We often hear and read alot about off grid lifestyle being many things. But there doesn't seem to much said about how it can affect your health. People often assume that your health improves because you're more in control of your life. And it does in the obvious ways. But I am here to say that there are those aspects of our lives that we aren't automatically in control of. That would be our minds.
My wife and I spent a few years researching alternative ways of life before deciding to finally go off grid five years ago. My dad was a house builder and I am pretty much a jack of all trades. So I was hardly intimidated by giving up all our possessions to clean the slate. And we have 3 kids. We hated constantly being hammered by bills and having companies drain our pockets. Conventional life is rigged to make slaves out of us all. And because it places money on a pedestal, it affects the family unity. We struggled.
We bought a 32ft travel trailer with cash. Then parked ourselves at my parents for one year to settle and decide what to do next. We constantly reorganized and made improvements to accommodate us and our kids. It's amazing how much needs to change. That is, if you put your kids first. And we always do. We also homeschool them and that made things easier.
After one year we found a property in the mountains. 20 acres of timber and a full time creek with the clearest water. We ultimately ended up with high powered solar panels tied into the camper. And a generator backup. Future plans were to eliminate the generator. Although we only used it during winter when sun was scarce. I washed clothes using the creek water and wash tubs. Line dry. I built a building that had a wood stove. So we washed and hung clothes there during winter. The building was really a porch on the side of the camper. Designed where the heat would rise up and through the camper doorway. Spreading throughout the place. Propane heat is wet and creates mold in the winter. Campers were not made for this. Wood heat is dry and efficient. Although its hard on paneled ceilings and they warp after awhile due to crappy insulation in the ceiling.
Our camper pad was up the hill from our main yard. So we used a large water tank to gravity feed a huge garden.
This is just giving you and idea of what we were doing and how it might have evolved if we had not stopped. All in all we spent four years there. The one thing I was not prepared for was a nervous breakdown. I was in the best physical health ever. I am naturally fast paced. I exercised and ran every day. I cut down trees and carried 8ft logs 400ft and across a creek. At some point i felt a knot on the back of my upper neck. Like kinked muscle. My daughter would massage it often. Which felt great. I chalked it up as stress related. I began having headaches, which I figured was coffee related. So I stopped drinking it cold turkey. That sent me to the ER having what turned out to be jitters. A first for me. My mood began swinging more often. I felt edgy and too in tune with nature. Super hearing. Some tinnitus on and off. I am naturally anxious which is what has helped me be such an attentive person. But I did not realize the implications at the time. My new lifestyle was actually pushing me closer to an edge I was already not far from. I began feeling tingles 24/7 in various parts of the body. And one day in town I got hit with vertigo for the first time. To make a long story short, I spent nearly a year in and out of ERs, dr offices, getting MRIs, blood tests, scans, ultrasounds, etc. They couldnt find anything. But my neck was failing me. I kept wanting to bend forward. So I took physical therapy and it helped. But when I stopped it would come right back. So I went again. My therapist said he thought I was stuck in "something" I couldnt get out of. That was the clue I needed. No doctor was clueing me in. So I found a psychologist. And that began to help. But I later found some info online about how anxious people end up trapped in fight or flight mode. In a hyper state. Where the body does all kinds of weird stuff. It was destroying me little by little until I learned to get rid of it. Just 4 months ago I thought I was gonna die. But after time, effort, and a wife and kids who love me, I have gotten myself back 85% so far. It's not a piece of cake. And it has made me realize that we spend so much time and energy running from things. Not realizing that most of our troubles are already inside. Hidden. Dig deep and fix your self. Then decide how you wanna live. You might have a change of mind.
We plan to go back into the off grid life. But partially. While it was nice having so much control over my life. It was also too much for my mind. Others might be different. But unless we can all share the burden and learn to not be overwhelmed, it'll get us one way or another. Thanks.
