I honestly don’t know which is worse….. when my mind and body are both exhausted and useless or when my body is out of commission yet my brain is working overtime! Sometimes I prefer when my body and mind are both wiped out. Although nothing gets accomplished, at least I don’t become anxious about all the things I wish I was doing. When my mind needs the same rest as my body I am able to accept that my day will be wasted. Unfortunately, when my mind and body are totally out of sync I am still unable to accomplish anything and the most frustrating part of that is that I am totally and completely mentally aware that I am getting nothing done.
Whether I like it or not, I have found that by obeying my body over my mind, my body will sometimes reward me with a few hours in which I can sit up and let my brain work off some steam. Outside of medicating so heavily that there is no other option other than sleeping the day away, these types of days can be maddening. Whether I medicate or not, this mind/body tug of war disrupts my normal sleep schedule. This then snowballs as it takes days and sometimes weeks to get back on track. Sometimes I wish my brain had an off switch!
The next time your mind and body fall out of sync, do what I do. Listen to your body and hope for a few good hours!! I sure wish I had something more profound or uplifting to add to that, but I don’t. That’s just the way it goes when you’re riding the chronic pain train…. we can go from full speed ahead to a screeching halt in less than 60 seconds.
Hoping YOUR day is filled with gentle hugs and smiles!
O you are absolutely spot on with this one! Total wipe out days at least have only one way to run. Sometimes the tussle of out of sync days is simply unbearable
I know what you mean. It is horrible when your body is wiped out but your mind can do nothing but think about all the bad things that don’t really help you relax and recover physically. When this happens I just try to distract my mind by reading a book or playing a video game.