Mind, body and soul

The reality of life is that you have to work to earn your bread and butter or waste away. In this modern society of us, earning our daily bread is costing us more then it used to in the past. More people are no longer dealing with physical work and the mental and emotional exertion of our work is surely draining us, especially for the executives and professionals. Diseases have changed to what my grandmother would term “the white man’s diseases”. Back in the days, people fell sick from diseases such as tuberculosis, polio, small pox, among many others. In today’s corporate culture, people fall sick from work related stress and burnout diseases, such depression, high blood pressure, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, colon cancer, to name but a few. When illness enters, you go to a conventional doctor and get prescribed “happy pills” for depression, or an energy booster. Other conventional doctors fail to diagnose your illness and one can easily spend the following months meeting one specialist after the other to be told you have lung rheumatoid then perhaps cancer.

Some professions are notorious for these diseases. A few that sprung to mind are teachers, nurses and even doctors. Several professionals thrive in the pressure cooker, but for most of us, the toll is taken out in our health and our personal lives- the very things that should keep us going and that should rejuvenate us to restart the following day.

As a researcher trying to be an artist and multimedia designer, I tend to go overboard with work. To some it is a surprise especially since I work for Government. Working hours could be easily from 7am to 11pm. At times I would be so busy and forget to eat or else have a bite while on the run. Before realizing, I had constant bloatedness, headaches, back pain and severe acne. On top of it all, I was sensitive to wheat and had no clue. Doctors gave energy boosters and Roaccutane for acne but symptoms would return after the prescriptions ran out. While living and studying in the UK, a friend suggested Chinese medicine, which have become a popular alternative medicine in the UK and have patients as notorious as the Prince of Wales. Pure frustration thus turned me to Chinese medicine that looked and tasted malicious. Though I did not want to think about it then, I can now admit that that Chinese tea concoction included some animal dung. But hey, I was desperate. When that failed, I decided to put my research skills to work, got on the internet and decided to find some explanation for my constant bloatedness, fatigue and acne.

My research led me to alternative medicine to combating stress and burnout. It led me to a colon hydro-therapist, which is a specialist in the interconnectedness of mind (emotions and thoughts), body and soul. When one is in a poor state, the other will be affected. In one visit, I was taught more about my health than the tens of doctors I visited. My wheat insensitivity was diagnosed by giving a simple but full description on the type of foods I eat in general. Turns out that my wheat threshold level were being surpass, which led to the bloatedness, which in turn led to the acne, which in turn led to the fatigue and headaches. In other words, I was busy poisoning myself from the inside. A difference could be felt and seen within one week of cutting out wheat and from ‘washing’ the colon from all toxins.

On advice from my hydro-therapist, which if I may add is a 2500 million years ancient profession, I took on meditation as a way of relieving stress. Meditation is a way of becoming more alive and aware of our moment-to-moment experience and it its effects, from simple relaxation to spiritual insight, follow from this. In the short term, I found an antidote to stress and became calmer and more self-possessed. Others tried yoga, which means “to unite” or “to come together”. This practice teaches an understanding of the intimate connection between our body, mind, energy and breath that promotes a general sense of well being and relaxed vitality.

The time in the UK taught me more about myself because I learned how to tune into my mind and body. It taught me that new is not always better and that a healthy body needs healthy thoughts. Stress has many detrimental effects on health. Had I not had an early diagnose, I would have turn 40 and felt like an 80 year old. A favorite aunt of mine has been informed she suffers from various illnesses, which started off as stress. I now believe that had she learned to deal with her stress in a proper way, she would not be the sick-ling she is today.

Many do not realize how important a healthy diet and state of mind is to the body. You might not feel all the effects now, but might at a time you really should slow down and enjoy life.

So my advice to all those young dynamic professionals in a demanding environment is to try and set aside 5 to 10 minutes each day to sit still and do nothing and see the difference it makes to your mind. Watch what you eat and experience the rejuvenated energy levels. Lastly, observes how that brings contentment in your life.