Step one: eliminate foods

(Warning, boring post, you don't have to read if you donIt's known as an elimination diet, and the rules are quite simple really. Just take all foods out of your diet that are common allergens, or many people have negative reactions to. Then, after your body has had time to adjust to not having that food in your system, re-introduce one food type back in to your diet for one day, and see if you react negatively. At the end of 5 or 6 weeks, food allergen questions are answered :).

Step one? Throw away all the "illegal" food in my house. I have one empty pantry!

 My refrigerator didn't fare much better. Thankfully Saturday is shopping day :) (and before you start to worry, those containers on the bottom are pre-made meals, so I'm set for the next couple of days)

Discoveries

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to tell people. Not that it really matters all that much, but I figured if I told people then maybe they would understand me a little bit better. And really, I went to the trouble of finding out, more because I wanted people to understand me better. Heck, I wanted to understand me better. Then I realized, if the point is to tell people, how I do it doesn't really matter. So here it goes. Two weeks ago, I found out I have ADD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

It's nice to know why I can't seem to get my life in order. It's nice to know that I'm not just lazy or unmotivated. It's nice to know that a lot of the crap I went through growing up-getting yelled at because I wasn't paying attention, or constantly losing things, or simply not following a conversation-none of that is my fault.

The anxiety I feel around people is real. The anxiety attacks are real. None of the stuff I go through on a daily basis-the feeling of life being out of control, my frustration at not being able to keep things in order, constantly forgetting little details-none of that is my fault. It's honestly a relief to know that I'm not stupid, or immature, or that I simply don't care. Honestly, the anxiety is a result of caring too much, and not knowing how to fix the problem. And it's nice to know there is a solution. A few of them, actually.

I've talked with a few people, and so far I know that I can help the symptoms with a change in my diet, and by making sure I continue to exercise. I've already seen the anxiety reduced simply by going to the gym and running for a few minutes on the treadmill after work. (And the best part of that is that the gym I go to is only $10/month! talk about affordable! :D) I know if I want to, I can experience at least some relief through a process called neuro feedback (the degree is unknown since the process is expensive and not a lot of people go through with it). And of course, there's always the medication route, but I haven't heard anything good from people who take adderall, and have no real desire to try it. (After all, why would I want to stick poison in me if I have other options?)

I haven't done a lot of looking into alternative treatments (it's frustratingly difficult to find helpful information, and even more difficult to find someone who I can talk to in the area who can oversee any supplements I take), but as I figure this out, I'll keep y'all updated :)