CE Toxicity

I love continuing education classes, because I love learning new things. But I have to say, they're hard on me.

I worked my days off this week so that I could afford to take the "time off" to take a class. And a class is not a vacation. For one thing, like many therapists, I'm somewhat of an empath, so getting trapped in a room all day with 15 other people's energy is draining for me. Then there's the drain of concentration, the anxiety of getting there and back (I detest driving in the U District), and finally the general toxicity of what is normally a really good thing (someone massaging me).

A few months ago, I was forced to begin a heavy metals detox to move my health forward, and I have to say, it's made me feel all-around low-grade crappy. Add three days of being worked on at least four hours a day, then having to rally and work on someone else . . . The first night, my glutes hurt so bad I told my boyfriend I probably had developed systemic butt cancer or something, and he might as well shoot me and put me out of my misery. And this is after shoulder and arm work only! Tonight my butt was fine, but after all that scalp work--which felt good at the time, mind you--my head and neck sure hurt. And I know that no matter what I try, probably only water and eight hours of sleep will help in the long run.

Each time I take another class, I try to prepare based on what I've learned in the past. I carry more good snacks now, snacks with fat and protein, and I carry a lot of water with me. I spend the lunch hour mainly drowsing or meditating, not trying to catch up on email or phone messages. And I try to have food waiting at the house so that I can have something good when I stumble in hungry and foggy.

Don't get me wrong: I have learned awesome things this weekend, and I'm grateful that I was able to learn them. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish for a magic detox-immediately-and-joyfully pill... especially for CE toxicity!