Gary Brecka discusses optimal body function often (listen to his podcast, The Ultimate Human).  He recently stated he thought 60% to 70% of people are walking around at about 50% of what their true norm should be.  What they feel on a daily basis is what they consider normal or even their best.  Most people don’t know what being optimal feels like.  Brecka further discusses that there are so many simple panels we can run to find and address the minor things that might be missing that keep us from our optimal level.  Once we find those missing pieces and start supplementing with something simple, we often say we feel amazing. In reality, on a chemical level, we are just at baseline—it’s not amazing, we feel normal.  Rather, we feel how we should feel when our bodies are functioning properly.  We live in deficiency for so long that we have accepted sub-performance as normal. This is key in following up on the idea that physical changes aren’t always a cognitive process.   

Now, I want to caveat that everyone’s baseline is a bit different.  We aren’t all meant to be at the exact same level all the time—there are sex, age, monthly, circadian, dietary requirements that will vary for each of us.  The point is that the levels that are explained as normal by our current medical field are often below what they should be.  Also, many of the tests that we need to determine the accurate levels in our system aren’t offered in regular lab panels so what we actually need to look at isn’t tested.  Current medical practice looks at averages and norms across people based on the most common illnesses and they create ranges based on the most typical levels seen in people with these conditions.  The tests don’t take into account the necessary individuality of people’s chemical composition.  For example, I know my TSH falls within accepted ranges but I still show symptoms with my thyroid.  That happens more often than not with a wide variety of illnesses.  The same deficiency or disease can look different in people.  We have to learn to recognize how we feel, what is normal for us, and most importantly, we need to be our own advocates.

I want to wrap this up by saying that the work of feeling better is layered and complex.  Social, interpersonal, spiritual, physical, emotional, environmental, financial, and personal responsibility all impact how we feel—and so much more.  If we choose to undertake any type of journey to improving how we feel and the results we get in life, we need to understand that there will never be one answer.  I strongly feel, however, that most of these things stem from one place: the feeling that something is off or that there is something more out there.  To feel better, we must be prepared to dive into all of these facets of our lives and do the work when we find something that doesn’t align.  These discussions on physical function the last few days are all reminders that feelings and thoughts manifest in the body.  We need to tap into our physical senses more, give up distraction, and do the work.  Most importantly, we need to learn to trust ourselves enough to follow our instincts and our feelings.  We need to trust the guidance we receive from our body and from our intuition.  The better we get at that, the better we feel.  It isn’t about being the best according to someone else or what comes back on paper—it’s about feeling and functioning the best we possibly can.