{"id":3133,"date":"2025-05-17T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=3133"},"modified":"2025-05-21T21:34:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T21:34:18","slug":"a-paramedics-revelation-about-my-everyday-habit-brought-intense-shame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/17\/a-paramedics-revelation-about-my-everyday-habit-brought-intense-shame\/","title":{"rendered":"A paramedic\u2019s revelation about my everyday habit brought intense shame"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Sian\t<\/div>
I was living by the rule that if a little was good, a lot must be better (Picture: Sian Dennis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With fumbling fingers, I quickly cobbled together a message to my mum. <\/p>\n

\u2018Something is seriously wrong,\u2019 I wrote. <\/p>\n

My mind was foggy. My stomach bloated. My heart hammered. And I had no idea why. <\/p>\n

For weeks, there had been signs that something wasn\u2019t quite right with me. I had a persistent headache that I brushed off as stress<\/a>, a sluggish feeling in my muscles, and a bone-deep exhaustion that sleep couldn\u2019t touch.   <\/p>\n

Yet, I thought, if I doubled down on \u2018healthy\u2019 habits<\/a>, if I kept doing the \u2018right\u2019 things \u2013 getting better sleep<\/a>, eating nutritious food, exercising<\/a> daily, and, above all, staying hydrated \u2013 I would feel better. <\/p>\n

I was living by the rule that if a little was good, a lot must be better. But the more water I drank, the worse I felt. <\/p>\n

Then, one Monday evening in April 2025, I was overtaken by an overwhelming wave of nausea and dizziness that felt as if I were dragging myself through wet sand. I feared I\u2019d collapse if I stood up and so, in a panic, I texted my mum and called 111. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Sian\t<\/div>
I thought I was taking care of myself (Picture: Sian Dennis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My voice slurred, and I struggled to steady my thoughts as I explained my symptoms. I was advised to head to the hospital immediately.  <\/p>\n

Within the hour, my mum was driving me and I was frightened, but more than that, I was baffled. <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t drink alcohol<\/a>, always ate my five-a-day and attended regular Pilates<\/a> classes. And, of course, I was comfortably gulping down at least eight litres of water<\/a> a day. <\/p>\n

So why did my body feel like it was shutting down? <\/p>\n

As the paramedic on duty put it, I was internally drowning. In other words, I had water intoxication<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tCan you drink too much water? \t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Also known as water poisoning or hyponatremia, water intoxication is something that happens when you have more water in your body than it needs. <\/p>\n

This dilutes the sodium in your blood and can cause a dangerous chemical imbalance, which makes your cells swell, including those in your brain. <\/p>\n

Left untreated, it can cause confusion, seizures<\/a>, coma, and in extreme cases, death<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Though I was fortunate that it was caught in time, and was able to go home that same night, I couldn\u2019t help but feel embarrassed, ashamed, and strangely guilty.  <\/p>\n

I thought I was taking care of myself, when in reality, by chasing ‘health’ and wellness, I\u2019d pushed my body to the brink. Had I known about or heard of this condition before, perhaps I would have thought twice before upping my water intake. <\/p>\n

Yet I\u2019m far from an anomaly. <\/p>\n

Because the conversation is always about de<\/em>hydration \u2013 the fear being that we\u2019re not drinking enough<\/a> \u2013 we rarely hear about, nor does anyone warn you, how drinking too much can be just as perilous. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s even more terrifying is how much overhydration is encouraged online. Influencers show off how many litres they\u2019ve chugged by lunchtime and giant water bottles have become something akin to a badge of honour.  <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Sian\t<\/div>
I\u2019ve realised that real self-care isn\u2019t about mindlessly following trends (Picture: Sian Dennis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve even stumbled across \u2018water cult\u2019 pages that glorify drinking up to 10 litres a day for better skin, energy, and digestion, when, in actual fact, consuming that quantity of water is more than enough to be fatal. <\/p>\n

We need better public messaging, and influencers and \u2018health gurus\u2019 need to be held responsible with the \u2018advice\u2019 they give. <\/p>\n

And those viral drinking challenges<\/a>? They have to stop. People should know that drinking when you\u2019re thirsty is enough, and pushing beyond that isn\u2019t a flex, it\u2019s a risk.  <\/p>\n

More doesn\u2019t always mean better. Our bodies are a delicate, beautifully balanced system, and if you flood it \u2013 even with something as seemingly harmless as water \u2013 real, irreversible damage is possible <\/p>\n

\n
Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">Have you ever experienced or heard of overhydration? Share your thoughts below<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Looking back, I now realise I wasn\u2019t drinking water because I was thirsty, I was drinking for control and out of habit, for the illusion that if I followed all the rules perfectly, I\u2019d be happy and healthy. <\/p>\n<p>That mindset could have cost me everything. <\/p>\n<p>Since my experience, I\u2019ve realised that real self-care isn\u2019t about mindlessly following trends. It’s not about forcing yourself into extremes because you\u2019re scared of not doing \u2018enough\u2019. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s about listening \u2013 really listening \u2013 to what your body is asking for and trusting it. <\/p>\n<p>Nowadays I stick to the recommended eight glasses. That\u2019s enough for me. <\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:jess.austin@metro.co.uk\">jess.austin@metro.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Share your views in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was living by the rule that if a little was good, a lot must be better (Picture: Sian Dennis) With fumbling fingers, I quickly cobbled together a message to my mum.  \u2018Something is seriously wrong,\u2019 I wrote.  My mind was foggy. My stomach bloated. My heart hammered. And I had no idea why.  For […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3133"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3133"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3139,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3133\/revisions\/3139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}