Post-Nap Panic, Avoiding Homework, and Anxiety Management

I just had the most BIZARRE experience... I got home from the library after working for a few hours, chatted on the phone with my mom for a while, cleaned the apartment, and then decided to curl up in my comfy chair under a blanket and rest my eyes for a while. Now, I'm not the best napper in that sometimes I just kind of doze on and off but don't really sleep, and plus today I wasn't even super tired so I wasn't really expecting to conk out. Well...conk out I did, and woke up about two hours later SO CONFUSED. I literally had no clue where I was or what day it was. Obviously I checked the time on my phone, but was convinced that it was wrong because I was POSITIVE that it was Saturday so I was like, how the heck could it be 6pm on Sunday, because that would mean that I slept for like 24 hours straight??? It took me forever to figure out that yes, indeed it was Sunday, and that apparently I really needed that nap.

source

But seriously. My sleep has been so screwed up lately, it's no wonder I'm dropping off in the middle of the day. I usually can fall asleep fine at night, but then wake up a bunch of times. Then I'm usually up for good by 6ish not feeling very rested and refreshed. Over the summer I was taking naps almost every day, which was lovely, but I don't really have time for that anymore. I am generally ready to call it a night by 10 or 11 but fight really to stay up later...although of course I'm useless after that anyway so I might as well just go to sleep. Dr. P recommended valerian root, which I am kind of skeptical of but may give it a try. A friend of mine once gave me melatonin, which I didn't find effective but I also didn't stick with it very long. And as I think I've written about before, I have awful "sleep hygiene" so a lot of my sleep issues could probably be addressed through improving that.

Anyways. I'm sitting here trying to work on my midterm paper, but obviously I'm not trying that hard because I'm blogging. I really like this class and want the professor to think I'm a smarty pants so I really really want to do well on this paper, but damn it's boring. Good thing I still have two weeks...

too cool for school

Update on that scary moment from a couple weeks ago: I am generally feeling much better, but humbled. I am doing my best to take my medication every day, although am not at 100% yet. I still haven't figured out the best ways to make Anxiety Prevention a priority even when I'm not feeling anxious, but at least it's on my radar. On the plus side, I am still essentially pain free, my school work is kind of a breeze, I'm getting the hang of working in the clinic, and I've made a lot more close friends this semester. So, trying to keep the big picture in mind.

Hope everyone has a great week coming up—take care.