Listen to Thy Body!!

Hopefully at this point in my life and having spent 43 years in this body I would know my body by now. I say that not in jest or to be funny because in my zeal to exercise and now to run my 7th marathon I often times neglect what my body tells me. I received an email from a very good friend today who is the same age as me and who is also an avid exercise person; and it turns out he has been dealing with an unknown foot affliction for the past several months. He seemed to work through the pain but in the last few weeks the pain got worse and he thought he actually had a fracture in his foot. As it turns out it is not a fracture but a bout with gout. I don’t know much about gout other than the fact that my brother in law has had his battles over the years and what I have gleaned from the internet.

According to what I have read on the internet gout is the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints and surrounding tissue. The causes seem varied and all I know my brother in law has been on a very restrictive diet and when I refer to a diet as restrictive you can believe it is restrictive!!! Anyhow as it turns out my friend was diagnosed with gout and I got to thinking about myself which I often do especially since I entered recovery over three and half years ago. I am trying to do my best in listening to my body and I do believe I have gotten much better over the years.

This brings me to this morning as I was scheduled for a run but due to the intense run yesterday I was not ready so I took the day off. This may not sound like much but for a person like me who is probably addictive to running this is a big step (no pun intended!!) I felt some tightness in my calves and shins and thought better of the 11 mile run I would endure. My body needed the rest and I finally acquiesced which is a small step in the right direction. I have often thought about me running right through an energy much like my friend has but in the end it isn’t worth it. There is only so much time I have here on earth and it is up to me to make the best of it. I enjoy running tremendously but I also enjoy a wonderful quality of life and this is accomplished one small step at time.

With no need to venture to the gym I concentrated on a few work projects this morning and I set up another meeting my boss has wanted for quite some time. The ground work has been laid out for me and I am just picking up the pieces. I seem to be making the right connections and the next thing I know I have appointments set up with people who are genuinely interested in our services.

As long as I am on this topic here is a link to our website and I know people find this blog a myriad of ways through search engines. It appears most people stumble on this blog as they are researching compulsive gambling not for themselves but for a loved one. It would be great if the compulsive gambler would search out the help but having been there and done that I can tell from firsthand experience that the compulsive gambler (which is me) doesn’t get help until there is some type of event. I don’t know how interventions work in the world of the compulsive gambler but ultimately the decision has to come from the person with the addiction or no amount of recovery will ever work.

I received another interesting email today from a person I have become friendly with over the past few months who just so happens to be a fellow compulsive gambler. This person has a very interesting story and here is a link to their website. I do have a few issues and one is personal responsibility which I am sure exists in this case but it isn’t very well documented. In my case I had a decision to make and it became very clear. I could continue to deny my compulsive gambling addiction and blame everyone around me or I could take personal responsibility and get the help I need. Thankfully I continue to make the right decision and get the help I need because this help continues to save my life. I do believe there is a service this person is doing because it is publicizing the compulsive gambling addiction and with this comes awareness; hopefully one person has been assisted with their addiction.

The email I received was in regards to a rally being held next weekend in Washington D.C. Anyone interested in the press release please send me an email and I will forwarded it. The rally seems like a big undertaking and I am a bit skeptical as to those who will be in attendance but with that stated it does bring the awareness out about compulsive gambling. In this uncertain economy the timing of the rally maybe a bit off because believe it or not most of the casino operators are having tough times and are actually laying people off. The casinos were once sought as a recession proof industry but I believe our current economic times are more like a depression than a recession so this industry is just as susceptible as any other. I am interested in seeing how this rally is received and if the mainstream media will report on it.