Years ago, I was told that we have a brand-new body every seven years. The concept is that within seven years every cell in our body has died and been replaced.* Skin cells rejuvenate every month. Red blood cells renew every four months. Liver cells take up to three years to rejuvenate. If we change a habit – food, exercise, stress levels – the new cells will be created from this healthier way of life, therefore improving overall health and providing us with a new healthier body.
In 2018, I chose a life of sobriety and had been looking forward to my new healthy body to arrive last year. It didn’t. Instead, pain, stiffness, and severe fatigue were added to my digestion and menstrual issues. Not drinking alcohol improved many parts of my life and health, but it was not the root cause of my issues. The culprit now seems to be autoimmune disease.
The challenge of adapting to an autoimmune diagnosis has led me to another way of walking the talk of my book From Type A to Type Me: How to Stop “Doing” Life and Start Living It. When I first wrote the book, it was about reducing stress levels by releasing addiction to work and exploring what truly made me happy. Earlier this year I wrote about exploring the “How” not the “What” of life. By focusing on “How” I was approaching my activities, I released another layer of “doing” because I was no longer making decisions based on “what” the activities were or if they were accomplished. Now through living with an autoimmune disease, my body is giving me the opportunity to explore what Living truly is.
To make it through the day, I need to focus on the amount of energy I have in my body. I need to focus on what I eat, how I breathe, and how my body feels. If I do not put my body first, pain and severe fatigue are the result. Sometimes even if I “do” everything right, my body still has a low day, so I need to be flexible and non-judgmental. I need to actively live; I need to focus on the act of living – nutrition, movement, rest. Being a recovering Type-A workaholic who finds her value in contribution and accomplishment this – is – tough because it often means my best course of action is no action.
As I write this, three different work items came up. My body tensed. My breathing became short and stinted. I stopped living so that I could “do” the work. Thankfully I was aware of the shift in my body, so I pulled out the concepts of Awareness, Alternatives, Acceptance, and Action from my book From Type A to Type Me. These concepts are meaningful tools to not only help one stop doing, but also to embrace living. Here is how I am currently using the concepts of Awareness, Alternatives, Acceptance, and Action.
Awareness: Instead of going through a full day being stressed, I take the time to notice my body’s reaction in the moment.
Acceptance / Alternatives: These are my main challenges right now. I might have been aware of my stress level in the past, but instead of accepting that my body and mind are on overload I would kick things into high gear and push through it – which just led to more exhaustion. Now I am learning my limitations and accepting them as my new reality; this acceptance is very difficult for me. But with this acceptance, I have the alternative of not pushing through; I can choose the alternative of resting, releasing, and self-care.
Action: Having chosen a new alternative, I now need to take action. First, I regulate my breathing; this not only helps disconnect from fight-or-flight but also gives me a beat to look at things more objectively. Second, I step out of reactionary mode. Nothing needs to happen at this very moment. In the pause, I review and prioritize my work tasks. Third, I decide if taking action on my work or choosing self-care tools is the best for me in the moment.
The concepts of Awareness, Acceptance, Alternatives, and Actions are not new to me. Executing these concepts, especially Acceptance, to live with an autoimmune disease is new. I am accepting and learning to embrace this new level of living.
*Note: In researching this post, I uncovered having a new body every seven years is a myth. Bones and heart take ten to twenty years to rejuvenate, and our brain cells appear to never renew. But to me, it is a hopeful concept to believe we can affect our body and start afresh every seven years.
