next semester I'll still work 1:30-9:30 on Mondays, but every other day will be 9-5 and I'll do the opening shift every morning. So I can keep my sleep schedule more regular, and it helps keep me from staying out late on weeknights (not that its really a problem right now :-P). It also helps those tai chi classes fit my schedule nicely, if I manage to get out there a few times a month. Can get my allergy shots after work from now on, that also fits better this way.
Found this article too, on Scientific American Your thoughts can release abilities beyond normal limits. Includes a study where a fatigue-response was suppressed with a placebo that was supposed to be caffeine. So how do I *consciously* hack my brain into not being all fogged up all the time? I've changed my diet and habits in the hope that they would fix all-the-things, but did I not believe it enough? Are there some disorders even placebos can't solve?
Overall, I've decided *not* to push myself on body hacks or socializing for the next couple of weeks, until after DragonCon. Them maybe I will be rested when I arrive. For once. Assuming there isn't an earthquake and/or hurricane between now and then (2011 was f'ing weird). There will (hopefully) be a meetup of our B5 cosplayers before con, but that's it. Ima enjoy being leisurely and at home this weekend (with optional sewing project :-P), and next weekend there will be lots of laundry and con-prep.
Also... I'm a bit overbudget. More b/c of the electricity bill than anything else. Only a little bit over on groceries (darn fun Indian food section), and I'll still need bananas this week, so *shrugs*. Its still a lot less over than it used to be, yipes. But staying home for inexpensive fun = yay, and con gets its own budget/revenue stream.
Well, OK, I would like to at least try to remember daily light exercise. 10 minutes of yoga per day won't hurt me. Now if only I could *remember* it. Like the tai chi classes, I just forget that they're a thing :-/ I don't really have a goal aside from the exercising itself, weight loss isn't really a thing I care about right now. Its more like I want to prove to myself that I'm capable of remembering it. Is that odd?
Tuesday nite, tho, I completed many tasks written in my dayplanner in a frustrated migraine-infused fatigue-rage, and did not explode or pass out. So that's a good sign:
-I remembered I have a dayplanner! OMG!
-Finished bug-proofing the bathroom.
-Finally fixed my paypal account.
-Got that 5HTP.
-Organized my vitamin case for the rest of the week.
Yay, accomplishments, however modest. That was another nice thing about sewing, completing tasks that *stay*. Unlike cooking.
<3 Chrysilla
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, http://chrysilla.dreamwidth.org/