Gut Brain Glow Up

In my latest 'progress update' post, I mentioned that I'm having a laparoscopy to finally (and fully) rule out physical factors; well that laparoscopy is now only days away!  To say I'm nervous about it is probably a little bit of an understatement, but it isn't necessarily the actual operation I'm nervous about, it is a mixture of things:  1) Having anaesthetic I guess for those who have had an operation, being worried about anaesthetic seems silly, but I've never had a full anaesthetic before and so have no idea what effect it will have on me. Although I've been reassured it's nothing to worry about and like the best sleep you'll ever have, the unknown is always anxiety inducing.  2) What they might find  Ideally they wont find anything and we can finally write everything off physically and put all efforts into my current treatment plan, but the possibility of something like endometriosis being present is certainly a worry. Despite all of my co...

I don't think I can count how many times I've heard the phrase 'exercise is good for you', and on the whole it's true! It's great for your physical and mental health, but you can go too far, and knowing where that limit is isn't always easy.  As I've mentioned before, prior to becoming unwell, I was the fittest and strongest I'd ever been doing a mixture of HIIT, boxercise, running, walking, with a bit of horse riding whenever I could get home. I wasn't necessarily doing this for a desired physique or in training for anything particular, I just enjoyed it and how it made me feel both mentally and physically; it was also my biggest coping mechanism for mental health. On top of that I enjoyed the fact that it enabled me to feel as though I could eat whatever I wanted without too much guilt! However, all this physical exercise along side a busy working life meant I was physically and mentally drained, and ignoring this fact to carry on. I've alw...