It’s obvious to me by now, since I’ve been up since 0200 hrs from arthritis pain and just took my morning medications at 0530 hrs, that the pain from yesterday’s romp in the field working with Mom is going to continue to be rather punishing unless I take some Extra Strength Tylenol. So I did. Just now. I’m hoping it kicks in very quickly and lasts a long time. I like Tylenol Arthritis, because it’s extended-release, but the Extra Strength Tylenol works better sometimes. Oh, well. Whatever works.
The birds are singing away outside and I can hear the rain, so it must be a pleasant rain, at least. I hope that I can move well enough later today to possibly go climbing at the gym or biking somewhere if it dries off enough, but I’m not holding out a lot of hope for it drying out because the forecast calls for rain until Sunday. Maybe I’ll go see how water-resistant the cycling pants I got on clearance are… My bike needs some exercise and breaking-in. I need to climb, too!!! Those would both be very possible if I didn’t hurt as bad as I do! I’m thinking that getting moving today needs to happen, though, precisely because I do hurt. Arthritis is a funny thing. So is lactic acid build-up in muscles. The more you move, the better you feel. Part of it is due to the increased circulation and the removal of waste products from muscles and joints. The other part is due to endorphins being released into the bloodstream and satisfying the opioid receptors in your brain that are screaming for attention. The more active you are, the more receptors are produced to handle the increased amounts of endorphins that are being released, and you have an awesome feedback loop…as long as you stay active, that is. If you decide that you hurt too bad to get a little bit of activity in and aren’t active at all, then you hurt even worse the next day! Yeah, you think you hurt now? Just wait until tomorrow if you don’t get your act together and work out the kinks from yesterday!!!
I need to get some kind of exercise or activity in today, both for my body and for my mind. I had way too much time to think yesterday and I suffered nightmares for it. Some tasks don’t require a lot of focus, and you get more intrusive thoughts for your mind to take down rabbit-holes with. That’s seldom good unless you have something that you’re intensely interested in and are thinking about, which would be more focused thought, and therefore wouldn’t count in our scenario of having nothing to concentrate on. Even if that activity is just walking up and down the stairs a few times, it can really help a person feel better. You have to concentrate on the next step, or you’ll fall, and focusing on the next step is better than ruminating on bad memories and/or negative thoughts. I prefer to think of climbing and biking as activities and being active rather than exercise. Exercise carries with it some competitive goal for me, and I don’t need some unrealistic end goal to wrestle with while I’m trying to enjoy the act of climbing or the act of biking. To me, that exercise goal is distracting, whereas the act itself is just that – acting on a desire. It’s much more fun that way! If I’m exercising, I’m not necessarily enjoying it. If I’m acting on a desire to climb or to bike or to blog, I’m engaging in it because I want to. It’s subtle, but it’s an important perceptual distinction for me as far as positive and negative thinking go and my motivation to do things. Of course, having a Master’s in Psychology helps me pick these things apart. I’m hoping to get a Ph.D. in Psychology in this lifetime! We’ll see. Maybe I’ll just climb and bike. That’s enough for me right now…
CLIMBING 4 THE REST OF US 