The Circles You Choose

Ah, the famous vicious circle. It is defined as “a sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which two or more elements aggravate each other, leading to a worsening of the situation.” We have all heard of, watched, or have been stuck right in the middle of one. How about the teenager that has to keep telling new lies to cover the old ones? Does anyone have a friend who complains about how tired he is in the morning, consumes countless energy drinks during the day, and cannot sleep at night, just to be exhausted again in the morning? Who has “robbed Peter to pay Paul?” Have you ever had to cash advance from one credit card to pay the debt on another? Who has applied for a new job within your company, only to be turned down because you don’t have experience, yet you cannot get experience unless you are hired for that job? This next one might hit pretty close to home for many of you. For reasons you can’t explain, you are experiencing frustration, or a loss of motivation, which causes things not to get done, which creates anxiety, which causes depression, more frustration, and more lack of motivation.

There are several vicious circles when it comes to our health, but since May is Stroke Awareness Month, I would like to speak to this in the context of more stroke risk factors.  Even though there are many risk factors that can join this circle, we are going to focus on three: poor diet, lack of exercise, and obesity.

I promised I would discuss the WHY. Why are these risk factors for a stroke? Let’s break these three down:

Poor diet: Diets high in fats/cholesterol can cause fat to adhere to the inside of your blood vessels and narrow the opening, reducing blood flow. Plaques can also form, break off, and travel to the brain and block the flow of blood, causing a stroke. Diets high in carbohydrates can cause high sugar levels in the blood and contribute to a disease called Diabetes. This disease is another risk factor for stroke, and although we won’t discuss this here, this will NOT be ignored. Diabetes is an epidemic and will be discussed in detail in a future blog.

Lack of exercise: Physical inactivity leads to other health conditions that can cause stroke—ones that we have mentioned or already discussed—like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

Obesity: Simply put, this is excess body fat. It’s linked to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes—again, all risk factors that have been mentioned in some capacity.

I’m betting you can see the vicious circles forming and connecting in your brain…like the Olympic Rings!

You can really jump on this spinning circle anywhere, and it can viciously spin you out of control, in any direction. Poor diet choices that are high in fats and sugars can lead to obesity and make it extremely difficult to exercise, let alone drum up the desire to do so. High sugar diets = strong sugar cravings, making it difficult to make better choices in your diet. One with a sedentary lifestyle (lack of exercise) burns much fewer calories than that of a more active person, and even someone making good diet choices can overeat out of boredom, leading to obesity. And obese persons with a strong family history of obesity have often not been educated on healthy diet and exercise habits, allowing the cycle to continue for future generations.

I realize this all sounds pretty hopeless. My intention is not to drag you into the pit of despair. It is important to understand that one risk factor is connected and can drastically affect the next. Let’s not forget.  The opposite of the vicious circle is the circle of benevolence.  Lack of exercise might lead to high blood pressure, but physical activity actually LOWERS it, in turn, reducing your stroke risk. And an increase in exercise can help you lose weight, which just might motivate you to eat a little better. See where I am going with this?

You get to choose your circle. I hope you choose one that encourages you to…

Be well!