Can Closure Be Too Little, Too Late?

What is closure? In the context I’ll be using it, closure refers to gaining a sense of peace, understanding and emotional release that comes from gaining understanding about certain events in our lives. For example, people will often get closure from having that after-breakup conversation with someone they were involved with. That’s only one example but it’s a pretty common one and serves to illustrate the point I’m getting at for today’s post. It stands to reason that closure can come in the most interesting ways at the most unexpected time.

Just a few short years ago, I had the opportunity to connect with someone from my past where I was able to discuss how much of a dick I was through my teen years. It would be decades before I would come to realize that many of the symptoms caused by Type-1 Diabetes was the root cause of most of the isues I caused for myself in my teens. This isn’t and shouldn’t be an all-encompassing excuse of course but it did lend itself to how I was almost universally in a bad mood and treated others poorly. I cost myself several friendships and relationships during my youth because I couldn’t reconcile my disease with proper management. But I’m glad I got closure on some of those issues and the people I’ve spoken to were gracious enough to show some undertanding.

From my side of things, there’s much closure I often feel I’m owed by many individuals who have wronged me over the years. In 2018, my career and my life took a left turn. The only thing worse than having someone wrong you in life, is having someone accuse you of something that puts your entire life in jeopardy. This is what happened to me, back in 2018. I found myself in an unfortunate set of circumstances that I would have never imagined being in. I won’t get into all the gritty details in this post but it did lead me to change the entire course of my life, my career and my view on others and how I’m treated by them. Let’s just say that all things considered, life is pretty good right now and I can’t exactly complain, but there’s a stain on my soul that may never heal as a result of what some others have done to me.

While I really want to tell the story and explain how I came about getting some closure on this issue, for reasons that should be understandable, I really shouldn’t be naming people or referring to specific situations. Not all of this is just MY story to tell. And it would be wrong of me to tell the part that isn’t mine. So I’ll stick to what I can say. Recently, I was out at a work event with everyone from the organization that I work at. It was a pretty good event and it included a tour for the entire staff of the venue we were in. As we were walking the site, we came around a corner that had a security guard kiosk and imagine my surprise at seeing one of the involved parties in the events of 2018 that altered my life forever.

I recognized him immediately, although I wasn’t very surprised at the fact that he didn’t recognize me. After all, it had been half a decade and I had a full face of facial hair whereas I would have been clean shaven back when he knew me. Once the group had cleared, I walked up and greeted him. He was taken aback when he realized who I was. The conversation was congenial enough, as we discussed where we were both explained where we were currently working and what had been happening in our respective lives since the events of 2018. It was a great conversation and I even got to introduce him to my current boss, given that the individual in question was indirectly my boss in my previous career.

As my group moved on to other sections of the site, he was peaking to others who weren’t part of my group, so I moved on. When the day was over and all my staff were leaving the site, I decided I wanted to seek out the individual so that I could shake his hand and say goodbye. When I found him doing his rounds, something happened that I wouldn’t have, and wasn’t expecting. He brought up the past and admitted that I got a raw deal. He explained that he felt I never should have had the accusations made against me and that the organization didn’t deal with it the way they could have. He told me that he always remembered and appreciated the way I came in to work my modified assignments with such enthusiasm and professionalism, there were days when he didn’t believe I was someone dealing with the situation I was in. He felt that other members should have followed my example.

These revelations hit me like a ton of bricks. While I agreed with everything he said, it shocked me to my core to hear him say it. Until that moment, no one from my previous career had admitted that I was treated badly or that the events in question shouldn’t have happened. I know that a lot of people would say that the words were too little, too late. That those things should have been brought up at the time in an effort to mitigate the damage caused to my life and my career. But for some reason, hearing this from him lifted a weight off my shoulders that I had become so accustomed to that I didn’t even know it was there. It was a very special kind of closure that I didn’t know I needed. And for that, I will be forever grateful to him.

Don’t be afraid to seek out that closure. Some of the bad periods of your life could be easily reconciled if you’re willing to seek the answer. Sometimes this might mean saying you’re sorry. Sometimes, it may simply mean giving others the opportunity to say they’re sorry. In any event, closure can be good. It shouldn’t be sold short. After all, whatever can be done to reduce the suffering in one’s life is good, right? Food for thought… ☯️

Another Year, Another Moustache…

So, yet another year of raising funds for prostate cancer through Movember. Some readers may have noted that I posted about this a few weeks in advance by providing instructions on how folks could donate to this very, very good cause. For reference or for those who haven’t seen the post, you can read it here. I usually choose the same modest goal of $500 every year. The first couple of years were pretty sweet, with generous folks ensuring that we reached that goal and on one year, we even knocked it out of the park. This year, not so much…

I was a little surprised this year at the lack of participation and interest, even from those who expressed interest. I usually have a team that not only donates but actively participates in growing out their ‘staches as part of the fun. But this year was pretty lackluster. I’m disappointed to see that not only was everyone’s participation was piss-poor this year, but with the organization and fundraising attempts on my part, no one really got involved on it with me. As a result, this will likely be the last year that I fundraise for Movember and will likely just make my own individual donation. There’s nothing worse than putting in the time and effort to try and fundraise as a group, only to have none of the group get involved as well. Live and learn.

On the positive side, since I shouldn’t spend the entire whining like a little bitch, we did raise $350 for prostate cancer. We may not have reached the goal we set, but it’s still $350 more than would have otherwise been raised, so that’s a positive. I generally tend to expect quite a bit from myself and I unfortunately forget that I shouldn’t expect THAT much from everyone else. It’s kind of unfortunate given that I frequently have people who fundraise for all kinds of random bullshit that doesn’t really qualify as a good cause, or people who start a GoFund me page because they want a new iPhone or something. But i digress… I did say I shouldn’t be whining like a bitch. The bottom line is we raised money and I grew an absolute resplendent beard. It’s coming off today, and if it didn’t itch so fuckin’ bad, I’d likely keep it. But until next year, I’ll keep my face clean. ☯️

Expectations vs Reality

There are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes for someone with Type-1 Diabetes that the average person isn’t aware of. Much like seeing someone park in a handicap spot but yet walk with simple ease, an illness or disability isn’t always obvious to the naked eye. But without standing too high on my soapbox, my point is that there are a number of things that people tend to take for granted that almost seem like a rare treat to someone with Type-1 Diabetes. In this post, I’m going to examine the top ones that are important to me.

A Naked Shower
I should probably clarify that I’m naked for every shower that I take. This isn’t a high school changing room; I don’t shower in my clothes. That’s a story for another day. But what I mean is, having the ability to take a shower without needing to protect infusion sites or adhesive pads. Generally speaking, my insulin pump’s infusion sets are changed out every three days. This is because after three days, insulin begins to crystallize on the plastic based tubing and parts of the infusion set. This can result in an inaccurate delivery of insulin.

My continuous glucose monitor sensor gets changed out once a week. This is mainly because the interstitial fluid and the wound heals up enough that reading becomes difficult. In any event, with one of my cyborg parts replaced every three days and the other replaced every seven days, it’s usually an interesting challenge showering, since some of the adhesive patches will dry up and peel after a hot shower. The result is I usually have to maneuver and cover the injections sites and their coverings so that they get wet as little as possible. You ever try taking a normal shower while trying to keep any one area of your body dry? Not so easy…

Once in a while, an opportunity comes up where both insertions are due for replacement around roughly the same time. On those rare occasions, I get to take a nice, hot shower without any concern about protecting anything on the abdomen. I can effectively shower withy abandon, which one wouldn’t think is a big deal but when you can never do it, having the chance to just let the hot water wash over without concern is a definite treat that the average person takes for granted.

A Decent Night’s Sleep
First and foremost, I need to point out that proper sleep is always an issue for someone with Type-1 Diabetes, whether you wear a pump or not. Between fluctuating blood sugars, fluctuating blood pressure, circulatory issues that cause your arms and legs to go numb and restless as you sleep… The list goes on. Tack on my PTSD and the frequent repetitive nightmares and you’ve got a recipe for shitty nights. I have, on occasion, had the opportunity of sleep well throughout an entire night but these instances have almost always included some exterior assistance, like melatonin or a few fingers of whiskey.

Wearing an insulin pump presents its own unique set of challenges during sleep. While I always make a point to wear shorts or pyjama pants that have pockets, the pump will often slide out of the pocket during the night as I roll over. What’s worse is if I end up on TOP of the pump. This can be uncomfortable and even painful, especially if I roll over and the pump ends up in my tender bits. Y’all know what I’m referring to. Trying to remain perfectly still during sleep is effectively impossible, which means that under all circumstances, my pump will contribute to waking me up repeatedly throughout the night. So if you’re someone who gets a full night’s sleep, don’t take it for granted.

Eating With Abandon
Before the concept of pump technology and carb counting were brought to my attention, one of my favourite things was eating at a Chinese buffet. I’m one of those fuckers who loves the concept of the fried foods and flavoured sauces and dips that one can only enjoy through Asian cuisine. Nowadays, being mindful not only of what I eat but in what amounts can be challenging at best. Even when I read food labels and calculate based on the amount of carbohydrates they indicate, I hit some obstacles with lows, highs and miscalculations.

Eating out at a restaurant is usually the most challenging, because asking a server how grams of carbohydrates are in the meal you’re planning to order can be troublesome. While restaurant staff are generally expected to have some knowledge about the meals they serve, one must be realistic in just how deep that knowledge goes. It’s different if you’re having something defined, like a fast food burger, where you can usually check their website and get comprehensive nutritional information. But then when you incorporate something loose, like fries, rice or mashed potatoes, calculating the proper amount of carbohydrates and delivering the right amount of insulin is tough. What’s even tougher is if you estimate, then you can’t finish what you’ve bloused for.

Buffets are now an absolute waste of money for me, considering I can’t eat with abandon and have to moderate my portions and calculate insulin delivery. Even protein-based dishes are packed with carbohydrates at Asian buffets, considering everything is usually battered. While pumpkin therapy allows me to live easier with my meal choices (eating a slice of cake in my teens would have been completely out of the question), having the ability to eat whatever one wants whenever one wants without worrying about the consequences is definitively something any non-Diabetic shouldn’t take for granted.

SO, as you can see, there are many things that the average, every day person takes for granted that Type-1 Diabetics are dealing with behind the scenes. And this isn’t an all-inclusive list. People rarely see those aspects and simply assume that as long as we avoid sugar and take our insulin, the ship stays on course. Nothing could be farther from the truth. So if you have the ability to sleep properly, shower with abandon and relax and eat at your leisure, take the time to recognize how blessed you are. While I will always acknowledge that things could be much worse for me, all the little things y’all take for granted are often the things that any other person yearns for. Food for thought… ☯️

The Unbalanced Scales of Retail…

It starts out as pretty much the way every shopping errand does… I slowly walk the aisles, scanning for items I need and watching the items I could potentially want. With a significant number of ongoing and increasing shopping concerns, such as inflation and grocery affordability, the “wants” usually go untouched. But for the most part, the “needs” make their way into my basket as I slowly shuffle along. In the interest of navigating the public, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones with some soft, meditative music sit atop my head. While cursed with an unfortunate contestant state of hyper-vigilance, the noise blocking gives my PTSD-riddled brain a much needed respite from the public as I do I what I have to do.

I guess I should clarify that, despite my loud, outgoing voice, I am inherently an introvert, preferring to use self-checkouts and avoid unnecessary interactions with random strangers for no purpose. While this has often made me seem anti-social other some, I prefer to think of myself as socially independent; not requiring the interaction with others to get through my daily grind all while not avoiding it when it’s necessary or socially warranted. For these reasons and many others, I almost always use a self-checkout option if I can. But the retail world is complex and convoluted, often differing from one location to the next. Here are a few examples of how this has applied in recent weeks.

I stopped in at a particular retail location to purchase my weekly lottery ticket. For obvious reasons, I won’t name these businesses since, you know, I prefer not getting sued. But generally speaking, lottery and age-restricted items can’t be purchased through a self-checkout for the obvious reasons. So, I walk up to the till. I was the only customer there and waited several minutes for a cashier to notice and acknowledge my arrival and approach the counter. As opposed to the typical greeting one would expect from a retail person, her first words were to ask me if i would be paying by debit or credit, to which I replied I was. She then proceeded to suggest I use the self-checkout and began walking away from me.

Let’s evaluate this for a moment. I’ve worked in the retail environment. Most staff are already of the opinion that their jobs are in jeopardy’s because of self-checkouts and program automation. Yet, this cashier is trying to ENCOURAGE me to use the self-checkout option. I’d say this is just a “her” thing, but I’ve gotten this response from a few different employees at this location. I clarified that I needed lottery, which resulted in a not-so-subtle exhalation of a sigh and a return to the till, as though I had interrupted her previously scheduled program. But I digress… I got my lottery ticket and went on my way, somewhat taken aback at how I was being thrown towards technology by the very folks who have the most to lose from it. That’s the first side of the coin.

Now let’s look at it from the other side of the coin. Another retail location I visited is one where I typically insist on using their self-checkout given the busy lines and long wait times to be served by a cashier. This would be one of those scenarios where I have my headphones on and don’t want to interact with the world; I just want to pay for my shit and go. On this occasion, I have a number for heavy and bulk items that are cumbersome and inconvenient to try and manually run through the till scanner. I begin looking for the scan gun that should be sitting in its cradle at the top of the till. It isn’t there.

Already a bit flustered, it took me all of ten seconds to realize that none of the scan guns were at ANY of the self-checkout tills. I waved over an employee and pointed out the issue. The response was that he brought over a scan gun but rather than let me use it, he physically scanned all my items himself, despite repeating twice that I wanted to do this myself. He indicated that they couldn’t leave the scan guns at the tills and that he was the only one allowed to use them. I challenged him by asking what the point of a self-checkout was, if I needed a cashier to scan my things for me. He had no response.

It seems like such a small point and certainly not one I’d die on the hill for, but it raises a good point. What the fuck is the point of having self-checkout if a cashier scans all my shit? It seemed like a weird scenario in a frowning market where automation and self-checkout of bien flushed but on the flip side, scenarios where staff who should be more than happy to push for their continued employment, push for it as well. As you may have been able to tell, there’s very little to no point behind today’s post. Sometimes, one just needs to rant. ☯️

No One Style Can Rule Them All…

One of the biggest pet peeves I have with the martial arts is the in-fighting among styles. Generally speaking and realistically, everyone always assumes that their style is the best, often choosing to point out what they see wrong with a neighbouring style as opposed to possibly absorbing the aspects that may not only be right, but many also be an addition to their overall tool belt. Some of this is simply loyalty, which on its face, is not a bad thing. But when you belittle or denigrate other styles, you water us all down. And that is not a good thing.

First and foremost, a little background on my own training is very important. My main style is Uechi Ryu Okinawan karate. The reason I say main style, is because I studied various martial arts in my youth and many styles of each, in order to land on Uechi Ryu. And I’ve written about this in previous posts; finding a dojo and style that fits for you is a very subjective journey and begins and ends with you. Too often, I’ve seen students convince their friends to come train, only to have the friend phone it in because they really don’t enjoy it. So an important first aspect is, if you don’t like it, don’t stick around. You’re not just wasting your time, you’re wasting the time of the Sensei and instructors that could be assisting the other students. But I digress…

It’s important to be committed to one style. Sensei used to tell me, “one religion, one love, one style.” And the reason behind this is pretty simple. You can’t master one thing while simultaneously studying four others. Only through focus, commitment and dedication can you grow and progress within your training and move towards whatever goals you may have set for yourself. But while you’re busy carrying your tool box around, keep in mind that you should always leave room for some new tools. As the old saying goes, it’s difficult to fill a cup that is already overflowing.

In recent years, I’ve had the opportunity to train in a few different karate dojos. And something that has continued to amaze me is the difference in technique and methods, even for simple things that should be straightforward. Let’s take a front kick as an example. A front kick is a front kick, right? One would be inclined to think so. In my style, you begin by bring the knee up to make a 90-degree bend in the leg, followed by pushing out and striking with the big toe. The results is a deep, penetrating kick that can devastate the spleen and soft tissues. In a style I recently trained with, their front kick fires straight out from the standing position and the strike is performed with the ball of the foot.

So, which method is better? That’s the important question. So what should one do? Critique the other style for doing it wrong? Or open one’s mind to accept that perhaps there’s a different way? Personally, I’ve always been taught that chambering your kick prior to executing is important as it allows you the flexibility of changing the kick prior to execution. For example, I can flow from a front kick and alter to a roundhouse kick with little difficulty. But the other method could arguably save valuable seconds in its execution. And there’s no denying you have less chance of breaking your toes by using the ball of the foot as opposed to the big toe.

It’s important to remember that martial arts is a lot like falling flakes of snow. In nature, no two snowflakes are alike. Each one is different and unique. This is because as they fall each flake is subjected to wind current and moisture in the air that causes their crystals to form in a unique manner that’s never replicated twice. But ultimately, it’s all snow. The same can be said for martial arts. As it progresses and grows, each style develops in its own unique way, with its own techniques, methods and perspectives. But ultimately, it’s all martial arts.

So while you should stay committed to one style as your core, take the happy medium approach. Allow yourself the opportunity to be open-minded and learn something new. See the possibilities in the styles you visit as opposed to resisting the aspects you don’t agree with. The result will be a better equipped tool box in your overall self-defence repertoire. At some point, this inevitably becomes the only way to continue to grow. Food for thought… ☯️

The UnSeen Symptoms…

These days, we hear a lot of folks talk about invisible injuries or handicaps. While this can refer to a number of different things, it generally refers to instances where someone may be suffering from something that has no outward appearance or that the average person won’t notice. This can include but is not limited to things like PTSD, certain mental health conditions but even certain physical ailments that, while invisible on the outside, can cause great discomfort, pain and inconvenience to the sufferer.

While I wouldn’t necessarily consider Type-1 Diabetes to be an invisible condition, I could see how the average person might believe it to be so. When one considers that, all jokes about obesity meaning one has Diabetes aside, a person would not be able to tell simply by looking at me that I have Diabetes. Of course, if someone is astute enough to spot my insulin pump, it might be a different story. But my focus in today’s post is to consider some of the invisible “symptoms” or Diabetes, even the ones that often smack you in the face but you may not KNOW they’re a symptom.

I should point out that this list is mine and what I’ve noticed over the decades. I’m sure there’s more others could provide, but this is just to give you a bit of idea about three of the main issues that others could potentially attribute to something else. Here we go…

Mood Swings/Temper
Blood sugar fluctuations can also cause changes in one’s emotional state and temperament. For the most part, if my blood sugars rise, I’ll become a cranky, cantankerous asshole. Not to be confused with my everyday crankiness, these moods swings are essentially unavoidable and I have no control over them. While they don’t really happen so much these days, they used to happen quite frequently in my younger years, before I was on pump therapy and before I knew better. I’ll admit I had some ex-girlfriends who may or may not have walked away fully convinced I was just being a dick. In reality, it was blood sugar control that was needed.

This can also occur with extreme low blood sugar. I remember (or rather I was told) about an incident when I was in high school. Somehow, my blood sugars got away on me and I suffered a low. By the time the bell rang and I walked down to get in line for lunch, I was no longer in control of any fine motor function. Oddly enough, my mother had shown up to bring me lunch money and I apparently started yelling at her and told her to get out for the school. It wasn’t until I had eaten and my blood sugar started to level out that one of my friends told me what had happened.

I have no memory of it, at all. The lesson here is that if your fiend or loved one has Type-1 Diabetes and they seem off, emotionally, it’s important to consider they may have fluctuating blood sugars. Or they may just be a dick. I don’t know your friends. Moving on.

Bad Breath
There’s nothing worse than talking to someone who has bad breath. For someone with Diabetes, it can come along naturally or honestly, as this is yet again something that is usually immediately out of our control. There are a couple of reasons that someone with Diabetes will experience bad breath. The main one is that high blood sugars can lead to excess glucose in the saliva, which increases the bacteria in your mouth. As bacteria grow and propagate, it increases the amount of plaque you have, which can lead to bad breath. The bacterial life cycle itself can also cause bad breath.

If a Diabetic person’s breath smells a bit on the fruity side, it could be a sign of uncontrolled blood sugars and ketoacidosis, which is a condition where on’e blood becomes acidic as a result of extreme high blood sugars. In cases you’re not catching the theme here, the majority of these issues are caused by high blood sugars. But in this case, proper teeth brushing, coupled with regular dental visits are critical to maintaining that plaque level and cleanliness. This should be paired with proper monitoring and control of one’s blood sugars.

Fatigue/Apathy
I’ve lost count of how many times in my life I’ve had people call me lazy because my body was physically tired and I had no ability to push myself forward. I’ve had times in school where I was accused of falling asleep in class or people who considered me rude or lazy for refusing to do things or come out because I was tired. Once again, this can be easily attributed to blood sugars being out of whack. Having high blood sugars will make you seem lethargic or apathetic on its own.

Having an extreme low that you’ve treated will make you exhausted once your blood sugars level out because your body was struggling while you were low. You end up exhausted and it isn’t unusual after I’ve treated a low for me to need a short nap to allow my body to recover. To an unknowing person, partner or friend, it could just look like you’re sleeping your day away or are just lazy. I had this one friend back in New Brunswick who had the damndest habit of showing up at my home unannounced to hang out. If I were sleeping, he’d insist on waking me up and getting me out of bed. Boy lucky he didn’t get himself killed. Waking me is a bit like poking a bear. Possible but not advisable.

In the end, the prevention/mitigation of all of these symptoms includes proper blood sugar control, proper diet and proper self-care in general. Sounds easy enough on its face but it very rarely is. And it’s very easy for people to mistake a Diabetic symptom for something else. While not everyone is comfortable discussing their condition with others, the key is solid and open communication so that the people in your life understand. Food for thought… ☯️

Slowing Is Not The Same As Stopping…

I’m sure many of you have heard the expression that you don’t stop training when you get old, you get old when you strop training. The idea behind that is that when you stop maintaining your mobility and fitness, it can have adverse effects on your personal well being. Realistically speaking, the lessening of one’s physical health will also have an impact on the mental clarity, since the mind can’t exist without the body and vice versa.

A good example for this would be my dear mother. She’s spent her entire life taking care of others. Besides being a capable woman in her own right, it started with her caring for my ailing brother, who passed away at the age of 18, followed by caring for her elderly parents since she was the eldest daughter. Even as all of these people have passed away, she then began to dote and take care of my father, who unfortunately has a condition where his spine degenerates and has him wheelchair ridden. She’s always had someone to focus her attentions on. Once the smoke cleared and there was no one left to take care of, her mind slipped away.

Most people have been confused by this phenomena and don’t understand the connection between maintaining the body and maintaining the mind. While my mother has been in a state of hyper awareness for the majority of her life by virtue of caring for others, she’s never taken much care of herself. The result is her body has absolutely no ability to sustain her mind. As a result, she has slipped away. I just spoke to her on Sunday morning by Facetime and she thought my son was a little girl and had no idea who he was. Just a bit sad.

This is why it is so important to keep moving. In recent years, I’ve come to the realization that I can longer carry on in the same fashion as i have for the past few decades. My training in the martial arts has significantly helped in my battle against Type-1 Diabetes and has helped me out of more sticky situations, both personally and professionally, than I can possibly count. But there’s no chance in hell that I can do it like I used to. This was evidenced by a very unfortunate incident at a local karate dojo where I had a couple of my ribs fractured and my muscle wall crushed in a manner that I would have easily defended from in years prior.

It makes me realize that I need to slow myself down. This is not only important in order to accommodate my age, which will never stop, but to prevent unnecessary injury. BY the way, the older you get, the longer and more difficult it is to get over injuries and heal properly. But the important thing, if you paid attention and read the previous two paragraphs, is that you don’t stop moving. Slowing does not mean stopping. And the sooner you throw in the towel and say “screw it, I’m done,” the sooner your body will have difficulties accommodating your needs into the foreseeable future. And you need your body and your mind as long as you can manage it.

Slow down if you need to. Hey, we all get there. Do I think I could still kick some ass, if I needed to? You’d better believe it! Protect my loved ones? Anyone who would threaten the well being of my family would find out that even old dogs can still punch. But I recognize that maybe those two-hour karate sessions need to drop to only one hour. Maybe my 70-kilometres bicycle treks need to become 20 or 30 kilometres instead. I’ll never stop moving. I can’t. My health depends on it. But the manner in which I move and in what amounts are what make the difference. Food for thought… ☯️

Some Frosty Tips…

No, I’m not referring to “frosted” tips, as in what some may have done to their hair back in the 1990’s. I’m referring to frost, as in the icy shit that makes it impossible to see through my windshield in the morning. We’ve started to reach that time of year where, in Saskatchewan at least, the temperatures are starting to consistently drop, the weather is getting cold and Mother Nature is getting ready to dump a pile of white shit in our laps. That’s right, whether we Ike it or not, winter is coming!

If you can’t tell from the sarcasm, I’m not a big fan of winter. I enjoy there autumn just fine. Cool enough that I’m not sweating bullets constantly but warm enough that I don’t have to shovel snow. But once the weather requires maintenance on my part in order to get on with my day, I quickly lose interest. Winter wonderland, my ass! But I digress… By virtue of how long I’ve been writing this blog and given that winter keeps coming around, I’m once again writing about certain health tips that people tend to neglect or forget during the winter months.

While there isn’t quite snow on the ground yet, it’s important to remember that colder temperatures can have some adverse effects on one’s body. First and foremost, one needs to recognize the importance of dressing in layers. I’m sure everyone has heard this a lot but what does it actually mean? Realistically, it’s more than just piling on several. Layers of clothing to ensure you’re warm. In fact, if you layer up improperly, you can end up just as cold and maybe open yourself up to sickness.

Here’s the basic rule of thumb.You should have a moisture wicking layer against your skin. Think under armour or something similar. This allows any warmth-related perspiration to be wicked away from the body. Otherwise, the evaporation of that sweat will cause cooling and your core temp will drop, which could lead to conditions like hypothermia. The next layer should be your insulating layer. This is where you could use your cotton or other insulating materials. And your outer layer would of course be your coat, jacket or similar garment that will block wind, rain and over all cold.

A pair of gloves is always recommended. Extended periods outdoors would be better served by insulated mitts, since the huddling of your fingers will help maintain warmth. But at the very least, gloves. There’s nothing that sucks worse than scarping windows with bare hands. And since I mentioned hypothermia in the previous paragraph, I should touch on the difference between that and frostbite. Hypothermia is basically the dropping of your body’s core temperature to the point where it can’t sustain itself. Frostbite is exposure to cold that causes ice to form in the tissues. That’s an over-simplification, of course, but the difference is basically one happens on the outside and one happens within. Moving on…

Next is the sun. It always amazes me how people tend to forget that the sun’s rays cause the same damage at 30 degrees than at -30 degrees. If outside in the sun during the cold months, remember to wear sunglasses and apply sunscreen to any exposed skin if you’ll be out for prolonged periods. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting a sunburn in the winter but it can happen. Ironically, you actually NEED some sunlight. Exposure to sunlight promotes the creation of Vitamin D in the body. During the winter months, people tend to spend increased time indoors and out of reach h of natural light. So, while one needs other protect oneself from the harmful effects of the sun, it needs to be counterbalanced with some time outdoors to ensure proper Vitamin D levels.

And the last point I’ll touch on of course, is the Diabetic aspect. I don’t need to tell any of my readers who have Type-1 Diabetes that just about everything affects blood sugar levels. Periods of time in the cold weather, at least for me, will increase the effects of any activity or exercise I may be doing. For example, my blood sugar will drop just as drastically for ten minutes of snow shovelling as it would for an hour of weightlifting. So it’s extremely important to monitor your blood sugar, keep some fast-acting carbs on you at all times and be cognizant of how your blood sugars respond to the weather.

That’s it! There’s no getting away from the winter weather, unless you live in a tropical area but I’ll confess I’d take snow over hurricanes and floods any day. Take good precautions, stay hydrated and hopefully we can all get through this thing called winter in one piece. Food for thought…☯️

Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger…

Ah, triggers! For almost fifteen years, I kept the title of today’s post at the forefront of my mind, as a mantra, during my law enforcement career. Obviously in this context, a trigger is referring to a small device that releases a spring of some sort to set off a mechanical function, like pulling the trigger for a gun. But the actual meaning of a trigger for the purposes of today’s post, is something that may spark negative thoughts or emotions and cause the a nice cornucopia of reactions from the person who is “triggered,” including anger, anxiety, fear or sadness.

The thing about triggers is that everyone has them. In recent years, there’s been significant headway made in relation to people’s mental health and how to address it. Part of that is having individuals identify and recognize their triggers and to know how to deal with them. While that can be significantly important in terms of one’s personal health and growth, there are very important detail that comes to mind that many not be popular with folks but I promise it isn’t intended to offend; it’s simply a truth: your triggers are not my problem.

So, what do I mean with that last statement? Simply put and as I mentioned earlier, everyone has triggers. However, and as time has gone by, people seem to be inclined to believe that you should know what their triggers may be and to avoid them. This is categorically false and is a logical impossibility. For example, if we’re sitting at the office in the middle of a meeting, how am supposed to know that you’re allergic to the sound of paper (that’s a real thing, you can Google it)?

My point is that if you tell me about this particular quirk of yours and I decide to be an asshole and do something that triggers you in spite of what you’ve revealed, shame on me. If you get triggered by something I say or do and you lose your absolute shit on me despite the fact I didn’t know, shame on you! No one person can be expected to know what may offend or trigger you. It is, in fact, your responsibility to take a moment to tell someone, “Sorry, but I’m not comfortable with that.” Otherwise, it’s kind of hard to hold the offending party to task for it.

While it could be easily understood that some people may actually not be comfortable with revealing their triggers in all circumstances, that doesn’t resolve the issue you may face if someone triggers you without being aware of it. That person should be held responsible for your reaction, especially if you never revealed the issue to them. It comes back to the old saying, “I can only control my words; not how you react to them.” By that same token, I can only control my ability not to offend or trigger you based on what you choose to share with me. It all comes down to you. Food for thought… ☯️

The Most Unlikely Calorie Burn…

I had someone ask me the question a long timeworn doing a workout recently that had me quite floored, considering my exercise routine is almost non-existent lately. As a matter of routine, I usually spend a period of time post-workout in meditation, as it tends to lower one’s heart rate, lower blood pressure and allow me some recuperative time before grabbing a snack and hitting the showers. For the most part, I tend to save my meditation sessions in my RunKeeper app, not only because the option is available, but it helps me keep track, which is the entire point of the app. I noticed, not for the first time, that the app calculated that I had burned 31 calories during my meditation. This raised the important question: does one burn calories while meditating?

The very short, high level answer without much research is yes, yes you do. I can say this with some confidence as it’s a basic premise that any movement of the body will burn calories. And even as simple an act as breathing or normal bodily functions will burn calories. This doesn’t mean it can be substituted for actual diet and exercise, of course. Otherwise, every couch potato in the world would look like fuckin’ Jean-Claude van Damme in his prime.

For example, I apparently burn about 46 calories for 30 minutes of meditation. Alternatively, I would burn a little over 300 calories for cycling for the same amount for time. Those numbers will vary based on age, weight and how far you travel on the bike during those 30 minutes, of course. But it makes for a significant difference. There was a study released somewhere back in 2016 that estimated that the average person burns about 4.5 calories per minute from meditating. I can’t seem to find the article I read it in. Really have to start saving some of this shit as I find it.

According to an article posted by WebMD, states “meditation […] can lower high blood pressure. It can also help you manage stress, which drives some people to eat.” Disappointingly, the article doesn’t provide a great deal of any thing more related on how meditating can burn calories but rather goes into details on how one should meditate. So there doesn’t seem to be a lot of research or information surrounding whether the action of meditating itself burns any measurable calories or rather has the after effect of lower blood pressure and better control over eating, which brings in less calories.

Ultimately, it’s one of those things that’s just up in the air and there isn’t much to support using it as an actual calorie burning tool. Meditation should first and foremost be used as a means of cantering oneself, finding one’s inner peace and balance and as a supplement to reducing the suffering in one’s life. If you should so happen to burn a few calories while doing it, that’s just a pinch of calorie-free icing on a gluten-free cake. Food for thought…☯️