Recently, I had an experience where my body was literally running on fumes. Due to some sinus congestion and inflammation, I was not able to get restful sleep for nearly 2 weeks. I was traveling abroad, which I am sure contributed to the issue, but it also meant it was not feasible for me to go see my doctor to have it looked at.
Now, I want to elaborate - I hate going to see any medical professionals that are not my primary doctor. My PCP is awesome, and I am lucky to have stumbled upon him when I did. He is very realistic, down to earth, and understands that outside of a physical, I am only going to go see a doctor when I am thinking I am going to die if I don't go. I have had issues going to urgent care facilities as they don't beleive me when I tell them that I had a temperature of 94°. They thought that is impossible. It was not impossible, I had a temperature of 94°.
Anywho, I spent 2 weeks, most of which I was in Qatar, getting no more than 4 hours of sleep a night and usually in 1-2 hour bursts. I spent many hours awake in my hotel room pacing around going stir crazy. My mind was not refreshed, or thinking properly. It was literally running on fumes. The only reason I could ever get to sleep was when I could barely keep awake or stand up.
The best analogy I can come up with for this is that it was like I was driving and my car was almost out of gas. I found a gas station, and for whatever reason I could only manage to squeeze in 1-2 gallons of gas in the tank. No real explanation why this was the case, but it just would not take any more. So I had to continue on until I was on fumes again and stop for more. I was frustrated that I could not just fill my tank up and then be all set for the day.
One of the big things I noticed is that when your body does not get what it needs, it tends to act....well...a bit weird. I had many thoughts that actually scare the hell out of me that even crossed my mind about life, and what we are doing here on this earth. I was truly living in a fog just living one moment to the next and not feeling like I had any purpose or drive to move forward towards a greater goal. I was bored, had cabin fever and nothing seemed to entertain me. Facebook, reading books, watching TV, playing smartphone games, youtube, etc. all seemed to fall short of anything I wanted to our could focus on for any length of time.
After I returned to the 'States, I made an appointment to see my doctor and he got me squared away with some medicine, and all I can say is that drugs can be a wonderful thing when used properly. I finally was able to get the sleep that I needed to get my mind, body and soul back on the proper track.
But, as humans we need more than just the basic needs of food, shelter and sleep. Those are the bare minimum that we need to survive, there are many other facets of our lives that need to be nurtured in order for us to live happy and fulfilling life. Over the past few months I have been working on many of these without realizing how much it would really change me, and how much some of these things are lacking.
With the fact that I no longer have my wife living in the same dwelling as I am, my social interaction when I am at home has gone way down. Living in a 3 bedroom house as a bachelor is a huge change and can get lonely at times. I have had to look for social interaction outside of my house which is something I have not had to do for more than a decade. I do not get daily external interaction, however I do get more than enough to keep myself in check. I am a very extroverted person (which is an understatement to anyone who knows me).
One other facet of my life that has gotten neglected over the past decade or more is my spiritual side. I was brought up in a religious household and had many neighbors and friends that were (and still are) very active in the religious community. In the past 3 months or so I have realized how much this aspect of me has been neglected, and it has affected my life in many negative ways. I am not proud of this, but I am also not sad about it. There is nothing that can be done about the past, all I can do is to move forward and change my future and nurture my soul to help it grow and feel a purpose.
With that said, I hope you all take some time to evaluate yourselves, mind body and soul, to make sure you are giving it the fuel it needs to allow it to run at its top performance. Feeding my body pizza and beer for every meal is not going to allow me to sustain a long healthy life. The same applies to neglecting my spiritual side as I am a spiritual being. Not everyone has the same needs, just like every car has different needs for fuel and maintenance to keep it running in its best shape.
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