It is amazing how a complete change in daily routine can bring clarity to every day life. I returned from a week's vacation in St Lucia with a summer tan, voluminous hair and satiny smooth skin. What I hadn't realized was that I was also essentially pain free. Upon waking the second morning home, my hair stood out from my head like straw, my skin was rough as sandpaper and my body felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on it. On the third day home, I woke with pain in every joint; it hurt to walk or sit or stand, to turn over in bed or turn my head, to hold my phone or pick up my coffee cup. Not just passing aches either, but unrelenting, sharp, biting pain.
We often discount the effect of the natural world on our bodies. I, for one, know that fluctuating barometric pressure often provokes symptoms of joint pain, neck stiffness, headache and neuropathy in hands and legs. Immersing myself in warm water counteracts these uncomfortable sensations, especially if it is deep enough for me to move freely through range of motion exercises.
As a chronic sufferer, I am often unsure about whether pain and discomfort leads to depression, or depression is caused by pain and discomfort. However, I have always known that when I am in pain, I am easily frustrated and angry, lashing out verbally at those closest to me.
Arriving home from St Lucia without pain allowed me to see just how unstable air pressure and colder temperatures affect my health, and thus where the line is between mind and matter. So, more attention to rest, relaxation and aquabics, and less attention to worrying about whether I am depressed!
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