An Interesting Conversation
Over the Mother’s Day weekend I had a very interesting conversation with my younger brother regarding health issues. Come to find out, we share a series of similar problems/symptoms.
We both experience this tightness/sense of a ‘catch’ in our chests and the matter can be exacerbated by sitting or being hunched over something. We have both, independently of each other, discovered that one means to push through this sensation (which has a de-energizing effect) is to perform heavy cardio exercises. He opts for using a pull-up bar where I opt for simple push-ups.
There were other similarities that appeared, mostly pertaining to how we dealt with this problem. The primary diverging factor between the two of us is our demeanors. Where my brother is very laid back and casual about life, I am the opposite- tending to be very OCD and worrisome about things. My social anxiety makes leaving the house trying, where he does not have such issues. I have spent much of my life being singled out, being the outsider, having trouble truly fitting in to a group- he either has no such problem or simply doesn’t care.
It’s odd that when my diet was working at its best, many of these issues would minimize or disappear. I could leave the house and not be concerned about the perceptions of those around me. Frequently this was simply due to an abundance of energy that functioned as a buffer.
Well, there was never any doubt that there was a biological issue going on- I’m just sort of surprised to find that my brother suffers from a similar problem but manages to function (at a decent, if not also significantly lower energy level than I require) largely due to his casual demeanor and probably a tendency to eat a little better than I do (he and his girl friend are a bit more chef-ie than J. and I would naturally tend to be). None of this really answers any questions, but is worth noting.
I thought of one other similarity that me and my brother noted. We both get symptoms that we attribute to ‘bad circulation’. Limbs that ‘go to sleep’, that sort of thing. He mentioned that when his circulation is really poor he can look at the veins in his arms and they seem to be bulging with blood just sitting there (it never occurred to me to notice, so I can’t comment on that sort of thing personally).
Thought I would tack that on while I was thinking about it.
I’m just trying again to do this comment thing right.