Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Totally worn out.....


May. It's the best of months, it's the worst of months. Busy is my middle name. Not that this is anything new. It happens every year, but this time its different, this time I'm worn out. Tired. Want to close my eyes and sleep for a week tired.
Physically, mentally, and spiritualy tired.

Have you ever felt like this? Like its a chore to keep your eyelids open? I have, in my deepest time of drinking. I just wanted to escape. Remove myself from everything, and everyone. I think I actually thought I could somehow drink myself into an entire new life. Not that there was anything wrong with the life I had it just overwhelmed me, and I wanted to disappear. Take off, avoid. It's my achilles heel, because when I start to go on overload my brain signals :flight.

Now thanks to my program that's not an option. However I still can have the physical side affects of stress. For me that's exhaustion. When May hits we are going full blast. Fieldtrips, ceremonies, events, last few weeks of school, a million deadlines, and all of this hurling us towards summer. This time my body put the brakes on way before my mind could catch up. It just got tired.

Saturday is when I first noticed it. I'm a pretty high energy girl, and we had just spent two days in the Twin Cities. Day one was spent at the college my oldest wants to attend and the second was touring around Minneapolis. By the time we made the three hour trip home I was consumed with exhaustion. I walked in the door, collapsed in the chair, and if I had my way I would still be there, but life doesn't work that way.

Is this a trap? Am I falling into old patterns? Am I on slippery slopes? One could answer yes to all of these but somethings different. Before I could not have recognized this feeling. I would have kept pushing until everything fell apart. Now I do what I can and I modify the rest. Normal people know instinctively how to do this but I don't. I had to learn the hard way.

My sponsor taught me to listen to what my body was telling me. When it's had enough I need to listen. I need to stay hydrated, get extra sleep, and do what necessary, not what I think wonder woman would do! For a control freak ego maniac such as myself this was a bitter pill to swallow! What do you mean I can't handle it all? Of course I can, otherwise I'm a failure. In whose eyes? Mine. We are often our hardest critics. It's taken me three years into sobriety to figure this out.

I have finally cut myself the slack I need. I've been through a lot of changes in the last few years. I've dealt with a lot, I've taken on more than I imagined I could and guess what? I need a break. So I will give myself one. If I want a nap, I'll take one. If I want to sit outside and do nothing I will. If I want to laugh, cry, scream, or be quiet I can. I answer to myself. So instead of letting my imagination tell me that somethings drastically wrong, I just listen to what my body is telling me. It needs a break, a much deserved one at that. Sometimes just being able to admitt that I am not superwoman is the exact medicine I need to make me start feeling better. So tell me, what's new with you?

5 comments:

  1. yep, when we are tired, hungry temptation is more likely to sneak in...and we need to listen and take those breaks...may is a busy month here as well...

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  2. I have found that if I do not listen to my body and take better care of myself, I wind up flat on my back sicker than a dog eventually. It sounds like you are taking the right steps towards what you need to do for yourself. What have I been doing? Not much really, just graduating from college in a few days!!!! Woo Hooo!

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  3. It's funny but that's been my hardest lesson too! I have started to love coming home and just sitting in my chair watching TV with the hubs and surfing on my iPad. I often think I'm becoming some kind of slug because I'm not "doing". Like working all day isn't enough - because I am woman I must also be super woman and be everything for everyone everytime. That's a recipe for a huge crash and burn...mine happened to be a slow descent into alcoholism.

    But, by exercising a little of this self care everyone talks about,(what? me?) it fuels me so that when something needs "doing" I'm all over it like a spider monkey and I'm present while doing it - not thinking about the next thing I have to get done.

    Well...okay, it doesn't happen this way ALL the time but, like you, I'm making progress.

    As the old commercial used to say, "We've come a long way baby..."

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  4. Oh yeah .. I like nothing better than to lie back on the sofa and indulge in a spot of Reality TV watching... and force myself not to feel guilty! Right now it is hard for me to get any rest, like you there are a million things going on. So I do small lovely things in amongst the business to make myself feel good. Like light a scented candle (even if my kids just try and blow it out).. tonight I"m going to have a bubble bath.. that's a good idea. You take good care of yourself. xxx (P.S. I'm always interested to hear what people learn about themselves after a long time sober.. I wonder what's to come up for me...).

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  5. I know the feeling :) I pretty much realize every single time that I'm trying to manage stuff and getting exhausted doing it.

    Then, in the realization, suddenly stuff isn't as important anymore and I just allow the natural flow of unforced rhythm to take over once again. Usually helps when I go and find a meeting full of newcomers and begin to see some truth about my life and everything I'm doing. :) I love AA and my sponsor for those wonderful suggestions which help me to become more aware of life and my martyrdom :) And allow me to continually peel more layers of onion off

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