Descending into Madness the Healthy Way

Hi All,

After further investigation, it turns out 'The Descent' was supposed to be about one woman's decent into madness. Possibly. Or a third sequel to 'Blair Witch.' Or a nice homage to the 'Alien' films. Or, a study in 'What the dark looks like.' ha

Seriously, imdb folks are saying this was really about this woman who went into a cave with her friends and went mad, and killed them all. Or the cave was a metaphor for her madness, and she killed them all in a fit of insanity. What? I didn't get that, or see that. She didn't even act 'crazy' until the very end, in a 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'-type moment. I love metaphors, and I love madness, but people 'might' be reaching in their assessment. It was just a decent horror movie, people! It was NOT 'the scariest thing ever' or 'the best horror movie ever.' It was 'the smallest cave ever,' and 'the creature most likely to be sued by Gollum,' though, for sure.

Anyway, I was amused at people's inventiveness. If that was the intent, then the director was a fool for not making that clear! Because he gave us no reason to think such things. Not enough development of the woman as 'insane.' She seemed just fine and normal to me. Traumatized by the deaths of her husband and child, but not mental. All he showed us were these women in a cave, trapped, fighting off creatures. Sounds like some overzealous English Lit majors or Psych majors decided to over-analyze. Or someone forgot to develop that plot.

In other news, I've been reading an excellent book called Flip The Switch by Robert K. Cooper, PhD. It's all about fueling your metabolism so that you burn fat all day long and are healthier. I recommend checking it out, if you're into such things.

Some basic tips (with my own non-serious commentary):
1) Wake up on the right side of the bed. Or, if you're me, just try to crawl to the bathroom, since you hate being woken at all.
2) Create activity momentum. Try not to grumble too loud on the treadmill first thing in the morning. Cause, you know, it wakes the cat.
3) Catch light to boost energy. That's true. I open my door, look out at the sun, and yell 'Geronimo!' every morning. Sure, neighbors stare, but the heck with them!
4) Take in more oxygen. Deep breaths, people. Deep breaths. I like to do the Darth Vader breaths, personally. Just for fun.
5) Seek ideal fluid intake. Well, with 9 glasses of water a day, I should be okay on this one. Yes, I sometimes feel like I need a raft.
6) Rise up and stand tall. No slouching! You lazy bones.
7) Turn down the heat, turn up your energy. I'm always cold, so I should be okay here too. But I know people wonder why I wear flannel in July. I have no choice!
8) Improve hormone balance, hour after hour. I haven't gotten to this section yet, but when I do, I'll share the knowledge. Women everywhere will rejoice.
9) Stay calm in an uptight world. Hmm! The truest thing on this list. But hard to do sometimes, as the world is full of uptight people. And jerks. Don't forget the jerks.
10) Stop the stress response. This is the hardest one for me. I eat when I'm stressed, and it ain't health food. I also obsess. I also do compulsive things. Basically, I've learned to avoid stress because I do not handle it well. A punching bag might alleviate some of the pressure.

Those are just some of the things. There's also a list of what not to do.
It's all very informative and worthwhile.

I can simplify it all though in a few sentences:

Eat only fruits, veggies, and light meat (not red)
Drink all the water you can
Move as much as you can, all the time
Get proper sleep
Find outlets for stress

But can we avoid the madness that apparently overcame our hapless character in that movie? Well, not really, is my theory. haha Oh, wait. That's just ME that can't avoid it! Others, they should probably thank the Fates that they don't have the filing system in their heads that I have. Cause it's all out of order. haha

So there you go. Hope you enjoyed the Health Lesson.
Ms. Mitchell will retire again.

Have a great day!