What Prompted You To Live Healthy?

[attempt4]

Each and every person has a story to tell.

Few things fascinate me more than to listen to other's experience of life, how they dealt with life's ups and downs and what shaped their character.

I would love to know what made you switch to a healthy lifestyle? Were you raised that way? Did you have no choice? Was it a conscious decision in light of whatever reason?

Amongst all this, I'd love to find out just how much of a difference it made and how much better you feel? What do you love about living healthily?

Just my own curiosity really!

For me, it was pretty much a matter of do or die. I was a really heavy drug user and drinker. From the age of 12 to 20, I packed in several lifetimes worth of partying/constant bingeing on all sorts and it finally took it's toll in the form of a couple massive grand mal seizures and ending up on life-support in ICU from stopping breathing. I had no choice but to give up everything.
The funny thing is, I was always healthy aside from these habits. I always went for walks, runs, weight training etc and ate fairly healthily, which I'm sure was the only thing that kept me alive!
But as soon as I had to give up all the bad habits, I just focussed intently on eating NOTHING but clean food, adhering to a strict weight training regimen, getting back into meditation and yoga amongst many other things and just try to get myself back in working order and I can happily say, I will never look back.
I do often miss those heady, carefree days of hedonistic pleasure, but at the end of the day I really, really can't get enough of trying to better myself in as many ways as possible, physically and mentally, y'know?

'Healthy living' (general term, I know) is absolutely the best high of all, no doubt about it! Still working on it but generally, you always have energy, are happy, anxiety-free so no need to rely on drugs for that and there's no comedown or nasty side-effects to eating well and living healthily!

 

[Mehm]

I went vegan at age 20 out of ethical concerns for the treatment of animals. At that time I was eating all of my meals at fast food on top of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. When I stopped eating animal products I didn't get much healthier because I just substituted with more processed food. About 1 year later I started looking into nutrition and cooking for myself. Since then (7 years later) I have played with many different diets and styles of eating. Now I'm mostly vegan and eat all whole foods except the occasional hearty bread/pasta and oil. Lately I've been incorporating much more dark leafy greens through juice and smoothies. I've also stopped using all drugs except caffeine and nicotine gum. Healthy living truly is the best high, and I can say that cause I've been really high on everything else for many years.

peace!

 

[Fyasko.]

i started soon as i began getting into amphetamines.
i mostly used BL for harm reduction tips and things to do to increase your high, but after a few months of abusing MDMA and Adderall i felt EXTREMELY depressed. so i checked into HL and read about all of these interesting new ways to improve my health. since starting to eat healthier, im feeling much better

im actually thinking about becoming a dietician because im so amazed at how much a healthy diet can do for a person

 

[euphoria]

Nice thread, friend :D I like hearing people's stories as well. It's cool to see where people came from and why they do the things they do.


I started to live 'healthy' around age 22 when I had my first legit panic attack.

To give a bit of backstory, my adolescent/early teen years were consumed by several different manifestations of anxiety and depression... I pretty much went through it in phases, anorexia and bulimia for a good portion of that time, self injury, and severe depression were the major issues. As a result my health was always in a pretty shitty condition, from starving myself to hurting myself, doing drugs, and having reckless sex. I consider all aspects of my life to have been extremely out of control, and I absolutely did not care what happened to me or what effects it was having on my body or mind. It was pretty much constant self-abuse. From a mixture of prescribed anxiety/depression meds and self medicating with various other substances I became seriously reckless and got into a lot of trouble at school, with parents, and police.

Fast forward through a few more years of college, constant partying and experimenting with as many substances as I could find.... and then one day I was smoking some hash oil and BAM all of a sudden my entire world changed. My heart was beating out of my chest and I was convinced I was having a heart attack. My vision was blurry, I couldn't think straight. I freaked out for a good long while until the adrenaline had worn off. I didn't know it at the time but that was the beginning to a long battle with panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. From then on, every time I tried to use stimulants or marijuana, I would have an intense panic attack. Every time I tried to use any mind altering substance I would get acid flashbacks and see the telltale swirling patterns all over everything in my sight. My body was pretty much like "dude, GET SOBER and GET HEALTHY" So I did for a long while. then I gradually started using recreational substances again on occasion. But overall my mentality was to treat my body with respect. Sleep well. Eat well. Exercise every day. Surround myself with people who I can trust and make me feel good.

I'm far from my goal today but I feel like I'm in a completely different world than I used to be. I feel like I understand the word 'balance' now. You don't have to be 100% sober and perfect 24/7 to be 'healthy'. Healthy is not black and white. Healthy is a state of mind and body being in sync with one another. And I agree that feeling healthy and fit is a very satisfying high in itself.

 

[zombiesarepeaceful]

delete

 

[euphoria]

Yeah, dude, the mind is a powerful thing. It's more powerful than any drug or the rest of your body in my opinion. It's crazy how much anxiety can affect your physical health. And I feel you on it coming and going in phases. At least there's the consolation that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel and it won't last forever. Take care of yourself

 

[Renz Envy]

I grew tired of seeing my body as a lump. Spontaneously went on a run one night. I pushed myself to my absolute limit.

That run 3 years ago was the greatest decision of my life.

 

[xxsicknessxx]

Im only on my way to being healthy but what got me going was nearly dying. Being young 28 and being in the hospital all the time... seeing my blood tests results as showing I was dying my liver was failing.. I dunno I just got tired of being so sick and weak and just nothing. I got my shit together 5 months sober I feel so much better... better then I did on drugs at least.

 

[twentysix]

sickness. the way i look at it i don't really have a choice.

food allergies have wreaked havoc on my health throughout life, and now i can't eat many many many foods.

but however i try, so far i can't consider it healthy... but i've made in some areas progress. i also rarely get viral or bacterial sick. that's what i get in exchange for my system being an idiot and seeing healthy food as dangerous. something i consider kind of neat.

 

[euphoria]

It's crazy how many of us have responded saying that the reason we got healthy was a near death experience or extreme illness... I guess it goes to show how you have to have a 'wake-up call' to change your attitude about life. I know that some of the major changes I've made in my life happened really suddenly like that. There was a definite point of realization where I can look back and remember everything changed from then on.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Long story short I was like Firefighter and after years of drug and alcohol abuse, self medicating depression/panic/anxiety and other issues, and abusing alcohol daily in large amounts (was not an alcoholic but would have easily became one if I'd continued to drink like this) and having some of the worst hangovers ever where I thought I had alcohol poisoning.