I want to give you a checklist of sorts here, to set you up for success. There are as many approaches to something like this as there are people. The key is to take time to first determine what motivates you and what barriers hold you back.
As I wrote in Volume One of the Everyday Pain Guide — Put Out the Fire:
“To exert control over (bio) chemical triggers (of pain) that we cannot avoid, the answer is often simply to lighten our load as much as possible, of other chemical irritants that we can avoid.” (p.245 Chpt. 6)
When you do a reset whether it’s with stress in mind or nutrients in mind, you will be relieving the overall biochemical burden on your body. Just decreasing your load in whatever way that you can, will make a big difference to the overall inflammation level in your body and brain. You don’t have to be perfect at it and not every single biochemical burden has to be eliminated in order for you to be successful at decreasing some body aches and pains.
A quick reminder that The Everyday Pain Guide project is not about pain that comes from serious disease or broken bones. It’s the kind of pain that gets ignored because it’s not completely disabling and we think it’s just part of getting older.
If you’ve ever gotten up in the morning with pain that you didn’t go to sleep with or if you’ve tried to get up from your desk but had to pause to straighten yourself up before taking a step, or maybe you’ve had to think twice about picking up something off the floor? Then you’ve had the kind of everyday pain that I talk about in this book series and all of my related projects.
I’m here to tell you that getting older does not mean you have to be in pain!
Last week my post was in retrospect about my own recent reset and you can read about that here if you need perspective on the success of imperfection: After My Biochemical Reset — Was There a Transformation?
Are you still wondering if you should do a body chemistry reset too? Are you feeling restless, sleepless, tense, overwhelmed, depressed or unmotivated? Maybe you’ve noticed more stiffness and body aches? There are many different reasons and ways to restore your “factory settings” and you don’t have to do them all at once.
My own recent reset focused on alcohol, coffee and news but yours doesn’t have to look the same at all. Maybe your reset is about giving sugar a break? Maybe it’s about breathing more deeply once a day. Yes, a simple thing like breath can change your body chemistry (and your nervous system). Maybe it’s about trading breakfast for dinner to play with the idea of lightening up your digestive burden at night. Digestion is a huge part of the biochemistry equation.
Here are a few ideas to keep in mind as you consider doing your own reset with the goal of lightening the load of inflammatory (and therefore pain-causing) triggers on your system:
- The key is to bring a notion of play and curiosity to it. Think about it like you’re just doing an experiment, for a limited amount of time. This is not a punishment for bad behavior. It’s an inquiry into “what if…”. And not every reset has to be about deprivation or elimination. Sometimes it can be about adding one small thing.
- Set low expectations on a manageable timeline. If you feel like your plan sets you up for underachieving, you might be on the right track. I’m serious. Small bites of achievements that you can succeed at, are far better for your psyche than lofty goals that never get met.
- Don’t forget to fuel your goals — if you’re adding more exercise time — remember to get more of the right nutrients in you or allow yourself more sleep. Maybe add a nap in the middle of the day as a reward for the extra energy expended.
That’s it. In the interest of making this an accessible idea, the checklist can’t be too long. Focus on these 3 things. Pick something that motivates you. Make one change for a short period of time that you can commit to. And above all, be kind to yourself. Maybe you find that at the end of your experiment, you don’t feel like stopping. Great. Go with it.
If you don’t stick with it. There’s always another chance to start again tomorrow.
Let me know your thoughts. Do you have tricks that help you make changes to your body chemistry? Have you tried shaking up your relationship with food, sleep or breathing? I would love to hear about it in the comments.
Next week I’ll be starting a short series of posts about walking. It’s one of those topics that comes up repeatedly in practice when troubleshooting a wide variety of lower back, hip, leg and foot pain. There are philosophers who believe that our brain evolved solely for the purpose of creating movement. If that’s the case, we better get it right! 😉 Watch for that next Friday!
After My Biochemical Reset – Was There a Transformation?
