Who Stole My Endorphins?
This is that time of year to play the juggling expectations game. It seems every time I turn around there is another holiday commitment to add to the calendar. And when I keep adding things to the calendar, I've noticed that the things already there don't seem to drop off. Pair that with the constantly swirling thoughts of "To- Do" lists that never end during the holidays - a girl (namely me) can get kinda stressed out. I think this year I noticed it earlier. Having the "boot" on my foot (see The Freak Effect post) has left me making lists titled "All The Things To Do When I Get This Boot Off My Foot." The lists are kind of long. In fact, last night I think my lists in the family room mated with the lists in the kitchen and had little list babies.
Right now my head is swirling, my house has no order, my energy is zapped. And then it came to me. In an a-ha light-bulb kind of moment - WHO STOLE MY ENDORPHINS????? During the Spring and Summer and well into the Fall I was training. Six days a week I was either swimming, biking, or running - often twice a day. Those endorphins kept me going. My creative zen and stress relief were wrapped up in the miles I put on my bike, my legs or in the pool. I've been pulled to a stop with the weather, the "boot" and all the zany craziness that comes from Thanksgiving through New Year's. To quote my favorite 7 year-old, "It's NOT fair!!" I want those endorphins back. I don't think I will survive the season without them.
My whole family knows that I am a calmer, happier and much more sane person when I've had my daily endorphin dose. So, does that make me an endorphin addict? Perhaps. But, I think the benefits are too great to just "ignore" this daily therapy in my life just because the holidays are a crazy time. I know a lot of women out there (and men too) who spend a lot of stressed out time saying, "When this month passes, or this deadline, or this holiday. . . " Perhaps the mall wouldn't be the crazy ball of stress that it is right now, if we'd all give ourselves first the gift of a little exercise-induced stress relief.
So, today, I am getting out my detective gear and heading to the gym to see what I can do to solve this mystery. If I spot any one else's endorphins and stress relief in the Lost & Found box, I will let you know.
-Jen
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