Taking Care of Yourself...

I am home today after not sleeping all night. Around midnight, while my mind was racing and my legs were aching, and I was getting increasingly frustrated with my sleep-less situation, I took a shower in an attempt to get sleepy. Did not work. Neither did the breathing medicine or the sleep tapes. This is a situation I only find myself in once or twice a year - I am very lucky that this does not happen often. However, I did not sleep until after I called in to work and left messages for my interns and for my principal. After I arranged the sick day, I of course managed to get about 3 hours of sleep.

I realize that insomnia is a wimpy excuse for a sick day, but for me, it is an important signal that I am not taking care of myself. I tend to be a Type-A personality, busy all the time and constantly feeling that I should be doing more with my life. This leads to overloads and stressful moments. Occasionally, it all comes crashing down on me. This appears to be one of those times.

I don't feel particularly stressed, but my body apparently is aware of some stressors that I am ignoring or unaware of at this time. Interesting, isn't it. With a good night's sleep, I will be refreshed and ready to be a therapist again.

I look forward to returning to work tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going to nap, work on visual aids for sessions, and relax.

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