Bridal Brain

Tangent alert.

Why didn't anyone tell me we have less than 150 days til W-Day?

I'm beside myself with excitement, anxiety, and fear.  Maybe double-fear.  From my copious amount of wedding-blog reading (here, here, here, and also here.) I've learned that apparently after day 100 is when your event becomes together.  It becomes something more than the sum of it's parts--you see where it fails, and where it shines.  It nearly becomes a living, breathing thing.

If mine were alive I think it would be the equivalent of a blond Tina Fey, dressed like a hipster, so hyper on pixie sticks she can't really focus on the huge office birthday she's throwing.  And she may or may not have had a three-cocktail lunch.

Yes, I have gotten a lot done.  I should focus on that.

But I just read the most interesting article in the latest edition of Brides.  The next time I change the subject from sports to wedding pumps mid-sentence or text you about chocolate fountains at 11pm, think of this.  A lot of what happens to a bride has to do with brain chemistry.  Turns out, almost all brides share the same five symptoms: Indecisiveness, Irritability, Shortened attention span, Insomnia, and Low sex-drive.  Almost all of these have to do with the amygdala and flight-vs-fight response.  During times of stress (i.e. getting married, planning the wedding, et. al.) cortisol hormone levels go way up, which aggravates the amygala--your "reptile brain," a teeny nubbin in your brain that processes fear.  Who knew that widdle thing had so much clout?  It can cause all of those symptoms brides suffer from most.  My favorite part?  Dark chocolate has proven to reduce cortisol levels.  Other good ways to fight back include journaling, which lets the cortex (another section of the brain) handle the stress for a while.

Looks like I'm gonna start self-medicating.  If you can't find me, I'll be eating chocolate and journaling in the bubble bath.

Now if only Winter would vamoose, I'd be golden.

-L