Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Helping Others

I have been awake since 3:00 this morning.

This is not unusual. I decided today at 5:15 am that 3:00 am- 6:00 am are my least favorite hours of the twenty four I have access to, and yet I experience them more than hours I find likable, like 6:00 am- 9:00 am, for example.

I only slept for four hours last night, too.

I generally wake up, spend several hours thinking of Very Important Things, compose a list of Action Steps, finally get out of bed to Take Action, and get on facebook instead. After exhausting facebook's entertainment potential, I go back to sleep for just long enough to ensure I will be a complete zombie for the rest of the day.

As soon as I am done with this inane post, I will read the assigned chapters for my class tonight. I will read about theories of career counseling, an assignment designed to help me help others.

At 3:00 this afternoon I will see a client. For some sick reason, I never seem to sleep more than four hours on nights when I have a client scheduled the following day. I don't think the waking is caused by anxiety about the appointment; it feels more like a sick twist of fate to me. Either way, the consequence is that instead of listening to my client and providing helpful feedback or asking relevant questions most likely my focus will remain on willing my body to stop yawning. Can you imagine anything worse than seeing a counselor who keeps yawning through the session? I can't.

I got an A in stats, a class required for graduation. On the other hand, I fail to maintain basic life functioning fairly often. Lucky for me, this is not a graduation requirement. I question the legitimacy of giving a degree in helping others to a person who can't even sleep through the night herself, but I didn't make the rules.

5 comments:

Adriana said...

Im assuming you've tried the natural sleep aids... turkey, chamomile, and masturbation. recommended in that order. ;) good luck.

Zillah said...

i would admonish you to get some sleep, but i am too acquainted with impossibility of said directive. instead: good luck. i understand your pain.

(masturbation is far simpler and quicker than roasting a turkey.)

amy said...

Adriana, thank you for the helpful tips.

Anna, thank you for the empathy.

As a graduate of a sex therapy class and a reader of all things related to lady parts, I wish that your post script was accurate--sadly I fear there are many ladies more familiar with the turkey baster's utility in the kitchen than the bedroom.

I fear I have once again gone too far here. I blame the lack of sleep and menstrual cramps. I've been reduced to a quaking mass of impropriety.

Jen said...

I once read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Someoneorother Weissbluth, and he said that small children have a window of opportunity for the best bedtime. If you let them stay up too late, they get an adrenaline rush that makes it physically impossible to go to sleep. I don't know if it works for adults, but he suggests putting the child to bed an hour earlier the next night. Good sleep begets more good sleep. Maybe a nap the day before?

Also, I am always extremely tired when pregnant and fall asleep early and easily (until the bump is too big). So that's a thought.

CK said...

Actually, I think its a handy skill to be able to wake up at 3am/4am to get something done. You will find that that is the best time to get anything done for the adult population when you have kids.