in: anabolic, out: catabolic

I always thought energy was energy. From how we wake up and how refreshed we feel, to how we use caffeine as a boost; from using food as fuel for output, to noticing how the right amount of energy and busy can get us in a groove.

In recent months, I’ve been in this state of limbo, or crossroads in many different avenues of my life. I can usually take winding roads and step up to the challenges that come with those, but I’ve been feeling so fully drained. That’s when I learned about different types of energy, and, in particular, the energy of stress, worry, and fear - also known as catabolic energy.

I’ve heard of being in a catabolic state but its energy was a new concept to me. Though it makes perfect sense - when you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed or in a funk, you’re expending energy without moving forward or making change, which is EXTREMELY draining physically and mentally.

So it made me go down the rabbit hole of finding its counterpart. The energy that you feel when you’re in your element, even when there’s a lot going on. Anabolic energy is what I found - this is the energy that fuels creativity, joy and passion. It’s the energy (and the state) that is about growth, building and creating. I’ve definitely felt that recently with the coaching program I want to launch and getting back into healing practices I had on pause for years - that deep fulfillment, that excitement, the feeling of being in your flow.

So far, my “research” was - great - no catabolic, all anabolic. Which would be nice if life worked that way, but alas, it doesn’t. What I then discovered is that there’s a whole way that the two work together fluidly - for example, how too much catabolic puts us in a victim state - loaded with self-doubt and a feeling of powerlessness, but that even with just a small infusion of anabolic in the mix, we can start to take action and find a way forward. Then with even more anabolic energy present, we start to find acceptance and compassion towards ourselves, our situations, and others, eventually leading to inspiration - where we have a deep sense of joy and gratitude in what we do, and can still be human and have our moments of negative thinking or funks.

This gave me a HUGE understanding to “why” the same variables (diet, time of month, sleep) sometimes yields a different state and energy, and with that I’m giving myself lots of grace. I’ve been looking at how to infuse into my day, the things that allow me to experience anabolic energy (a moment to breathe, walking and enjoying the sun, movement, snuggles with Sebi/Barney) in order to balance the two out, and also… shocker, I’m taking more time to truly rest. Little pockets of rest here and there every single day.