Thursday, October 30, 2008

Responsibility - the leading cause of insomnia

Every once in awhile I go through periods where I just can't sleep. Some nights are worse than others, but I've noticed that my insomnia issues really seem to be stress-related. For example, during my first semester of grad school, I went through a several week period where I either didn't sleep at all for nights in a row, or would average 3-4 hours a night for several weeks. It was rough. Fortunately, these bouts with insomnia are pretty few and far between. Unfortunately, the insomnia appears to be back, if only briefly (I hope!). So, you may be wondering, what in my life is causing this current bout with insomnia? Well, it is hard to say specifically ('cause I'm sure work could be a culprit, too), but about 1 month ago I was called as the Relief Society President in my ward. That is no small assignment, under any circumstances, but our ward is undergoing big changes right now, making my task particularly daunting. In August our ward was moved from one stake to another, causing big changes in our boundaries. We are now housed in the Camelback Stake, but because we are a Young Single Adult ward, we take in 3 stakes, total. That is a very large area, geographically. That also changed our membership dynamics quite a bit, and we now have a MUCH larger ward, in terms of numbers and geography. I was called just after all the changes were made and inherited a Relief Society that had lost nearly all staffing due to the changes. We have had the large task of integrating a very big influx of new sisters and trying to almost completely staff a Relief Society. Needless to say, I have been on the go almost constantly. Tonight was the first night in some time that I haven't had specific Relief Society responsibilities (meetings, visits, staffing discussions, etc.) to conduct. So rather than catch up on all of my other activities that are falling behind (cleaning, bills, organizing, catching up on sorely overdue emails to friends), I got home from work, did a few small things around the house, and then crashed at about 6 pm. I napped for about 1 1/2 hours, then got up in enough time to watch The Office (which, I have to say, I am growing quite disappointed in. . . but I'll save that for another time). Admittedly, that evening nap probably didn't help my current state of affairs any. . . but still. Not being able to sleep isn't fun! So, as things start to slowly fall into place with the ward (as they always do), I am sure my sleeping patterns will improve. Until then, I am always looking for fellow insomniacs for some late-night company!

No comments: