A Poem for the Insomniacs

The pink and gold are streaming through the window.

The sun is sinking, melting slowly across the sky

Telling us the day is almost over, almost time to say ‘goodnight’.

 

I’ve been looking forward to my bed, so comfy and so warm,

Looking forward to the moment when I’ll pull the covers to my chin

And my journey off to dreamland surely will begin.

 

My head rests, it’s so comfy with my pillows and my dog snoring on the floor

The lights are out, and we have the temperature just right

I just know I’m going to get some damn good sleep tonight!

 

The seconds turn to minutes and then an hour has gone by

My eyes are drooping heavy, but my mind seems wide awake

I am tossing I am turning…I am thinking that last coffee was a mistake.

 

Insomnia, my old friend! How I love thee so!

I’ve tried everything to combat these tired and sleepless nights

I’ve taken my warm shower, meditated and turned out all the lights.

 

I have listened to a bedtime tale, and counted wooly sheep

I have stretched my legs and gotten up and gone on back to bed

I have even taken meds, but my brain chose “wide awake” instead.

 

It’s not that I’m not exhausted, because I truly am.

My limbs are tied to bowling balls and my eyelids feel like lead

But no matter what I do I’m restless, tossing and turning in this bed.

 

The moon stares through the window, telling me to close my eyes

The silence seems to roar, I should not be awake right now

The clock is mocking me, daring me to fall asleep somehow

 

We are a brotherhood of dream chasers, hunters of the ZZZ’s

We are united in our midnight thoughts and the sleepless fight,

Bonded by the early mornings bled from the late nights

 

We are nap takers, and coffee drinkers, we are the sleepless warriors

We have dark circles under our eyes and you may catch us in a yawn or two

We are the night owls, the sleepless zombies. Look around, we are all around you!

 

-A

 

TO SLEEP, OR NOT TO SLEEP? That is the freaking question!

Well, I have woken up to another day that I accidentally slept away the majority of. I always feel a mixture of guilt and embarrassment when this happens.

I usually wake up around 5:30am or 6:00am every morning with my dog. We get up, go outside, eat breakfast, and watch a TV show or two. I give myself my Glatiramer Acetate injection and take my meds. It’s a nice relaxing morning routine we are having. The issue is, without fail, by 10am I am so fatigued and exhausted that I can barely keep my eyes open. So I end up taking a nap around that time most days. I try to keep it in the 1-2 hour range so that I don’t sleep too much and disrupt my sleep pattern.

Anyone with insomnia knows how delicate those patterns can be; nap just a little too long, drink one caffeinated drink too many and  BAM! HELLO 3am and wide awake!

I have almost completely cut coffee out of my diet. Originally it was in hopes of combatting my insomnia. But lately I have been thinking about maybe starting to drink one or two cups in the morning just to try to combat that peak in fatigue each day. Does anyone have any tips for fatigue? What have you found to be helpful? I’d love to hear any advice/input!

I didn’t sleep well last night. I had insomnia and laid in bed for about 4 hours before I  worked myself into an anxiety attack, took a Xanax and finally passed out. Lovely, isn’t it. But naturally I still woke up at 7am. By the time 9am rolled around I was falling asleep on the couch…until 3pm…

These sleep problems are tough to figure out. I know that my body does need quite a bit of extra rest due to my Multiple Sclerosis. I also know that severe fatigue is one of my most significant issues relating to MS. It’s hard because part of me says “Don’t let the fatigue control you! Don’t sleep away your life!” and the other part is saying “For the love of god woman, take the freaking nap so we can at least function for the last half of our day!” Usually team nap wins.

One of my worries I’ve developed since I got sick has been that people will think I am lazy. It is so hard to explain this kind of fatigue to those who have never suffered from it. It’s so different from feeling tired or sleepy.

It’s ten-ton bones, muscles made out of silly putty, weights hooked to my eyelids, sick to my stomach, mind consuming, room spinning, body shaking exhaustion.

So on these days when my body takes over I try not to let myself feel too guilty about it. Obviously my body needed the rest, or it would not have slept for that long! I try not to worry that I did something wrong. Even on the days when I am doing nothing I am actually doing something huge. I am fighting a disease. I am surviving a chronic illness.

So yes, I may need to rest more than the average human from time to time. Yes, I am an adult who has regular (and scheduled) naps and yes, even though I am only 25 sometimes I have to miss out on fun stuff because my body physically just can’t do it that day. But that is ok!

I am also a warrior! I am also fighting my own immune system every single day! I am strong, even on my weak days!

-A

Dreams – Psychological or Physiological?

I have always had extremely vivid dreams.

I can still remember dreams that I had as a child. Especially ones that I had more than once. Recurring dreams are common. Many people experience them for short periods in their life, or throughout their entire lives!

I seem to remember that I often had a dream as a child about being stuck in a car, in a driveway, with my family with a PANTHER circling the car! Each time, we had to figure out a way to distract the panther so we could all safely exit the car  and get into the house.

Recurring dreams often mean there are some stressors in one’s life that are not being addressed. So it makes sense that my recurring dream as a child probably happened when I was dealing with some sort of stress.

When we dream our brain is actually rapidly processing and storing away the experiences and emotions of the day. So when you are worried or stressed about something during your day, sometimes those thoughts can manifest themselves into a stressful dream or a nightmare.

I think it is important to recognize that dreams are not a psychological experience, rather a physiological one. Meaning, we shouldn’t try to look too hard into the meaning or the “message” of our dreams. Rather, we should recognize that when we are having nightmares or stressful dreams there is most likely an underlying stressor in our waking lives that needs to be addressed.

It’s easy for me to get caught up in the magical world of dreams, seeing as mine are often extremely vivid and detailed. I almost always remember my dreams. I didn’t realize everyone didn’t, not until after I started telling my dreams to my husband in the morning only to be met with a face that could only be described as :

I know when in your sleep cycle and the speed that you wake up can effect how much you remember you dreams, so maybe that is why I always remember my dreams? I have no idea. I just know that they are wild!

Sometimes my dreams are wonderful and fantastical and full of adventure and happiness. I like those dreams. Sometimes they are mundane and repetitive, like working on an assembly line. But sometimes, they are bad.

I have a lot of nightmares.

Nightmares are a common side effect of PTSD. They don’t always have anything to do with my trauma. Sometimes they do, but not always.

Since my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis my nightmares have gotten even worse and more frequent. I know it is because of the added stress of the diagnosis and being sick.

My most common theme in my dreams is that I am being chased. The “chaser” and the situation varies dream to dream, but the general feeling is always the same. I am running for my life and whoever or whatever is chasing me is always one step behind me.

I wake up from those dreams exhausted, out of breath, soaked with sweat and anxious. Dreams of being chased usually subconsciously mean that you are avoiding a person/ issue.

It’s not too hard for me to identify the “issue” in my life that has been my biggest source of anxiety, fear, and avoidance in my recent life. My diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. I know that I have come very far already with accepting and processing my diagnosis. But I also know that I have many more lessons and much more to learn in my life.

So, I try not to let these dreams effect me in my waking life too much. Sometimes I will have what I like to call a “hangover dream”. Meaning, the feelings and emotions from that dream will “hangover” into my day.

Have you ever had a dream that someone died and woken up feeling sad and completely devastate for that person, even though you know damn well they are alive and well?

I can see how it would be easy for people to believe that dreams are omens and signs from above. When I have one of these hangover dreams that lingers with me throughout the day I try to challenge myself to practice extra mindfulness and presence to try to guide my mind back into reality.

Things like going for a walk, doing some gardening, writing or cleaning tend to help me let go of a particularly powerful dream.

Do you remember your dreams? Do you have “hangover dreams”? Have you done your own research into the meaning of dreams? I’d love to hear more about this fascinating and mysterious subject!

Hoping you have nothing but positivity in your sleep tonight!

-A