[health.random thoughts]

[wispfox]

There are health problems that, when I first learned that not everyone has them, I was completely unable to grasp the idea.

Like... I have headaches so often that I don't necessarily notice them unless they are _really_ bad. I mean, I've known people who say that they never get headaches unless they are sick. Only getting headaches when one is sick? That's _crazy_ talk! (I think I might get _fewer_ headaches now than I did growing up, actually) I think the headache thing is true of my entire immediate family (which, for those who don't know, is actually not as strange a statement as it might sound. I'm one of 6 kids).

I cannot grasp the idea of not having my brain chemistry get fucked up if I forget to eat. Or don't get enough sleep or breaks from what I'm working on.

All those people who keep working through meals and don't notice? Can't do it. Well, at least not if I actually want to be able to think. Ditto for staying up all night doing work. My brain refuses to do things which require thought for longer than a certain period of time, no matter what.


I do remember when insufficient light didn't affect me so strongly, but that was before I was responsible for myself. I think this is _why_ I started having the problem. I started having things I could worry about. It kicked in my senior year in high school, you see (also age 15, so it could have been puberty related). I _still_ remember being completely and utterly unable to do division, and being thoroughly freaked out by it.

Vision! I cannot even sorta remember not needing vision correction. I mean, I've had contacts (but I got lazy a few years ago and stopped wearing them), but that still requires regular maintenance. I've had glasses (or contacts) since I was 8-ish, I think. Seeing clearly without correction? I know people do it (lots of people!), but I can't grasp the idea.

I also can't really comprehend the idea of not having one's body giving gradually increasing 'Hey! I hate you!' signals if one is slouching. Or sitting still too long. I mean, I can certainly ignore them, especially if I'm concentrating really hard. But the idea of not having them at all doesn't compute. I probably didn't have them when I was a kid, but my memory of pre-high school is very poor. (my memory is, in general, fairly poor in certain ways. This is different)

*shakes head* No particular point here, as I'm sure that everyone has their own set of 'hey! This shouldn't have happened this early, statistically!' physical things. Still. Crazy to think about, I find.

Comments

[aussie-nyc.livejournal.com]

A co-worker here claims to get maybe 2 or 3 serious headaches a year. I get that many in a good week. Grrr.

[karenbynight.livejournal.com]

I had one of these kinds of moments just yesterday. Bry and I were watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and I exclaimed that's mean! when they apparently took the straight guy shopping for his new wardrobe just after putting him into contact lenses for the first time.

Bry, near-perfect vision that he has, had to have me explain to him that making changes in vision correction hardware tends to screw up your vision for hours if not days at a time, and so shopping for a new wardrobe is absolutely not something you'd want to do soon after.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Yes! This kind of thing! Always makes me pause and have to _think_ for a while, to try to figure out the disconnect.

The funny thing is that, usually, I am decent at being aware of ways in which I am likely to be different than other people. (My default assumption is that things I do/say/am are unusual, rather than that they are what is normal. Apparently this is a strange default mindset)

Re: body probs

[wolfieboy.livejournal.com]

For me, getting a headache means something is very wrong.

But I'm used to having various sorts of skeletal/structural aches. I don't slouch because of pain being such a good teacher. I also know that I have poor body proxemics/body sense. I frequently see things that might spill or be knocked on the floor and move them away from the edge of the table. I write everything down because if someone tells me something, there's an even chance of me remembering.

Then again, I can do some things that others can't and have difficulty understanding that not everybody does it that way. An example of the latter part is that I can't think of one.

Re: body probs

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

I have poor body proxemics/body sense. I frequently see things that might spill or be knocked on the floor and move them away from the edge of the table. I write everything down because if someone tells me something, there's an even chance of me remembering.

Ditto. But you knew that. :)

I can do some things that others can't and have difficulty understanding that not everybody does it that way.

Of course. I imagine this, also, is going to generally be the case. Still!

Re: body probs

[wolfieboy.livejournal.com]

I'm still wondering what some of these things might be for me. I've been watching for them and haven't seen any yet. This is of course different than things like being tall enough to reach for something and closer to being able to fold a comforter by myself without thinking about it.