This is a follow-up to my “Fear of Concrete” a few postings ago.
I quit exercising over Christmas and now I’m at the point where I pretty much can’t walk at all except for in the comfort of my own home. O.K., so I may be exaggerating that a little, but things have gotten worse, to the point where I’m even having trouble walking around my office at work. I need to fix this because I’m at the point where I can not keep relying on others for assistance and am going to have to use a walker, which I do not want to do. I have started excising again, As a family we have also started taking walks around the neighborhood so I can practice walking on the concrete sidewalk and street.
I have also identified some other aspects, besides physical and mental, that may be contributing to my balance problem:
- Caffeine: I’ve noticed that coffee gives my muscles anxiety because on the few days I haven’t had any I walk just fine. Without it my muscles and my mind are too relaxed and tired to tense up.
- Eye sight: I need glasses to wear all the time. I believe my depth perception may be off too.
- Weight: I think I need to gain some weight. I ended up below my pre-pregnancy weight after having Kiana and maybe I haven’t fully adjusted to that. I had great balance while I was pregnant (surprisingly). I think the extra weight grounded me.
- Physical: exercise, exercise, exercise! I need to stretch because my muscles are very tight. I need to work on my leg strength. And I need to strengthen my stomach muscles. I never got my stomach back into shape after having Kiana and I think by doing so would help my core balance,and help keep my back straight.
- Mental: I need to find a distraction from my anxiety. I need to “get out of my head”. I freeze when people are around and I need to stop worrying about people.
Gaining confidence and strength again to walk is one of my goals for 2012.
