Crystallized Memories

Today has been a good day.  This morning, I cut myself some fun new bangs (thanks to Rach for teaching me to do it right) and then my judge said he really liked my hair, and that got things off to a great start! :)  I got up early enough to work out, I was productive at work, and then I had my first real class tonight.  We went around the room telling a little about ourselves, and the instructor wrote our occupations and hobbies and future career goals on the board... one girl is working as a waitress, so she wrote restaurant, only she spelled it "resteraunt."  Hmm, my proofreading mind was stuck on that for a while. lol  Anyway, the class was such a relief to me, as all of the homework and presentations, etc. is about 500 x more simple than I had imagined.  I looked over it through the past week and was beginning to stress a bit.  Not needed.  She said over and over, "Don't make it harder than it has to be."  Deal!

Anyway, we talked about the adrenaline cycle in class tonight...

When we experience a major life event, good or bad (the birth of a new baby, a car wreck, a death, etc.), our body responds with adrenaline (such a God thing).  It sends the blood flow to our brain and heart, sharpens our senses, and helps us to process it in slow motion.  In these big events, our mentality quickly shifts from our head to our heart. 

For the first week, we are all over the scale of emotional highs and lows. 
Three weeks afterward, we will be sick if we have not properly flushed out the toxins from the adrenaline.
Six weeks afterward, there is a natural downtime period of reflection, questioning, and processing doubts. 

How do we get rid of the toxins?  She said the best options are tears and sweat.  (Adrenaline is also a natural dehydrator because it thickens the blood, so drinking lots of water is really helpful.)  I find that so interesting.  Fighting to "stay strong" when we're in turmoil is only making us sick, so cry it out... and once again, there's something to be said for the benefits of working out! 

Within 24-48 hours of any major crisis, our mind will form what she called a "crystallized memory" of the event -- immovable no matter how we turn it, like a snow globe.  For a while, you will see the whole world as distorted 'through the snow globe' -- when you cannot stop picturing and reliving the crisis and you feel like you're going crazy.  (Been there!)  The point of all this was to emphasize that in the middle of feeling like a lunatic, you can take comfort in knowing that your reaction is actually very normal.  And eventually (the time differs based on the crisis and how you seek healing), you'll be able to 'set it aside' and see the world more clearly.  But these are deeply embedded memories that stick with you and shape you... how you react and how they shape you long-term is your call!