Before we go any further, I need to remind you that even though I’m sharing my personal investigation of eighteen human senses, please use your common sense. I’m not offering medical advice but just attempting to use topics to think of things in a refracted manner.
The second sense we can use for a sensible look at healthy living is proprioception. Now, before you start scratching your head… No, wait — go ahead, close your eyes, and use your right hand to scratch behind your left ear. You just used your sense of proprioception.
You didn’t need a mirror. Despite your eyes being closed, you knew the exact location of your left ear. Knowing your body can be helpful. It’s the only one we get.
Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense where everything is, helping with our location, movements and actions. With this ability, we can walk freely without looking down at our feet. By using sensory receptors throughout our body, we can perform many activities without thinking about them. Can you think of some activities that you do that you weren’t aware of?
This complex sensory loop allows for coordination and maintaining proper posture, affecting our body image. Body image affects our psychological well-being and the ability to maintain weight loss. This sense, coupled with societal pressure, can explain why, although you’re making great progress on your journey, you sometimes don’t feel the success others see. This may demystify why I have residual feelings that I still look the same as when I was at my highest weight. I still have this sense, despite the fact that I lost 30% of my weight and currently maintain a 23% loss. Often, I’m caught off guard when family and friends comment on my success. In addition, there is still that nagging disbelief when I look at my “before” pictures or watch old family movies.
Constant support and positive thoughts are important items to stay the course. Weight loss and achieving our best health is complicated. Never try it alone. We need each other to help make sense of the entire convoluted process.
This is part 2 of the multipart series, “A SENSE-ble Look at Healthy Living.” In my next blog, we’ll look to the human sense of taste.
Missed the beginning of our journey through the human senses? Check out the rest of A SENSE-ble Look at Healthy Living.
Hmmm can one suffer from proprioception deception (wink) ?
Enjoyed the article very much.
Thank you Rick for inspiring article.
I love this new word and how it relates to what I “see” in myself. It explains a lot. Powerful.