It's been cool and a bit rainy. I've been feeling similarly under the weather.
Over the past year or so, the realization has been slowly coming to me that I should learn how to self-medicate better. It's probably something I should have learnt to do a decade or so ago, like most people I know, but I never got the hang of ingesting substances for various desired physiological effects.
I never drank coffee or other caffeine to stay alert; I opted instead to stay awake naturally or just pass out when exhausted. Since childhood, I hated Aspirin and Tylenol as I found both nauseating, and the one time I took Pepto-Bismol for nausea, the pink liquid just made me throw up. Pretty much any drug bought in a pharmacy without a prescription is something I'd avoid, and I'd only take a prescription drug if there's a persuasive need for it. I grudgingly take drugs to cure the problem, and never to treat the symptoms. I don't take antibiotics for colds or try to misuse drugs in any other way, ignorant or creative.
At heart, I'm just a simple old-fashioned gal; I figure my body and my immune system, along with a reasonably high threshold for pain, will take care of most things. What I've been coming to realize lately, though, is that a good prudential reason for treating symptoms is freeing up energy to deal with something other than a debilitating problem. Better late than never, I suppose.
So, for what I suspect to be the mild cold that I have, I am actually drinking an olive scallion tea, which I think is a pretty weak form of Chinese herbal medicine. (Is there any other kind?) For the last month or two, I have also been considering a motion to take Advil for various aches and pains as needed. (These decisions take time for research and deliberation.) As well, for those who've been wondering since my Cast Iron post from last year: I have indeed heeded my most persuasive doctor and I have been taking Iron supplements as instructed. Intermittently. So, if you think I seem at all different from my norm, it's likely because I could be hopped up on any number of drugs.
Perhaps my subweather condition these days is a result of my Yoga-ing less than I was before. My attention has spanned much shorter lately, so I just haven't been in the mood for anything meditative. But I wonder, would more meditative moments allow me fewer medicative moments?
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2 comments:
My neighbour is 100 years old this year. This is his secret to longevity (although I think he says this to everybody so I don't know how much of a secret it is): he never smoked, never got drunk, never took any medicine, walked eveywhere, and ate a lot of fruit.
I think it's a bit late for me on some of those counts. Where were you when I was 18?
Sounds like you're arguing against meds though... Incidentally, I finally bought some ibuprofen for myself yesterday. Might take a while to decide to actually ingest it though.
Do you take medicine?
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