Exhaustion & Stress

Exhaustion can sure be a crazy thing sometimes.  I have slept about 19 hours in the past 4 days now.  My body is just going through one of those periods where sleep is not easy or long.  Sometimes I think I run on coffee and adrenaline.  I have learned not to stress over it a lot.  Eventually my body does give up and I sleep for a longer stretch of time.
Although exhaustion can take a toll, I really think it is the stress that is more draining.  For me, exhaustion has a more definite ending point.  I understand the cause.  I understand the why of it.  I understand what it does to my body and my thinking.  Heck, I even have meds to put me to sleep if need be.  But, with stress, it is all different.  I might understand what is causing the stress, but not always.  Neither do I always understand why I am stressed.  Exhaustion does not seem to have a lot of causes.  Stress on the other hand can come for a hundred different reasons.



A friend sent me this picture and I just laughed.  I know that so many of us have nights like that, or even days on end like that.  It is nice when we can joke and laugh about it.  Finding some humor in the predicament we are in, is always helpful for me.  Our bodies are going to physically respond to exhaustion and to stress.  They both can effect us in negative ways.
It is hard sometimes to step out of the day to day stuff of *I have to's* and take care of ourselves.  We do become overloaded from time to time with things that we have come to accept as normal for us.  I don't care how busy a person is, there has to come a time of rest.  A time of stepping out of the responsibility and relaxing.  I know people who are so afraid of being seen as self centered, they don't take the time to check in with themselves and take some much needed *me* time.  We are surrounded by the me-myself-and I  generation which stands toe to toe with the instant gratification group.  When we truly recognize that we are exhausted or stressed, there should be no guilt in stepping back and taking care of ourselves.  What good are we really going to be to anyone else if the exhaustion and/or stress just keeps building?
I was told tonight to go to bed.  I laughed and joked about it but in the end, I did exactly that.  I slept 4 hours.  A solid deep sleep which was much needed.  It hasn't made everything all better but it sure hasn't made anything worse either.  I can think more clearly and that is always a good thing.
Listen to your body.  Take the time to rest and recharge.  Your body will thank you for it.