When rules don't apply

I often experience life very logisically--as a problem solver who has to help the team get through sticky scenarios during wartime--planning is my forte, and sometimes the control of planning gets wrested from my grasp, which I find utterly frustrating.

A few weeks ago, I started feeling terrible. I had a cold I couldn't kick, and my muscles and ligaments were in the worst possible spasm around my neck and shoulders. Nothing I did brought any relief, and I tried everything short of medications: chiropractic, regular isometric exercises and rehab, green tea & ginger, and so many supplements it was ridiculous. I was starting to get frustrated with chiropractic and everything I had ever learned about nutrition. Up until a few weeks ago, I knew exactly what to do naturally to get out of back pain, to improve my posture, and to impede a cold before it ever began. But, I kept diligent with the routine of exercise, rehab, & nutrition because tons of research just CAN'T be wrong.

Could my stress levels be so high that I was falling under the weather to a point that I couldn't kick the cold, fatigue, and muscle pain? Sure, this is the most stressful quarter to date; nothing in the program comes close to rivaling the hoops we have to jump through and the schedule we have to balance, but at the same time, there is absolutely NOTHING I've been through at this school that comes close to the stress levels of going to war. I hold wartime as the ultimate measure for anything else I've faced, and by the way, it wasn't real war. As Steve describes it, it was the bully picking on the geeky kid who can't defend himself.

So, as it turns out, sometimes the generally held truths of literature & research don't apply to every person in every situation. There is a reason I've been struggling with fatigue for 3 weeks, a cold for over 2 weeks, and why my cervical adjustments won't hold. It affects everything I do from the way I relate to people, to my ability to concentrate in class and on exams. Now, I know how the majority of inflamed Americans must feel on a daily basis. But constant exhaustion, lack of motivation, and loss of focus and energy aren't feelings I'm accustomed to. At least now, I can relate to my future outpatients.