Sunday, October 23, 2011

Toxicity...who are YOU allergic too?








So I am detoxing again, but this time it is a little different than usual. No, I am not posting insanely grotesque pictures of my poo. So if that's what you are looking for you can stop reading now.
Usually two to three times a year I do a detox. It is so cleansing and invigorating. Most of you are familiar with all the detox fads. My favorite is the lemonade one. No food. Its a real cleanse. (**this is not a promotion for you to do this yourself - just my experience). I always detox with a spiritual fast as well and I come out of the other side of my detox renewed. My skin is impeccable. I am more at peace. I am overall happier. My body usually tells me when it is too toxic and it's time for a detox.





Some of the warning signs of toxicity are:





  • headaches


  • fatigue


  • weight gain


  • aching muscles and joints


  • poor concentration/memory


  • digestive complaints









Even for those who do not partake in such detox adventures they can usually sense in their bodies when it is time to shut it down. Too much junk food. Too much alcohol. Too much caffeine. Basically just too much of anything can cause a flare up. One area of toxicity no one wants to admit is the toxicity of people. Yes I said it. Interestingly enough some things/people have more toxicity than others.







toxicity


1. The degree to which a substance is toxic

Other definitions are: the degree in which something is poisonous or grave harmfulness or deadliness.






PEOPLE CAN BE TOXIC!!





How do you know if a person its toxic you may ask? Well, check the warning signs above. I think they apply here too. Like food I think we can label people. Too much of anything can kill you; whether it be chugging alcohol or chugging water. The goal is to know the toxic level of all things in your life. In order to do that you must be in tune with yourself. Not just going through the motions like most people do. We never want to admit when things are toxic especially people. But EVERYTHING has its toxicity level. For instance a person may only become toxic to us under certain circumstances.





Like bleach using a few drops to clean the bacteria out of the sink has a much lower toxicity than boiling it on the stove or drinking a full glass. There are some people you must relegate to taking in small doses. You may find they are "gravely harmful" in a much larger doses. There are those you may only be able to take in single drops while others you can drink like a tall glass of water. Identifying these levels may take some time or trial and error. You may have to completely remove the person only to add them back into the mix in small doses to test out their toxicity. Allergist do it all the time. They put you on a strict diet only to add certain foods back in one at a time. Doing this lets you know what you are and are not allergic too. People I know who have eczema do it. They know that having an occasional piece of cake may give them a little itch, but eating a slue of desserts over an entire weekend will cause a major flare up.





What must also be taken in to consideration is the combination of certain people. For instance it may be toxic to get your best friend and your sister in the same room for a long period of time. In that situation you know having a light tea with the both of them would be better than all day at the spa. That could possibly be "deadly".





I think discovery toxicity levels is much more valuable than throwing the baby out with the bath water. Which some of us may still have to do at times in our lives. Like throwing over heavy cargo when the ship is sinking. Not that I am totally equating people to heavy cargo. Just some people may weigh you down so much you will sink with them. But I find that to only be a tactic done in extreme circumstances.





When doing your toxicity inventory it is important do take responsibility and also inventory your own actions that have toxicity. This may be the most difficult labeling of all. No one really ever likes to look in the mirror, but this area can't be ignored.





DETOXING IS NEVER EASY. There are also symptoms that come along with detoxing. Headaches, nausea, acne, bad breathe, fatigue, etc. Very similar to the signs of knowing you must detox. When you are detoxing from people or bad habits you will most likely have similar symptoms: anger, digestive challenges, mood swings, depression - the list goes on. Though the difference with these symptoms is that they are short lived. However, you will get through them if you stay focused. And when you do the results are priceless.





Needless to say I am detoxing again, but this time it is more of an inventory of the toxicity of things/people in my life.