Exhausted yet?
Aside from the emotional stuff, you are also dealing with concrete issues. Your work has changed. You’re possibly on unemployment, if you’ve successfully filed your claims. You feel a great deal of uncertainty. You’re not sure where you will get money for food and necessities for your family.
It’s no wonder you’re tired. Staring at a screen all day, most likely, messes with your eyeballs and with your brain. Your sleep is off and when you do sleep, the dreams keep on coming.
What in the world can be done about all of this?
There’s no advice I will give you that is going to be a game-changer. I’m also not the advice lady. I’m more the help-you-look-inward lady. The I’ll-sit-with-you-when-you’re-breaking-down lady.
Besides, you read all the click-bait. The 10 tips for multi-tasking or the 5 tips for feeling exhausted. You know they don’t work. You’ve either tried them all or you think they’re way too cheesy for you.
Does it make you feel any better that I fall into both of those categories? That certain brands of cheesiness don’t sit right with me either? Believe me when I say that I get where you’re coming from. I hear it from my clients all the time – that nothing is working right now.
The best thing I can do for you now is give you support. It’s all I have right now. That support involves me listening to you. And hearing you. And getting you.
It’s not the same as the olden days, just a couple of months ago, when I sat in a room with clients and listened to their struggles. We have a screen between us now, but we can still see each other and hear each other.
What I see during this time is that if you have a pattern of coping when the crap hits the fan, you’re acting out that same pattern right now. Because if this isn’t crap hitting a fan, then what is? This is the most bizarre-o-land situation most of us ever dealt with. I had to say *most* because you’ve likely seen some stuff in your life. In this case, though, everyone around us is going through this all at the same time.
But about those pesky patterns…
If you’re someone who gets handed a load of crappy crap to deal with, you react to it in your own unique way. Some of you take the load and burrow away in your bed, pull the covers up, and will it away. Or pretend it’s not happening. Or refuse to get out until it’s all over. You are so mentally exhausted from all of the juggling. Some of you channel that energy into worrying. And worrying. And worrying a little more. Because if you just worry about it, that’s really going to help. (I know that doesn’t work too well.)
There is no shame in needing someone to talk to right now. Someone who’s not your mom or your friend or your work wife or work husband. Is it possible to take this load of crappy crap we’ve all been dealt and see it as an opportunity? My hunch is that you had some patterns that weren’t working out for you long before this happened. And you put off getting some help. But maybe now is that opportunity. You want to do this crisis different than you’ve done the last one. Or the last twenty.
You’re not alone here
A lot has happened since then, but I wrote another blog post about the exhaustion of keeping up a frenetic pace. You can read that here.
I’m around for a phone or video consultation if you are tired of feeling exhausted. change is now. Or even the contemplation of making a change. Whatever pre-conceived notions you have about talking to a therapist online – just push them aside for a moment. I know you’re exhausted right now. You don’t have to be. Let’s connect and see if we are a good fit. Send me an email at cmgsnyder@gmail.com. Looking forward to meeting you.