So it's happened again. I'm in that big black hole of nothingness where my bed is my sanctuary and sleep my best friend. I'm still struggling to work out what triggered this episode. Perhaps it's best not to think about why and put in place the very small steps to find my way out of it.
I can start that process by being grateful for an understanding husband and two daughters who are old enough to pitch in and help out around the house. I do not like my daughters to see their mother in bed all day, crying, curled up in a ball, seemingly unable to function and do the basics like have a shower. Miss G. goes off to school retreat tomorrow for 3 days and I don't want her to go off with an image of me like this. I do think she knows me well enough to know that this sojourn into the black hole will pass in time.
I know there is an element of acceptance I need to have about this ongoing condition I battle with, but you know what, I'm just a bit over it all. There is such a huge part of me that wants/needs to get out there and do stuff, but I just can't physically or mentally make myself do it. I guess that's the fatigue aspect that comes with depression.
Tomorrow is a new day, perhaps bringing with it a more positive outlook. One can only hope. That's a key word isn't? Hope.
Anne
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sleeping should be for sleeping
When I go to bed at night, sometimes quite late, the most important thing on my mind is sleep. You know that period of time when you have a rest from all things, supposedly. It should be a physical, mental and emotional rest, supposedly. Sometimes that just doesn't happen.
I can't remember how many evenings I've been yawning my head off, I'm really tired and sleepy, ready for bed, yet when I get there I'm wide awake. I use to fret incredibly about the sleep I wasn't getting, how tired I would be the next day but now I just get up and do something until I get sleepy again and usually on my return to bed I will sleep.
So I've learnt to cope with that and insomnia to some extent. What I haven't come to terms with is nocturnal panic attacks. Last week during a blissful sleep, supposedly, I awoke to find myself sitting up in bed, heart racing, feeling nauseous, wondering what on earth was going on. It took me a moment to realise I was having a nocturnal panic attack, got back in control by seeing it for what is was and breathing away the panic. Where on earth do they come from? I had nothing particularly distressing on my mind, I had been in a reasonably positive frame of mind during the day so I cannot connect it to anything. It's not as if I'd been thinking about something and off I went. I mean for goodness sake, I WAS SLEEPING!!!
So I'm wondering how much of what we feel deep down and choose not to think about during the day, gets processed in our subconscious while we are sleeping? If that's the case, then our subconscious is not very nice to us. How many of you have had or suffer from nocturnal panic attacks and what are your coping strategies. Does anyone know why we have nocturnal panic attacks?
Anne
I can't remember how many evenings I've been yawning my head off, I'm really tired and sleepy, ready for bed, yet when I get there I'm wide awake. I use to fret incredibly about the sleep I wasn't getting, how tired I would be the next day but now I just get up and do something until I get sleepy again and usually on my return to bed I will sleep.
So I've learnt to cope with that and insomnia to some extent. What I haven't come to terms with is nocturnal panic attacks. Last week during a blissful sleep, supposedly, I awoke to find myself sitting up in bed, heart racing, feeling nauseous, wondering what on earth was going on. It took me a moment to realise I was having a nocturnal panic attack, got back in control by seeing it for what is was and breathing away the panic. Where on earth do they come from? I had nothing particularly distressing on my mind, I had been in a reasonably positive frame of mind during the day so I cannot connect it to anything. It's not as if I'd been thinking about something and off I went. I mean for goodness sake, I WAS SLEEPING!!!
So I'm wondering how much of what we feel deep down and choose not to think about during the day, gets processed in our subconscious while we are sleeping? If that's the case, then our subconscious is not very nice to us. How many of you have had or suffer from nocturnal panic attacks and what are your coping strategies. Does anyone know why we have nocturnal panic attacks?
Anne
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Where's the sunshine gone
This weekend is really a bit off a fizzer as far as sunshine goes. That's not only weather wise but for me too. I really dislike waking up with that heavy feeling in my body and the immediate thought that goes with it, oh no, it's going to be one of those days. Well I have to say that rather than wallow in my I don't want to get out of bed feeling, I now try to think this is not a good start to the day....but it may get better.
When my lovely hubbie asks me if I'm o.k., I can say "Today is not a good day for me, but I'll be o.k." And I will be. Isn't it nice to have reached a place where I can say and think that? This morning being Sunday I have the luxury of not having to be out the door to take Miss G. to school, my family is home and we are all relaxing or pottering around the house doing bits and pieces. I have decided to spend a little extra time in bed this morning, just slowly working my way up into the day, not pressuring myself to get on with the laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, the baking that needs doing or tidying up my never ending mess. Instead I've had a cup of tea, breakfast and morning coffee, all in bed :-) And of course reading the blogs I follow (laptops are wonderful as is wireless internet connection), making a few comments here and there, and dealing with a few very NASTY hot flushes. I'm taking the time to think about creative ideas that are running around in my head, being inspired but other people's creativity and making a list of things I'd like to make.
Last night I made some Christmas baubles for the girls to hang on their bedroom doorknobs. If you follow my other blog, you will already know this, sorry. The enjoyment I get out of having an idea in my head and then actually bringing it to fruition is so rewarding. A huge part of the joy of creating is sharing it with others. I really love the internet and blogging for this very reason, the sharing and caring with heaps of wonderful people.
On a slightly different note, I would like to mention an experience I had late Friday afternoon which brought home to me how fortunate I really am and in comparison to some other people. I was at the local pharmacy to pick up my happy pills (as I call them) and bumped into an acquaintance of some 15 years or so. Some of our children were at primary school together so there is a connection of sorts. We were asking how our respective families were going and I learnt in this particular family, the son who has just turned 20 is suffering a rare and aggressive form of cancer which needs to be treated with an equally aggressive type of chemo for a year. The young man who is sick only has one kidney, so there are many things to be concerned about. The mother suffers extreme anxiety and depression and has been very unwell for two years and is basically housebound. Her illness started before the son was diagnosed with cancer. The father, whom I was talking to, had two years previously been suffering a digestive disorder which now thankfully is under control. The father is the sons carer and a daughter is the mothers carer. So you see, in comparison what do I have to complain about? Very little.
Tomorrow the sunshine will be out and as I'm typing this I can see out my bedroom window the clouds clearing and blue sky is showing.
Anne
When my lovely hubbie asks me if I'm o.k., I can say "Today is not a good day for me, but I'll be o.k." And I will be. Isn't it nice to have reached a place where I can say and think that? This morning being Sunday I have the luxury of not having to be out the door to take Miss G. to school, my family is home and we are all relaxing or pottering around the house doing bits and pieces. I have decided to spend a little extra time in bed this morning, just slowly working my way up into the day, not pressuring myself to get on with the laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, the baking that needs doing or tidying up my never ending mess. Instead I've had a cup of tea, breakfast and morning coffee, all in bed :-) And of course reading the blogs I follow (laptops are wonderful as is wireless internet connection), making a few comments here and there, and dealing with a few very NASTY hot flushes. I'm taking the time to think about creative ideas that are running around in my head, being inspired but other people's creativity and making a list of things I'd like to make.
Last night I made some Christmas baubles for the girls to hang on their bedroom doorknobs. If you follow my other blog, you will already know this, sorry. The enjoyment I get out of having an idea in my head and then actually bringing it to fruition is so rewarding. A huge part of the joy of creating is sharing it with others. I really love the internet and blogging for this very reason, the sharing and caring with heaps of wonderful people.
On a slightly different note, I would like to mention an experience I had late Friday afternoon which brought home to me how fortunate I really am and in comparison to some other people. I was at the local pharmacy to pick up my happy pills (as I call them) and bumped into an acquaintance of some 15 years or so. Some of our children were at primary school together so there is a connection of sorts. We were asking how our respective families were going and I learnt in this particular family, the son who has just turned 20 is suffering a rare and aggressive form of cancer which needs to be treated with an equally aggressive type of chemo for a year. The young man who is sick only has one kidney, so there are many things to be concerned about. The mother suffers extreme anxiety and depression and has been very unwell for two years and is basically housebound. Her illness started before the son was diagnosed with cancer. The father, whom I was talking to, had two years previously been suffering a digestive disorder which now thankfully is under control. The father is the sons carer and a daughter is the mothers carer. So you see, in comparison what do I have to complain about? Very little.
Tomorrow the sunshine will be out and as I'm typing this I can see out my bedroom window the clouds clearing and blue sky is showing.
Anne
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
I've over done it
Do you ever feel good, so wonderfully good that you think you can conquer the world? You do too much in one big hit and then you pay for it, coming down with a resounding crash. That's me, I've gone and over done it, again. You would think I would have learnt by now to pace myself, but no, my enthusiasm gets the better of me and off I go doing goodness knows what.
Perhaps I'm subconsciously making up for a long cold winter spell of achieving zilch and all the sunshine has gone to my head. I feel like I'm coming out of hibernation when the sun shines and I need to go and fatten up for any lean times ahead, figuratively speaking.
I think tomorrow I'll be slowing down my mind and body, going about the business of housework slowly with many cups of tea in between the bathroom cleaning and the vacuuming. Perhaps if I think calmly, I'll be calm and not worked up into a flurry. Sometimes this works for me when I'm running a bit late. I'll be driving in a highly anxious state and when I think about it, being anxious and uptight isn't going to get me to my destination any quicker so I might as well lower those shoulders that are hunched up around my chin, take a big breath and just breathe. Easier said than done isn't it? I'd love to know how others handle tendencies to over do things and how to slow down the mind and body.
Perhaps I'm subconsciously making up for a long cold winter spell of achieving zilch and all the sunshine has gone to my head. I feel like I'm coming out of hibernation when the sun shines and I need to go and fatten up for any lean times ahead, figuratively speaking.
I think tomorrow I'll be slowing down my mind and body, going about the business of housework slowly with many cups of tea in between the bathroom cleaning and the vacuuming. Perhaps if I think calmly, I'll be calm and not worked up into a flurry. Sometimes this works for me when I'm running a bit late. I'll be driving in a highly anxious state and when I think about it, being anxious and uptight isn't going to get me to my destination any quicker so I might as well lower those shoulders that are hunched up around my chin, take a big breath and just breathe. Easier said than done isn't it? I'd love to know how others handle tendencies to over do things and how to slow down the mind and body.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sometimes it's better not to think
I believe I may have another addiction....blogging and reading blogs. I'm finding it takes up an incredible amount of time each day reading and posting and I'm wondering if this a good use of time. I may have mentioned before that I'm a bit obsessive about many things and blogging has been added to that list.
Having learnt over the years that I need to think about where my black times come from, analyse thought patterns etc, I find that sometimes I can over think. Is there such a thing? For me there is. A part of the fun of blogging for me is discovering new people, new ideas, people who share similar interests etc. Yesterday I discovered a blog by a 30 year old something mum who seems to run her own business, has had 4 children in about 5 years, the most recent addition is only about 2 weeks old. Her hubbie is about to start a new job and will be living away from home during the week. I had to stop reading about this particular family's life as I found it stressful just thinking about it. Silly me went back for another look today and I got stressed all over again.
I think I have just learnt a very valuable lesson here. There is a time when I need to switch of from those things I have no need to think about. I would love to send this lovely lady messages of encouragement, see how she is coping but I just can't do it. One of the reasons I think is that I had such a stressful time when my girls were babies. I had severe post natal depression, anxiety, panic attacks, basically the lot. Even though this lady seems to be doing very well, I find myself thinking about how hard it must be for her, and I just can't afford to think about that. Does that make me weird or just very sensitive? Don't think it matters either way really, I just need to look after my head space.
Perhaps I should limit my time on the computer each day too as at the moment I feel like it might be taking over my life. I wonder if I'll manage to implement this change. No too hopeful on that one. Some obsessions are just so enjoyable. :-)
Anne
Having learnt over the years that I need to think about where my black times come from, analyse thought patterns etc, I find that sometimes I can over think. Is there such a thing? For me there is. A part of the fun of blogging for me is discovering new people, new ideas, people who share similar interests etc. Yesterday I discovered a blog by a 30 year old something mum who seems to run her own business, has had 4 children in about 5 years, the most recent addition is only about 2 weeks old. Her hubbie is about to start a new job and will be living away from home during the week. I had to stop reading about this particular family's life as I found it stressful just thinking about it. Silly me went back for another look today and I got stressed all over again.
I think I have just learnt a very valuable lesson here. There is a time when I need to switch of from those things I have no need to think about. I would love to send this lovely lady messages of encouragement, see how she is coping but I just can't do it. One of the reasons I think is that I had such a stressful time when my girls were babies. I had severe post natal depression, anxiety, panic attacks, basically the lot. Even though this lady seems to be doing very well, I find myself thinking about how hard it must be for her, and I just can't afford to think about that. Does that make me weird or just very sensitive? Don't think it matters either way really, I just need to look after my head space.
Perhaps I should limit my time on the computer each day too as at the moment I feel like it might be taking over my life. I wonder if I'll manage to implement this change. No too hopeful on that one. Some obsessions are just so enjoyable. :-)
Anne
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)