Posted by Damos on July 26, 2005, at 17:23:30
In reply to Sleep - Never Enough, posted by AdaGrace on July 25, 2005, at 8:36:27
Hi Gracie, the place you describe is all too familiar to me. It has been me so many times. When I'm really bad I have no problem sleeping for days. Somehow this gives my brain the chance to rebalance. When I have trouble sleeping and am not doing so well, then I know I'm in big trouble. The main problem I find is that the rest you get in this place is not that restfull, it's restless, fitfull, ruminative and just leaves you feeling more drained and empty.
What I've found is that doing nothing doesn't really seem to help either (doesn't stop me hoping it will though). In a way it makes it worse because while you might be physically inactive, the mind is still going ninety to the dozen - it's never at rest. And all the stuff you coulda/shoulda been doing becomes more stuff to beat yourself up about.
It's a double whammy in a way, cause the body needs a certain amount of exercise to maintain our energy levels. But we feel so tired and drained that we can't do anything so we get more drained and round and down it goes. I know you love gardening and this is something I find that can help enormously. For example on the weekend I spent 2 hours weeding and sweeping the paving and was physically tired at the end of it and my brain was actually switched off for the whole 2 hours, the net result being I slept well and felt a little better in the morning.
I can only imagine all the stuff that is going on inside you at the moment and how much it is hurting you. But finding a way to switch your brain off for a bit is important, so anything that is mindless and manual like gardening will help, any form of meditation will to particularly an active form like walking meditation. Tai Chi and Reiki practice also help me a great deal when I remember to do them. Any and all of these things will help you to return to sleep that is restorative which will help your energy levels overall and they'll also help break the continuous thought loops you're probably stuck in.
If you'd like more info on meditation practices, just want to talk or whatever drop me a babblemail okay, promise?
(((((AdaGrace)))))
poster:Damos
thread:533180
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050726/msgs/533859.html