Stress Related Narcolepsy

At the end of last week I pretty much fell asleep. All the time. I'd be thinking about, say, the pay cut Logan took last week and suddenly my eyes couldn't stay open anymore. Or maybe I'd think about the pending litigation with the landlord and then I'm out. I think I slept approximately 86 hours last week.

This is not the most effective way of handling stress but it surely beats having a public anxiety attack. Of course, then again maybe I'm not harnessing the power of worry very well.

Let's see what happens this week, maybe I can sleep for 100 hours!

Remember how I started my year over at the beginning of February?

I think I'm scrapping the do-over and maybe we'll just go with this as our 2009 mantra. There are only what? Nine more months anyway.

Comments

[Sara]

Being awake is overrated

[Hayley]

I like the new look and new pic!

And it's better that you sleep than maybe, i dunno... open fire in a public area. I've heard some people handle stress that way.

[wendy]

I also sleep when I'm stressed. I can't fall asleep at night because I'm worried about too many things, but in the middle of the day I instantly fall asleep if things get too stressful.
The upside for me is that I'm never suicidal. I'd just like to sleep for several years.

[chiara]

i love the link. i am so over 2009.

[Eva]

I think you should stay miserable longer---'cause you make it sound so good. Sleep for 86 hours...please, can I?

[Heather B.]

I had to start 2009 over last week with a champagne toast. And yet March is still all, "Fuck you!" I don't get this year. Not in the least.

[kate]

your new pic is super cute!

[Sunshine]

I was over 2009 when by the end of February my daughter had had pneumonia twice in 35 days. Yay for spending all our money on ER visits. And all the money we don't have on breathing treatments. I go to bed at 8 and only get up because I have to go to work to keep health insurance b/c her medication seriously retails at $600 FOR A TWO WEEK SUPPLY. Sorry...guess I just needed to vent. Really really hope things start resolving for you all.

[Amelia]

If you're in need of an anthem, that motto is actually taken from a song by the Mountain Goats (This Year, off The Sunset Tree) -- can't recommend it highly enough.

And seriously, WTF 2009? My year thus far has involved my aunt and my father-in-law both being in the hospital for cancer treatments, my mother-in-law in the hospital for other problems, my mother going absolutely off her narcissistic rocker, and, and, and... Is it wrong to say that, as much as I wish other folks were having an easier time, I'm comforted by the fact that this year isn't singling me out?

[Ashley]

You too?

When I'm unhappy or stressed, I feel it's better to sleep right through it.

I try to tell myself that I'm "working through it subconsciously"

In reality, I'm avoiding life. And that works for me.

[Melissa R.]

2009 is the ugly, skinny stepsister to 2008's ugly, bloated one. Bastard year.

Second Amelia's recommendation about the Mountain Goats— amazing songs, absolutely killer writing.

PS you might find The Sunset Tree personally relevant— it's a narrative that describes a childhood that is not too far removed from what you've written here about your own experiences— but in a "Fuck you, I'm going to survive anyway" sort of way. It made me feel a little better about some of my own personal stuff.

[Lora]

I'd have to agree that 2009 is sucking in a big way so far. My father-in-law died in January, my dad almost died March 1 and is still in the hospital, and our beloved dog died this past weekend. I'd like to know what I did to piss off the universe so I can stop doing it.

[Tricia]

Is this where we do the "misery loves company" thing? Because this year has sucked royally for me, too. As in, I was in a little ball on the floor this morning saying "I can't take it. What did I do to piss someone off so much?". And I'm not talking figuratively on the floor in a ball, I'm talking literally on the floor in a ball. That would be from the news that we will owe $10K in taxes. Do we have $10K? No. And our dog needs chemo - money for which we do not have - and after spending $4K on surgery for him. And my daycare provider unexpectedly died at the end of Feb.

Seriously, what the hell is going on? My crazy way of trying to deal with things I cannot control is to try to control the things that I can - which is why my spice rack is alphabetically arranged and my clothing is hung by garment type in a ROY G. BIV color spectrum. I feel a bit like I'm playing the violin while Rome is burning but at least my towels will be folded properly in the linen closet before they all go up in flames.

[Michelle]

Aw, hang in there, everyone.

[Laura]

I was thinking my 2009 was sucking but not so much after reading these comments. Hope you all reach brighter days soon.

[TheFishmonger]

The aforementioned mountain goats' song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYCzDhaRV60