I like to think of myself as a healthy person. I exercise regularly, drink infrequently, and prepare plant-based, whole foods-derived meals every day. I also, however, suffer from IBS, and accordingly am no stranger to things like bloating, stomach pains, and infrequent bowel movements. Through trial and error and a great deal of self reflection, I have come to learn which foods trigger these reactions – gluten, dairy, fried foods, sugar – and generally manage the condition quite well. But it is also triggered by stress and lack of sleep (two obviously correlative problems), and thus far in my life I have neglected to address stress management as part of my health regimen.
Or rather, up until a couple of months ago, I had. It feels strange to look back now and try to understand my reticence in attempting different stress management techniques (other than exercise, which of course is one of the best). I think what it boils down to is something I like to call ‘selective laziness.’ I would not call myself a lazy person by any means, but trying something new and difficult, with no guarantee of success, just, well… seemed like a lot of work.
