WE ARE EMBODIED CREATURES
We are all individuals. As such, we all respond to stress differently. I remember losing ten pounds in two weeks after discovering the damning evidence of my (then) spouse’s sexual union with another man. It was shocking to say the least. And I lost my appetite to put it mildly.
Self care is important as we deal with the shock of adultery or infidelity discovery. God gave us bodies (I Cor 6), and those bodies are intricately connected with our souls and spirits. When we are wound in our souls (remember, adultery is soul rape), it will impact our bodies.
My advice from my personal experience is to remember to eat and exercise. Sleep is important to get as well even if that is hard (as it was for me for months). For several months, I had to consciously remind myself to eat. Plus, for about a year, I chose to do some sort of cardiovascular workout along with my weight training program as this helped me battle depression (in my lay experience as a non-medical person, of course). I am convinced doing both helped tremendously in my recovery.
Today, I feel great. In fact, I finally achieved a weight room mark that alluded me these last five years until this past Tuesday. I brought 405 lbs down to my chest and pressed it up with my arms. In other words, I bench pressed 405 lbs (roughly 184 kilos). It felt good. (Mrs. DM will probably roll her eyes as she reads this, btw. Ha! Oh, well. Thanks for indulging me.)
Maybe weight training isn’t your thing. My wife does marathons. That is definitely not my thing. But I encourage you to find something that gets you out and active.
It helps.
Be kind to yourself and to your body. God gave these amazing things as a true grace. Use them wisely, and you may find God’s gift to you may be part of your salvation out of your dark valley.
405 pounds (183.705 Kilograms) on Bench Press
Roll my eyes…psshht!! 😛
I too lost weight in 2 months – 25 pounds – and had horrible insomnia. In the process I lost muscle mass which led to other problems…lots of knots, trigger points, back pain and had physical therapy, acupuncture, and deep tissue massage. I never appreciated before how the body holds mental stress. Part of my way back to sanity and health was to join a rescue dog-walking group – dogs being housed in a kennel until adoption. It is much more fun than the treadmill. I met a great group of people who love dogs and it has been a healing experience.
That’s great, kyoko!