Hello again
I had a nagging feeling that the last post was incomplete, that it might read as a little odd even. I am not in the throes of mania, honestly! Obviously I can't be sure that this new sense of calm is due to the gluten-free diet, or that it will last. It just feels so good to be anxiety-free, or very nearly so, after being in thrall to really excruciating anxiety for so long, that I wanted to share the news.
The best thing (and the strangest because it is so unexpected) is the energy I have had in the evenings. Not last night, but the night before, I found myself oddly alert and wakeful at ten pm - the time when I usually stagger to bed exhausted. It was such an alien feeling that I ignored it and went to bed anyway, feeling a little unsettled. I slept well, although not immediately.
Last night, when I felt wide awake again at my usual bedtime I took the hint, and stayed up for an extra couple of hours. It was the perfect opportunity to get started on the Christmas wrapping. Paul was surprised to say the least - he has resigned himself by now to saying goodnight to an exhausted me each night not long after the children go to bed. In fact, the only time I usually stay awake later than ten or half past is when I am agitated for some reason and can't switch off - but this was not like that at all.
I don't know how tonight will be - in fact I am quite tired already, but that is probably due to the fact that I got upset with the noisy houseful of children earlier, and because we have not yet eaten dinner. I really hope that these new evening energy levels will turn out not to be a fluke, but a result of the new diet - imagine how much more I could get done, with those extra hours! I had resigned myself to the fact that I was more tired than average because of my busy lifestyle and because that is just how I am - but am really excited by the possibilty that this change could be permanent. I really do feel a lot less nervous too, and whether that is due to the gluten-free diet or the counselling, or a combination, or even a placebo effect, I am happy with it.
As far as gluten goes, by the way, it is the wheat based foods that I have cut out. I seem to be fine with Ryvita. I have not tried oats, because the porridge we have in the cupboard is horrid, and I keep forgetting to buy more.
Must run, dinner is burning!
Louise x
There are many ways to skin a cat. Vitamin E gives me lots of physical energy and Vitamin B3 gives me lots of mental energy. I had a friend years ago who stopped taking vitamin E because she she claimed it made her stay up to midnight scrubbing floors. I thought, "and that's a problem?"
ReplyDeleteHi Rossa
ReplyDeleteI keep meaning to buy some vitamins...But yes, whatever works. I was hoovering at ten pm tonight - it is one less thing to do in the morning. Very unlike me though. I liked reading in your blog about Chris singing a solo in the Nine Lessons and Carols service the other day - my girls both sang in that, in our neck of the woods. Louise x