chris-alejandro-hensel

[chris-alejandro-hensel]

The First Post - Honest and Real: My Low Point/My Inspiration

::::Warning:::: the videos in the links are very personal and get depressing. Take caution, especially if you don’t want to see me go through the emotion pain that happens in the video

I apologize for the long-winded post, and possibly hard to understand plot line. I’ll get there though:

This post is a long-time-coming. I ruminate about whether or not to start this Tumblr “channel,” and will continue to do so until I finally click on the teal ‘post’ button.

The purpose of this channel is to provide a valuable, safe place for people to share, vent, confess, propose feelings about both positive and negative things happening in life. Posts can be thought out and planned, or simply honest, raw emotion. This channel can be a source of therapy for those who post; eye-opening for those who read; a way to save someone(s). The third part of the last sentence is where I want to start.

I wanted to share something vulnerable about my life/a low point, to show I am willing to lay just about anything on the line to, eventually, help myself and those around me. I had a first post in mind when I came up with the idea for this channel in the summer ‘16 - when I had started making my way out of a low point, but was too chicken to get the ball rolling. I, unfortunately, hit a lower point, in September ‘16, which coincidentally re-energized my motivation to move ahead with plans.

Alright, get to the chase, Chris. Stop stalling…

…seriously…

On February 11, 2016, I did something stupid. I smoked marijuana, after already having a very disturbing reaction days earlier, unsupervised, alone, against the promise I made to my fiancé, Cait, to only smoke in her presence.

Long story short, I blacked out after one, long drag ((yes - one) from a joint, containing at most 1/10 of a gram), ran out of the house (no shoes, wallet, keys or phone), to a subway station (two stops away), fell (maybe jumped or pushed - I don’t really know), and broke my knee cap (in half), smashing my face (breaking my entire jaw, losing many teeth). I woke up three days later, on Valentine’s Day of all days, to the voice of my lovely Cait. I had been kept mostly unconscious for those days because I was not a very compliant patient (none of which I remember). I spent 12 days in the hospital, 7 days in critical care; wore a full-leg cast as well as a completely wired-shut mouth for 6 weeks. It has been 10 and a half months later, and I am still nowhere close to 100%. All because of one hit of NON LACED marijuana (to clean that part -pure THC).

Do not sympathize. I am alive. I am grateful to all those who helped me through my recovery - and still are. Especially, my immediate family and, of course, Cait. And I will bounce back.

I was going to start a channel after going through this embarrassing life decision, filled with having to explain, and re-explain what happened - as well as the suffer I experienced, including hallucinating from Percocet, losing over 20 pounds, not being at home with my love and dog. I got cold feet though, but kept it in my mind.

I want to show that although I am pro-legalization of marijuana, we are becoming too lenient with its use - it is all around my neighborhood, and not even legal yet. I support all the positive benefits, but it seems people think marijuana is “harmless.” Be CAREFUL. That’s it.

My desire to start this channel came right back to the forefront, after unknowingly ingesting marijuana, in food form (cake). After falling asleep for a few hours, I woke up - well not woke up. I don’t remember that part - mid-hallucination, panicking in an incoherent train-of-thought. It’s hard to explain my thoughts while tripping. Simply put, it’s pure torture: no sense of time, cannot come down, hyper sense of sound, believing the laws of physics and dimension do not apply. I’ll come back to this, in detail, on another post.

Oddly enough, this poisoning happened twice. Neither time thinking it had anything to do with marijuana.

I went to a neurologist, as well as my psychologist and psychiatrist to try to find an answer - to which could not be found. I wore an EEG for a day, went through CAT scans, almost went to a sleep study. I was prescribed an antipsychotic. Still: no answer.

After the second poisoning, I am 99.9999% it is an allergy to marijuana.

Cait took video of the second incident, as advised by my neurologist.

Alright, here’s the point of my post. With the inevitable legalization of recreational marijuana, there needs to be advisement about its dangers. Yes, the good outweighs the bad. HOWEVER, some people do, in fact, suffer - and will continue. AND those numbers will grow. As more people are exposed to marijuana, whether ingesting it or not, will develop allergies (possibly out of the blue, too.)

This video, which is split in two sections, may not seem extremely disturbing. Understand, this is not an act. I am not putting on a show. I have no idea what’s happening during this hallucination. I am way too wrapped in my own psychotic, incoherent thoughts, I do not even have the awareness that I am actually being filmed. I look at the camera a lot, but there is no connection in my brain to know what’s happening.

I am going through anaphylactic shock, while being high. Try to imagine the possibility. AND I have no idea I’m high. I think the world is ending and I might be going to a different dimension. That’s just skin deep. There are soooo many more layers to my insane thoughts while high.

Then I pass out. Wake up. And continue life.

It might be embarrassing to post these videos - showing my vulnerability, in my underwear, fake teeth missing.

However, I feel these videos might be able to save someone, in some way, and would feel infinitely worse if I found out someone was hurt or killed, and I didn’t post anything.

PART 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-1VLexMVMM

PART 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmjy8Sr2kV0

[chris-alejandro-hensel]

Can someone tell people electronic cigarettes are illegal in NYC? (And have been since April 2014)

[chris-alejandro-hensel]

The Egg

THERE IS NO POINT OF EATING JUST EGG WHITES! "Egg whites only [please]” is like nails on a chalkboard. If you want to be like all those body conscious, savvy brunch goers, and get your lean, low-fat egg whites only, do the poor (potential) chick-to-be a favor: save your money, go home, put a scoop of whey protein in a glass of water, stir and drink. Egg whites only serve one nutritional value: a dose of pure, complete protein. Egg yolks, however, do the same thing. Everything egg whites and whey protein are missing can be found in the yolk. Yolks are the nutrient rich part of the egg. They contain all of the same amino acids as whites, as well as many, many more vitamins and minerals. It is staggering to look at the differences between yolks and whites. There is no comparison. It may be an exaggeration to say all of the health benefits are in the yolks - but it is not far from the truth either. Oh yeah, buzz word alert: Omega-3. No exaggeration here: ALL the precious omega-3 fatty acids we read about in magazines, and learn about on the Internet, and strive to obtain are in yolks. Boom. Yes, there is a lot of cholesterol in yolks - and yes, all of the cholesterol in eggs are in the yolks. That is where one key factor comes in the yolks favor: regulation. Eating eggs responsibly is the key to benefiting from the power of the yolks. DO NOT EAT EGGS EVERYDAY. Ok, I will dial my hate back a little bit. I do not hate egg whites. I just hate them when they are not accompanied by their better half. Eat the full egg. Get your protein fix from the white, and everything else important an egg has to offer from the yolk.

[chris-alejandro-hensel]

The Egg (Yolk on the left, White on the right)

[chris-alejandro-hensel]

Nutrition is Misunderstood (and I'm scratching my head)

STOP READING NUTRITION LABELS! (At least the way they are written today).

Let me get some things out in the air early- I am not a certified nutritionist, or have a PhD in nutrition (yet). I am a cook in NYC, with a Culinary Associates Degree and a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics.

That being out in the open, allow me to indulge you with my opinions, which are based on fact, and will someday (hopefully) be verified as scientifically verified.

The ‘Nutrition Facts’ label does not paint a competent picture of what can be viewed as nutritional. The information on these labels, seemingly, provides what is ‘necessary’ for the human body. To an unassuming eye, if given enough Nutrition Facts labels, one would assume the amount of ‘calories,’ in a food, is most important- given ‘calories’ is at the top. Progressively, ‘fat,’ is second important, and so on down the list. Sadly, ‘vitamins’ and ‘minerals’ are stuck at the bottom, giving a sense of non-importance.

'Nutrition Facts' do not communicate what is truly important for the body. If calories were the most important, then I could, in theory, drink water and diet soda for the rest of my life, lose weight and be relatively healthy. Yes- that is silly to think. This is just an idea. Relax.

The human body needs more than calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates, protein, and a short list of vitamins and minerals to survive and run well. Do yourself a favor: look up a list of vitamins and minerals. Next, look up different foods you eat on a daily basis (or weekly, or even tasted once) with these criteria. Then, be surprised at how little your body is consuming; how much vitamins A & C you ARE consuming. You need more. (I will talk more about the importance of “eating the rainbow” at another time)

There are many problems with Nutrition Facts labels, and there will never be a perfect system. Even my opinions will never be perfect. I strive to get them close, however, for your benefit. There is great importance to having and understating a ‘complete’ sense of nutrition.

Ultimately, the entire label is important, there is just confusion as to what should be put on it, and how the ‘facts’ should be displayed. Someday…

[chris-alejandro-hensel]

Psychological Nutrition

An idea, I my opinion, I came up with. It is one of the few (many) things I live for, and strive to teach people about.

Psychological Nutrition (Psych Nutrition) is not simple. It does not only deal with human behavior, habits, or emotions with food. It is not a diet, fad or even trend. Psych Nutrition is a way of life. It takes into account many things - day-to-day eating, exercise, mental well-being and vices - balancing them all together.

Psychological Nutrition is only an idea. There is no step-by-step method to follow. It is a mentality, which can be displayed in real life instances.

There is no single right answer for any individual. People have different ways of life, giving each way different values of importance. Consequently, there are essentially infinite variances of Psych Nutrition. A way for every person.

Understanding and accepting what is important to a person, and what needs to be changed in their life to bring happiness is where Psych Nutrition begins. More to follow…