When I first started at my current job, I started on the overnight shift. 11pm-7am or 12 midnight-8am 5 days a week.
I learned rather quickly that I am not good at being up all night, all the time.
The only time working overnights worked in my favour, was when we did the all night Lord of The Rings Trilogy, all 3 extended versions - I was the only person who didn't fall asleep even once.
Within a couple of weeks of starting, I was falling asleep anywhere and everywhere. Trust me it's embarrassing when you get caught having fallen asleep in church because you closed your eyes when the Pastor says "let us pray" and didn't open them again until 25 minutes after he was finished praying.
It didn't matter how many hours of consecutive sleep I was getting during the day - trust me I was sleeping for like 10 hours a day, I just couldn't stop being tired.
I would be going along, doing just fine, alert, awake, smiling and joking, and then BAM! Exhausted and can't fight against it. It would happen at work too, in the middle of a shift. So I named the phenomenon THE TIRED.
Because we're talking about more than just being tired here, we're talking about a wave of exhaustion that hits suddenly, is all encompassing and you are powerless to fight it.
To put it in the monumental terms of a comic book - ahem, sorry I mean graphic novel: as Kryptonite is to Superman, so THE TIRED is to me.
So THE TIRED kind of went into retirement as a nemesis pretty quickly after I was switched off the night shift. But there have been some bouts of time when THE TIRED has tried for a comeback.
First there was the era of the ON-call shift. Pretty much working my day job and then being paged all night 3 or 4 nights a week. THE TIRED had a short but successful run at that time.
And somehow tonight THE TIRED is back. I hope it's just a one night appearance.
I woke-up at 6am as usual to the sound of running water, as usual (and amazingly it doesn't make me have to pee frantically anymore).
I got to work for the start of my 7am shift.
I went to an appointment after work at 4pm.
I got home for 5:30pm, made and had supper.
I went to the People's Church production of "Two from Galilee" where my friend Kellen plays Joseph (two enthusiastic thumbs up).
And as the musical ended, THE TIRED struck.
Now I'm home, I still have to make a trifle for tomorrow - and I'm going to be in a seminar all day before the celebrations of the evening.
And I can't move my butt off this computer chair.
zzzzzzz...............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........
what was that? oh right sorry, gotta make a trifle.
9 comments:
Be sure to warn me if I'm serving a trifle that you narcolept (heehee) your face in.
Also, for the record, comic book geeks don't usually mind hearing them referred to as comic books. Usually, "graphic novels" refers to a type of comic book you can buy, and those who use that term as an all-encompassing word for all comic books are pretentious losers who can't own up to their own geekiness. ;P
So it occurred to me last night: what are the odds that this is S.A.D.?
there might be something to that thought...
Mir... do you work at a job that has you indoors for the full day (no escaping periodically or at lunch)? If so, and you're getting to work by 7:00 (before sunrise) and sunset these days is around 4:40 or so... it could be S.A.D. Try upping your Vitamin D intake and see if that helps? (I've got a couple of S.A.D. sufferers in the family... it's not pretty)
S.A.D. is clinical depression that manifests in the winter months of the year, so it seems to be linked to sunlight and melanin production in the skin.
Ultimately however it is a clinical depression, and depression requires multiple symptoms in different categories of functioning, physical exhaustion can sometimes be a symptom, but is more usually linked to lack of sleep or too much sleep rather than as an isolated symptom.
For example someone with Depression (S.A.D. or otherwise) would most probably also have most of the following symptoms:
- loss of interest in and enjoyment from usual activities
- marked increase or decrease in appetite
- sleeping too much or too little
- decrease in personal grooming
- anxiety
- irratbility and desire to avoid social contact
I am sure that I don't have S.A.D. or a sleep disorder - I have been checked out.
Whenever I find that I'm tired more than normal, I make a point of taking my vitamins and hit the sack earlier than usual. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.
Sure I don't get to be as social as I'd like or attend everything I want to, but it keeps me sane.
BTw, your friend Kellen was excellent as Joseph [Kev and I attended last night's performance] I didn't really care for the girl that played Mary though, her voice was a bit pitchy at times.
Sad as it is, I preferred last year's show to this year's performance.
I did not get to see the kids' musical at our church or Kellen playing Joseph at People's, but I did see my nieces and nephews in their pageant at their church. My oldest niece played the part of Joseph...so it really really wasn't Joseph's fault that Mary was pregnant(!). Anyway, this isn't really related to Mir's original post, but I hope THE TIRED leaves you alone soon!
People with depression don't always have a large number of symptoms... nor are they often aware of their own symptoms (I have a number of relatives, some very close, who suffer from depression and other mental illnesses). It's the nature of the beast that it affects different people in different ways, and often alters their own perception of things.
But if you've been checked out, that's all good.
So, I've been depressed. Yay, me!
If you guys are interested in finding out or checking for Depression or other Mental Health stuff, you can do some questionnaires at www.checkupfromtheneckup.ca
and it will allow you to print off your results to discuss with your doctor or another medical or mental health professional if you choose to.
Oh an BTW - S.A.D. is usually not diagnosed until 3 consecutive periods. So for most epople you have to have been expereincing symptoms for 3 years before it's diagnosable.
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