The last several weeks have been highly stressful at work…besides the normal chaos and disfunctionality of the place that I work..we lost a member of our team..well, we didn’t really lose her..she decided to leave for a different job.
It was 12 hour days and 6 days a week of unrelenting stress…and I crashed and burned. As an HSP/INFJ had it eventually became more than I could handle. Absorbing all the information that needed to be handled, along with the angry emotions that were threaded throughout the team..ultimately it took all my energy and beyond…beyond is when I have to use caffeine and sugar to keep going.
We all do what needs to be done in the crisis of the moment..we keep swimming, even when our head is barely above the waterline…we keep swimming. The work busyness was unavoidable..and I didn’t really realize how emotionally overloaded I had become..
Until..I became emotional..a teary eyed, illogical and ‘grippy’ mess..about all things that on the average day would not have fazed me in the least…I had crashed and burned..sensory overload…
I needed to become centered and grounded again..because of an HSP’s depth of processing..both consciously and unconsciously..I take in more information and process things more deeply..my brain had become “overloaded”….
I was lucky to have had a three day weekend to ‘recuperate’…the first day, I cocooned and went into hidding..no mental or physical stimulation..no sugar or caffeine..it sounds like a horrible way to spend a 3 day holiday..but for me it was an absolutely blissful day…a mini-retreat
I felt better the next day, venturing gently back into social interactions..for a short time and enjoying the sunlight and fresh outdoor air..but after a few hours..it was time to retreat again..and sleep
By my third day, although I still felt a little body exhaustion, I was ready to go back to my world and work..with the normal every day stressors…but it was a hard learned reminder that to be available to others..we must take care of ourselves..in a way that is effective for who we are created be be..
Life, love and laughter
You are loved
Threads of Thought 