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September 25, 2015

The Shaky Leg: How to be Strong.

ClickFlashPhotos / Nicki Varkevisser/Flickr

Have you ever had your knees or legs give out on you in public?

Maybe you were walking down the grocery isle and tripped over your own leg, and then quickly played it off in case someone actually saw it.

I like to call this the “shaky leg.”

Our bodies go through so much on a daily basis that our structure has a tendency to collapse on us at times, but there are things we can do to prevent doing the “shaky leg” anywhere other than the local club.

A Proper Diet.

Healthy eating has proven to be a great way to maintain the youthfulness of our bodies, add years to our lives and allow us to feel and look good.

The struggle is getting through the first week. Our body is furious and does everything short of disowning us. As long as you have “Triple D’s” you will be well on your way to getting that body back in pristine condition.

(Determination, Dedication and Discipline are the building blocks to achieving any goal.)

Recharge the Batteries.

It would be safe to bet that 70 percent of Americans get less than eight hours of sleep a night. There just seem to never be enough hours in the day to get everything done. Lack of sleep will catch up with us and leave us cranky, tired, miserable and looking like the “walking death.” It will eventually start affecting everything in our life and will cause that “shaky leg” to come out at all the wrong times.

Exercise.

A lot of people see this word and get it mixed up with “excuse.” I broke a sweat just typing the word. If you are the one that considers exercise sitting up in bed to look for the remote, then you might want to switch to a better work-out video.

Technically you could call that a sit up, but our body needs just a little bit more. A light jog around the block before or after work. Maybe dust off the old jump rope or hula hoop. Well, maybe not the hula hoop, unless you want to give your neighbors a good laugh.

You get my point, something is better than nothing.  Your body will thank me later.

Now, I’ve talked about the physical things that can make us do the shaky leg, but what about the mental things?  Stress, depression, PTSD or anxiety just to name a few. These can be considered the hidden enemy.

Here is a glimpse of how we might feel if we are mentally weak:

My pulse is beating at a rapid pace. Moisture drips from my forehead like a heavy waterfall.

My throat is dry and slightly appeased from my own sweat. My stomach is double-knotted and throbbing.

My exposed skin is seared and sizzling with discomfort. I feel like I have not moved a muscle for hours.

My position is unknown and must remain so. This is my hell and I’m burning alive.

My legs are exhausted and cannot be felt. I am paralyzed on the outside. I cannot move, but can feel every ounce of pain.

My insides are very much alive and moving about. They toss and turn to let me know I am still alive.

When I am at my weakest moment and at the very bottom, this is how I feel.

This might be a pretty aggressive look inside someone mentally weak, but it’s very real. So real that I myself have felt exactly this way.

How does someone that is hanging onto the very last thread gain stability and get back to the top?

By believing in themselves, allowing others to help and opening up.

How do you expect someone to be able to help if you don’t tell them what’s wrong?

I often refer to our struggles as demons. A lot of us keep our demons locked up inside. They then eat and torture us alive, making us weak and vulnerable. The only way to feel alive again is to cut the shackles that hold them in, exposing them so others can help you fight.

I have spent the last 12 years watching veterans struggle with mental illness on many different levels. I never thought that I would suffer from such a horrific disease, but nobody plans it. It just happens.

Over the last year I have been actively involved with mental illness and veteran social media groups. I have personally spoken with hundreds of everyday people on these very topics. I have compiled a common list of struggles and how others are coping. I mixed this with my own experience and have obtained a large body of knowledge on how we can fight this battle.

This knowledge inspires me to write stories that others can relate to, and which can touch the hearts of everyday readers.

I hope that you were able to take something away from this article. At the very least you actually thought about busting that old bent hula hoop out of the attic!

Just don’t try it with the “shaky leg.”

~

Author: Tim Foster

Editor: Toby Israel

Photo: ClickFlashPhotos / Nicki Varkevisser/Flickr

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