Old Man

One of the signs of old age is paranoia. As people get older, they get more suspicious and think people are out to get them. The mother of a friend of ours believes people are coming into her house at night and stealing thousands and thousands of dollars from her, never mind that she doesn't keep thousands and thousands of dollars in the house.

The Man, I'm afraid, is also headed that way. Lately, he's been accusing people of doing things intentionally to bother him (such as how they drive), and he thinks people are trying to rip us off in almost every exchange we have when purchasing a service.

I am most distraught about this. In my mind, The Man is that energetic, optimistic, passionate, easy-going, confident, and generous 25-year-old young man I fell in love with. What is he now? On good days, a white-haired, beer-bellied, affectionate Old Man. On bad days, a disgruntled, smelly Old Goat, too rigid in his ways and too-easily irritated.

Me, I've put on weight too and I have lost the ability to concentrate. I have multiple ailments, minor as they are, except for the cough, which has improved much lately. It's my experience with this cough that has opened my eyes to homeopathy.

I tried many remedies for my cough. Maybe they all worked, maybe none of them did and I got better over time. One thing I do know is that when I drink ginger tea (I cut up three inches of ginger and simmer in 8 cups of boiling water for 20 minutes), I don't cough as much. When I didn't drink the brew for a few days while staying with the kids, my cough got worse. Once home, I started the brew again and last night, I didn't cough once.

While seeking treatment for my cough, I stumbled upon a book called Eating Alive by John Matsen. It sure makes sense what he says, that our body prefers to be in a state of homeostasis, a balanced state where it knows how to heal itself of illnesses. We interfere with this balance when we insist on eating bad foods.

The book explains how our digestive system works, the roles that our various organs play to help with digestion, and what bad foods to avoid. Are we surprised at all when he says don't eat food that's been over processed, eat slowly and chew your food well?

Most of all, the book suggests that if you treat your body right and maintain good digestion, you can reverse a lot of the diseases that modern medicine can't fight, such as cancer, depression, mood swings, arthritis and premature aging. It's true that the Old Man wolfs down his food and eats way too much bread.

I am going to try to get The Man back and get me better with a homeopathic approach. I don't like the sickly me I've become, nor the Old Goat I'm living with.