Pyloruria and Oxygen, Hormonal Problems, and Estrogen Intolerance

All of the following are from RHR: Could Copper-Zinc Imbalance Be Making You Sick?.  I highlighted all the parts that are relevant or interesting to me.

"So, pyroluria is a genetically determined chemical imbalance that involves a defect in hemoglobin synthesis, and hemoglobin is the protein, as I’m sure some of you know, that holds iron in the red blood cell and is responsible for delivering oxygen to the tissues.  So, every cell and tissue in the body needs oxygen and glucose to function properly, and if you’re not getting oxygen to the tissues, as is the case with anemia, nothing is gonna work right.  None of your cells are going to work right.  It’s one of the first things that I look at when I do a case review and I run a comprehensive blood panel on my patients is oxygen deliverability and blood sugar regulation because those two are what I call deal-breaker issues, meaning if they’re are out of whack, nothing else that we do is gonna be very effective until we get those two systems working properly . . ."

"You know, they go to the doctor and they might be experiencing poor stress control, nervousness, anxiety, mood swings, just a lot of psychological symptoms like feeling really tense, or episodic anger is one of the kind of classic signs, like explosive temper, poor short-term memory, and depression because they can’t create serotonin well."

"They have some of the functions of a neurotransmitter, so an imbalance in copper and zinc will lead to things like hyperactivity, ADHD, other kinds of behavioral disorders, and depression; and in fact, a lot of people who are labeled with autism and even paranoid schizophrenia, when they test their copper levels, they find out that they’re elevated.  Then high copper can cause severe PMS.  That’s another red flag for me where I’ll consider it.  It can cause estrogen intolerance, and it can cause skin issues, so people with excess copper have a high incidence of acne or eczema, psoriasis, just sensitive skin in general, sunburn, people who are really apt to get sunburned even if they’re only out for a short period of time, headaches, poor immune function.  Another characteristic sign is white spots under the fingernails . . ." 

". . . B1, B3, B6, folate, inositol, and choline, and those are all antagonistic to copper, and then there are some minerals that are antagonistic to copper, like zinc, of course, which we’ve been talking about, manganese, iron, sulfur, and molybdenum.  You want to be careful with the iron, though, of course, because if you are iron-loaded, you have too much iron, and you take iron to reduce copper, that may help solve one problem and cause another, or exacerbate another.  And then there are some studies I’ve seen that suggest that copper might be excreted by binding with glutathione, so yet another reason to maintain healthy glutathione levels; and glutathione levels are often depleted in cases of chronic illness and stress, so that’s another thing to pay attention to.  Then you want to improve the detox function of the liver and the skin.  You can do things like sweats and saunas.  And then, of course, you want to do a diet that is based on animal proteins and lower in the plant proteins that tend to be rich in copper, like the nuts and beans and seeds and grains, like I mentioned earlier. "

(All quotes above are from RHR: Could Copper-Zinc Imbalance Be Making You Sick?)

Clear-Headed! (Headaches and Pressure and Angry Outbursts)

I woke up in the morning not exactly feeling clear-headed.  To be more descriptive, I had a lot of pressure in my head, a headache, and I just felt like I couldn't think clearly or calmly, so I was prone to angry outbursts, but I couldn't express myself.  (I had also felt cold, like my blood wasn't flowing, and I felt pains and aches throughout my body).

I didn't eat a lot the whole day.  (I ate close to nothing today).

At some point, I felt way better.  I drank a couple teaspoons of ascorbic acid, took some magnesium, then took a shower.  The shower was really what did it for me.  I felt way calmer after the shower.  I ended up sleeping, and my mind felt placid.  I had to open the windows and turn on the fan as well to get some fresh air, otherwise, my headache would start kicking in.

I still wasn't in the greatest mood.  Later in the day that seemed to go away.  I went for a long walk (about 1 hour).  When I got back, the fuzziness was gone from my head, and I wasn't thinking about anything.  I had eaten half a chocolate bar, so I don't know if that had anything to do with anything.  I also finally had a bowel movement (though I felt it had been coming since I went on the walk).  I had had some vitamin C and magnesium before the walk.

When Everyone's a Vampires or a Toxic Person

The problem with meeting people and not being able to read them is that you can't talk about your life, at least not the personal things or the details.  You can't because, if they turn out to be vampires, they will use everything they know about you against you.  They will try to insult you and blame you using that information.  They will spread rumors about you.

They will try to put you down, trivialize you and your life, or just plain ignore you.  The less they know about you, the less they can pull.  And, the more you feel a need to hide yourself.

Unfortunately, there's a huge chance that anyone you meet is a vampire.

Everyone knows how to act nice when they first meet people. Vampires seem friendlier than others.  They quickly slip into your life.  They'll seem really social, yet they don't have a lot of friends.

Almost any new friend ends up on the vampire watch-list.

The minute someone lies or starts talking shit about people, they're on the watch-list.
The minute something indicates that they're out of touch with reality, have too strong a sense of arrogance, or have an unrealistic sense of confidence, they're on the watch-list.
The minute they have an excessive sense of self-pity and talks a little too much about how everyone's wronged them, they're on the watch-list.
The minute they start denying the obvious, they're on the watch-list.
Anyone who bases their sense of self or of others on status or superficial things without any respect for a person's character or individuality, they're on the watch-list.
Anyone who snaps easily or is quick to blame others or quick to get defensive is obviously on the watch-list.

That puts a lot of people on the watch-list.  It puts maybe about half of all people (rough estimate) on the watch-list.

Vampires can't even pretend not to be vampires because they need to act a certain way to get any satisfaction.  They can't fight themselves.  They can be nice to be around when they first meet you (and this can last for months), but at some point their true selves will come out.

Burnout and Social Isolation

I found this article at usnews.com about job burnout called 4 Ways to Burn Out, Effort-Free.  I really think it applies to life in general, not just workplace burnout.  I find that I quit caring about things when there's no one around, and that demotivates me from wanting to do anything at all.  From the article:

The more time you can spend in mind-numbing isolation, poking at your keyboard and reading through your spam folder, the better to reach a state of burnout. 

 Later in the article, it explains why isolation leads to burnout:

A sense of being isolated comes when solitary workers are not getting necessary support from supervisors and peers, says Jay Mulki . . . "That leads to stress in the sense that a person feels that he's not visible, nobody cares about him, his achievements are not known, nobody cares about whether he has done his work or not," Mulki says.

 Here's another good article on burnout and isolation: Watch Out For Burnout - If You Are a Solo Practitioner, It Can Begin With a Sense of Isolation.

It's kind of frustrating to read about this because I always end up some sort of difficulty in social situations one way or another. 

Food for Low Thyroid Function

According to this Physiology of Hormones article at oxygenmiracles.com:

Dietary recommendations to support thyroid function include getting adequate protein ie organic beef, poultry, eggs, fish, cultured milk products such as kefir and yogurt. Thyroid healing foods include these high in the B vitamins such as wheat germ, whole grains, nuts, seeds, dark greens, legumes and Brewer's yeast. Other foods include seaweeds, wheat germ oil or natural Vitamin E,

 The advice to eat more protein for the thyroid is almost universal.  Vitamin E shows up a lot as something that's useful.  I also read today that Vitamin E helps some types of anemia.  I have anemia, so I have to make a note of that.  Seaweed is often suggested for it's iodine and it's minerals.

Recovering from Lifelong Burnout - Making a Life out of Nothing

When you’re burned out, problems seem insurmountable, everything looks bleak, and it’s difficult to muster up the energy to care—let alone do something about your situation. Source: Preventing Burnout (Helpguide.org)

 Thanks, helpguide.org for nicely summing up my entire life in one sentence!  According to helpguide.org, you're on the road to burnout if:

• Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
• The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.
• You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.

 Holy shit.  I've spent almost my entire life, minus a few days, on that road.

Helpguide on job burnout:

In many cases, burnout stems from your job. But anyone who feels overworked and undervalued is at risk for burnout – from the hardworking office worker who hasn’t had a vacation or a raise in two years to the frazzled stay-at-home mom struggling with the heavy responsibility of taking care of three kids, the housework, and her aging father.

So, here's the thing.  I got diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, and the guy who diagnosed made a note of my conscientiousness.  CFS is apparently associated with high levels of conscientiousness.  I know I'm like that, and that makes it so that everything wears me out.  I'm detail-oriented and that makes it so that it can take me two or three times as long to do something as it does someone else.  My brain doesn't just glide over things smoothly.

On another note, I'm looking for a job right now.  I've tried a few things on a trial basis, but I notice that all the companies I work for pretty much run on employee under-appreciation.  I think the reason everyone survives is because they have each other to talk to about it and they're able to keep standing tall against it and hold their own sense of value.

Help.org also lists the work, lifestyle, and personality-related causes of burnout.  I thought personality was a huge one for me, but looking at that list, it seems like work and lifestyle are way bigger ones.

Work-related causes of burnout

• Feeling like you have little or no control over your work
• Lack of recognition or rewards for good work
• Unclear or overly demanding job expectations
• Doing work that’s monotonous or unchallenging
• Working in a chaotic or high-pressure environment

Lifestyle causes of burnout

• Working too much, without enough time for relaxing and socializing
• Being expected to be too many things to too many people
• Taking on too many responsibilities, without enough help from others
• Not getting enough sleep
• Lack of close, supportive relationships

 Fuck.  I'm feeling screwed.  (I'm always feeling screwed, though.)  I feel screwed because I know some of the biggest things that wear me out in my life (taking the bus, dragging food around, spending too much time alone), and I'm not sure I have much of the resources to cope with those.  I might be able to fix the being alone part.  I can at least try to be optimistic about that.

Helpguide says that adjusting my attitude or watching my health isn't going to help if I'm already at the end stage of burnout.  They say I just need to slow down and take a break.  Oh fuck, then who's going to cook for me, wash my dishes, get my food, fill out my job applications, and find me some friends?  Ha, notice that most of my activities revolve around food?  It's the one thing I have to do to keep myself.  What am I keeping myself alive for?  Who knows, because every random stranger says I should stay alive.

I have been trying to take a break for the past few years, in reality, but it seems I always find something to stress out about even when I do.

Oh god, do I know this:

When you’re burned out, the natural tendency is to protect what little energy you have left by isolating yourself. But your friends and family are more important than ever during difficult times.

Fuck this, nothing is important to me:

Burnout is an undeniable sign that something important in your life is not working. Take time to think about your hopes, goals, and dreams. Are you neglecting something that is truly important to you?

Burnout brings with it many losses, which can often go unrecognized. Unrecognized losses trap a lot of your energy. It takes a tremendous amount of emotional control to keep yourself from feeling the pain of these losses. When you recognize these losses and allow yourself to grieve them, you release that trapped energy and open yourself to healing.

• Loss of the idealism or dream with which you entered your career
• Loss of the role or identity that originally came with your job
• Loss of physical and emotional energy
• Loss of friends, fun, and sense of community
• Loss of esteem, self-worth, and sense of control and mastery
• Loss of joy, meaning and purpose that make work – and life – worthwhile

Source: Keeping the Fire by Ruth Luban