Getting in the flow

[Pmarsh]

I went skiing a few days ago for the first time this year. I'm just coming off a cold, so I still felt a little achy and my chest has been bugging me, but I decided to head out regardless. It was an absolute blizzard on the mountain. Snow was blowing sideways in 60-90km/h winds. I loved it though! When I am skiing there is no way I can tell that I have an illness - it's completely stripped from my mind. I'm just skiing and having fun. Perhaps some of you feel this when you're doing something you love to do? Getting in the flow is definitely a good remedy. I have to admit I can tell that my health is not as it was the next day... but not too bad really. Looking forward to another day in the mountains tomorrow.

[pberggren1]

I love snow. I don't like walking on it or driving on though. I miss the farm of my youth when we builts snow forts and sled down the big hills.

[Al]

I went skiing a few days ago for the first time this year. I'm just coming off a cold, so I still felt a little achy and my chest has been bugging me, but I decided to head out regardless. It was an absolute blizzard on the mountain. Snow was blowing sideways in 60-90km/h winds. I loved it though! When I am skiing there is no way I can tell that I have an illness - it's completely stripped from my mind. I'm just skiing and having fun. Perhaps some of you feel this when you're doing something you love to do? Getting in the flow is definitely a good remedy. I have to admit I can tell that my health is not as it was the next day... but not too bad really. Looking forward to another day in the mountains tomorrow.

I agree--doing things you like is therapeutic, and should be considered part of the treatment protocol. However, there is such a thing as moderation (in all things, including abstinence!). If you like to play poker, great--but don't lose your shirt; then you are worse off, not better. And, if you like to ski, fine, but note that physical activities can take a lot out of you, which you may pay a good deal for, in the sense that you may overload an already tenuous immune system. So, do what you love, but take it easy!

Al

[Pmarsh]

I have started to wonder how much is too much. I know it will be different for everyone. Over the past year (since diagnosis) I have surely been guilty of pushing too hard and may have ended up causing flares or at least slowing my remission. Who knows. My doctors seem impressed that I'm staying active and are slow to tell me to take it easy. I think you just have to learn to listen to your body. For me, taking is easy is skiing for 2 hours instead of 8 hours. Or going for a 2-3 hour hike instead of 5-6 hours. I try to not push into the "red zone" as well. Even if being active, or overly active, has resulted in a slower recovery, I still don't regret it. Since being diagnosed in Nov. 2010 I have traveled around England, visited California wine country, learned to kite surf, skied in the arctic, and worked more that any other year. The only times I have had "flares" are when I have holidays or periods off work. Do what you can....

[Al]

I have started to wonder how much is too much. I know it will be different for everyone. Over the past year (since diagnosis) I have surely been guilty of pushing too hard and may have ended up causing flares or at least slowing my remission. Who knows. My doctors seem impressed that I'm staying active and are slow to tell me to take it easy. I think you just have to learn to listen to your body. For me, taking is easy is skiing for 2 hours instead of 8 hours. Or going for a 2-3 hour hike instead of 5-6 hours. I try to not push into the "red zone" as well. Even if being active, or overly active, has resulted in a slower recovery, I still don't regret it. Since being diagnosed in Nov. 2010 I have traveled around England, visited California wine country, learned to kite surf, skied in the arctic, and worked more that any other year. The only times I have had "flares" are when I have holidays or periods off work. Do what you can....

As we often say here, and you also note, every case is different. I prefer being active too. But, I am one of the few (I suppose) native northwesterners who doesn't ski. (I don't own a boat either!) So my forms of staying busy may not be quite as challenging to the body. I think the answer lies in balance. We need activity, including hard-core physical stuff, because we are human. We need moderation, because we are sick. Only you can tell you how much is too much. Thanks for sharing this report!

Al

[Sangye]

I think it's great that you can be so active, Peter. Enjoy yourself!