Update on Me

[Polly]

Hi Good Buddies,

Recap: I was diagnosed with MC about 10 years ago, and after discovering multiple food intolerances and eliminating them, have been in remission on diet alone for many years. About 2 1/2 mo. ago a flare started when my dog died. Other severe family dramas added to my stress. It became apparent to me that it is possible for well-controlled MC to relapse due to stress alone.

Thanks to some great tips here on the Board, this is what I did. I began taking Imodium as needed. I continued with my usual mostly-paleo diet. I upped my aerobic exercise, both in intensity and length (to one hour a day). And the main change I made to reduce my stress level was to TURN OFF THE MEDIA. Seriously. I turned off all cable TV and talk radio and network news. I stopped listening to the angry conservatives on Fox and the equally-angry liberals on MSNBC screaming, name-calling, fingerpointing. Such nastiness - it demeans ALL of us when one group is visciously attacked, I realized.....not to mention those depressing, horrible, negative political ads we were forced to see endlessly on TV.

It has been such a breath of fresh air not to listen to any more of it. I listen to music instead or just sit for a bit in the QUIET. Or watch a good movie. And here's the good news. I am almost back to normal - Norman arrived a few days ago, and I'd say I'm about 98% improved. I'm not saying that all of that ridiculous media static and hogwash was the cause of my flare. It wasn't, but the constant droning and dire predictions made my stress worse, I'm sure. Wouldn't it be interesting to do a study of people who tune in regularly to one or another of these vitriolic media "entertainers"? I'll bet they would have a higher incidence of stress-related illness - high blood pressure, heart problems, sleep difficulty, GI upset, etc.

Anyway, all of this has made me think about and appreciate our family here on the Board. All of that media trash is meaningless here - it doesn't define any of us or how we relate to each other. We have no idea (neither do we care) about another's political persuasion, sexual orientation, religious (or not) beliefs, etc. So all of that namecalling and deviseness promoted by the media and our politicians really is just hot air - it doesn't affect us where it really counts - in our day to day interactions here. That is really something to be thankful for, and I am.

Love,

Polly, who would love to see a kinder, gentler nation in her lifetime

[Joefnh]

Hi Polly what a great post. I Agree on just turning it all off. This year in particular the absolute angry noise has been just unacceptable from all sides. This site is refreshing in that people from all backgrounds and views come to together for the common good...

That's great that this flare is under control for the most part. Your experience really does point out the need to reduce stress in our lives.


--Joe

[harma]

Hi Polly I am glad to hear you are doing so much better and your flare up almost seems to be under control. Again you discovered a way to cure yourself. How good of you.

What I can add about the influence on news, television, radio, newspaper. I stopped watchting tele 3,5 years ago. From one to the other day, no more tele. It is one of the best decisions I ever made. It gave me so much rest. All the world news, all that repeating of things, making drama of things. For years I struggled with an eating disorder, from the same moment I got my tele out of my living room, my eating disorder was/is over. Almost I would say for 99%.

Until I moved here I listened to the radio, but more interesting back/human interest programms, than the actual news. Also I didn't and don't read any news paper. And I have checked the news on the internet for quite a while. You know what is funny, I don't have the feeling at all, that I have been missing something.

So I think what you did was a very wise decision. I hope you will keep on doing well.

harma

[Martha]

I'm glad that you are doing better now. An interesting observation about the media. When all we hear is bad stuff, and none of it is anything we can do anything about, it surely does add stress. And an unhealthy stress, since we feel powerless. Good on you for just turning it off!

[mbeezie]

Polly,

I'm so glad to hear you are getting a handle on your stress and Norman is returning.

I couldn't agree more. I stopped watching the news a long time ago. It's depressing and biased. I find I can get my news by reading it online once per day. Politics has never been my cup of tea and I steer clear. Here is a quote from Dave Ramsey that I received on election day "There's not a party, a congressman, a senator, etc. elected that will fix your life. YOU have to fix YOUR life". ~Dave Ramsey . . . it expresses exactly how I feel.

Take care fellow cave dweller - here's hoping Norman sticks around.

Hugs,

Mary Beth

[Tanya Lynn]

Polly,

I am so glad to hear you are feeling better and hopefully back to 100% soon.
The only channel I would watch during the day was the Foodnetwork channel before I got sick.
Now, I have had to give that up because I'm unable to eat
just about everything there is.... I refuse to watch the news/media anymore
it's all hype, biased, depressing BS...

I really need to start some kind of exercise regiment. You've inspired me!!
The stress level in my life right now is off the charts, so I will start back on
my treadmill TODAY.... Thanks for your encouraging words...

Keep us posted on your progess..

[Kari]

Hi Polly,

I have been thinking about you and wondering how you've been managing your lengthy flare, so I was so happy to see such a wonderful progress report this morning. Congratulations on figuring out how to get over this latest MC hurdle and adding some quality to your lifestyle in the process!!!!!

Couldn't agree more about the media. The TV has been off in my home for years already. I think TV became absolutely intolerable for me when they managed to make the commercials louder than the program I was watching. I used to watch a lot of financial news, but I've come to realize that all the news I need are readily available on the internet.

Lots of luck with the positive changes you've made - hope they continue to subdue the MC monster!!!!!

Love and warm regards,
Kari

[Zizzle]

)Polly,
I'm so glad the flare is over...hopefully for good. I too struggle to stay away from media hype, loud commercials, gloom and doom predictions, etc. My huband thinks I'm an uneducated waste for not reading the newspaper. He gets his papers on his kindle, watches MSNBC every chance he gets, follows all sports news online, gets everything on his I-phone...it never ends. He is totally surrounded by media all the time and I worry for his health (and mental stability! ) . But maybe his Type-A personality thrives on that stuff? Who knows. I'd just as soon hibernate! But I often listen to NPR during my commutes - it's rather soothing compared to radio music.

Good for you!

[Rosie]

Polly, that's great news that your flare seems to be over. All of the comments about the stress of listening to the news and TV commentators has made me more aware of how it could contribute to my stress level. The daily barrage is never-ending and mostly upsetting. I'm going to try and cut back.

Rosie

[tex]

Polly,

It's good to see that you're getting back on track - that was a worrisome trend, for a while, there, to say the least.

Hmmmmm. Apparently this is the main reason why newspaper circulation continues to decline. For decades, I subscribed to the Wall Street Journal, and then one day I noticed that I was rarely reading it, anymore. Instead, it was just stacking up. I let my subscription expire, and I have never missed it. Due to usually working late, I rarely had an opportunity to watch TV before 11 or 12 at night, but I always tried to catch a rerun of the news, if possible. Now, I no longer do that, unless I'm aware of some very significant local event that might be covered.

Interestingly, these changes in my habits occurred long after my initial symptoms presented. In fact, they took place after I initially reached remission, (as in your case, Polly). In my case, this happened 5 or 6 years ago.

Since news reporting is so highly competitive, it's a ratings game, so they have to make it as sensational as possible, in order to draw as many viewers as possible. It has evolved into a form of entertainment, and it's addictive. The downside, of course, as everyone points out, is that not only is it depressing, but it's a formula for chronic depression, and the source of the depression, (the news), is something that we, (as Martha accurately pointed out), can do nothing about, anyway.

If you read the post that I wrote a week or so ago, about the type of stress that kills us, you have probably already recognized that the stress generated by the news media, fits the description of chronic, life-altering stress - exactly what we should be avoiding. And apparently, many of us are avoiding it. I can't help but wonder if our own battle with MC, may have played a part in our automatically identifying the news media as something to avoid. Did it subconsciously influence our judgment - maybe even before the clinical symptoms of the disease became apparent?

The main reason I suspect a connection, is because nature has a knack for identifying problems that we are not even consciously aware of. Animals have a sixth sense about "dangerous" situations, which helps them to cope with such situations. Maybe we still have a vestige of such a sense, that sometimes influences our decisions in important matters, (if we will let it). The common name for it is intuition. How else would we know that we need to minimize stress, before we even knew that stress can trigger MC.

Polly, before your precedent-setting flare, we always claimed that while stress might make a flare worse, it couldn't cause one. Obviously that claim no longer holds water, in view of the circumstances.

The English poet John Donne wrote the famous line, "No Man Is an Island", (and Hemingway used it in his novel, For Whom The Bell Tolls), but the fact of the matter is, the more we detach ourselves from that mindset, the better off we are, (at least as far as controlling MC is concerned. We simply can't afford to worry about the rest of the world, if we have MC, because the world is not going to worry about us, when we relapse.

Tex

[Gloria]

Great news, Polly! You've mentioned before that stress impacts your MC. I don't think that's true for me, but now I'll be cognizant of the possibility.

I can't say I agree with "ducking out" of the news, though I know the reporters tend to stress the negative. I know that's not typical of your philosophy and that you'll no doubt stay involved and informed. Even though we are probably on opposite sides of the political spectrum, I respect your commitment to make the world a better place.

The political ads have become quite annoying and I, too am glad they're finished.

Gloria

[starfire]

I'm really glad the election crap is over too. I got so sick of it all.

I'm even more thankful that your flare is finally settling down. Good work, Polly.

Love, Shirley

[MBombardier]

Hi,Polly, as newly-diagnosed and new to the forum, your success in achieving and maintaining remission has been very encouraging to me. I fully understand the stress of losing a pet. That's why, as much as my children want a dog or a cat, all we have are birds. It's bad enough losing one of them.

We were without a TV through Waco and 9/11, and didn't miss it. We rarely watch TV at all now, except my husband watches a little football. I did turn on the TV to watch the election returns. I don't understand how those people can go on and on endlessly about the same thing.

Like others, I get my news mainly by skimming headlines on the internet, or reading things that others send me or note on Facebook, which has been of enormous benefit to me in renewing relationships with relatives and faraway friends. That probably does the most for me to relieve stress--not Facebook per se, but relationships with others. And being quiet, as you said.

Best wishes on your continued recovery from this stress-induced flare.

[tex]

The downside of Facebook is that it tends to generate a certain amount of peer pressure, among certain people. Many people feel the need to "keep up with the "Joneses". Didn't they have an "I voted" button that showed everyone your voting status on election day? That's a source of unnecessary peer pressure, for example, for someone who might be disinclined, (or for some reason or other, unable), to vote.

Tex

[MBombardier]

So, Tex, are you a Facebook user? You are quite right. It amazes me some of the foolishness that is exhibited on Facebook, and how the lemming impulse takes over. Facebook is not for everybody, that's for sure. It requires discipline, and IMO, a higher purpose than just cruising around looking for a party or a cause to jump onto, or something to argue about. Social networks are strange creatures, but if one learns to use them instead of being used by them, they can be useful tools in nurturing real (not just cyberspace) relationships.