During the ten years of caregiving, I could sometimes keep the stress under control by exercise, adequate sleep, prayer, eating wisely. But the last month stress got the upper hand, and I share this with you to remind us all of the damage of stress. During the dying and funeral process, I was unable to sleep, except one night at the end when my daughter came to stay overnight. She brought dinner, went to the nursing home with me, and I seemed to feel a lift in shouldering the responsibilities while she was here. The week of his dying and funeral were particularly bad with no time for exercise and i was unable to sleep.
The effects of that stress were blatant. I was simply not myself at the funeral after not sleeping at all, and this week I have had consistent diarrhea. Finally, last night I slept.
I share this because I want us to be aware of the incredible damage of stress. We need to avoid what stress we can and deal effectively with what cannot be avoided.
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