Up until a few weeks ago I was having some trouble with
sleeping too much. I was sleeping at least 12 hours and it was starting to make
me angry. I talked to my doctor about it and we lowered a dose of one
medication that we thought might be making me a bit drowsy therefore, causing
me to sleep more than what is…healthy. Well that helped some but I was still
struggling.
Well, after a med change didn’t work I was really starting
to beat myself up about sleeping too much. I hated it. I kept telling myself
what good is not having any symptoms of my illness when I’m sleeping all day
long. After a period of self-pity my and my therapist came up with a plan to
get me out of the bed earlier and hopefully out into the world more often. And
it’s really made the difference.
You see, one problem with me sleeping the day away was that
if I did wake up earlier I was getting on my phone while still in bed and then
falling back to sleep. So the first thing to change was that I had to get the
phone away from me. So I moved my phone across the room. Second thing was we
created a new routine to follow that would get me up and moving BEFORE getting a
hold of my phone. So we decided that I needed to do three specific things every
morning before picking up my phone. The first would be to take my medication.
This is important because if I need my medication in order to function. The
second thing to do was to go give my dog her medicine. This worked well because
it got me out of my bed and out into the back yard where I get fresh air and
move around a bit. The last thing to do was to make a cup of coffee. I chose
this act because I love coffee and caffeine can help you feel more alert and
away. Only after completing those three tasks would I allow myself to pick up
my phone.
This new morning routine has been awesome! I am awake and
functioning before noon. I’m sleeping around 9 hours now…which I think is way
better than 12-plus. Another great thing about this routine is that I find I’m
more likely to go out of the house and take on more responsibility, in my day,
when I wake up earlier and move around.
Now to some of you this may seem kind of…insignificant. But,
it’s not like that at all to me. Honestly, I feel better about myself when I
don’t sleep to much and when I follow that routine. I feel even better about
myself when I get out of my house and do things that other people take for granted.
For instance, going into a grocery store and volunteering at the nursing home.
I find that I can better take on the day when I follow this routine. I’m
working hard to improve myself here lately. I’ve been doing things like going
into busy stores and eating out in loud and crowded restaurants. Slowly but
surely I’m taking on more challenges and being brave.
Love, Randi
