August 3, 2010

ENERGY CONSERVATION

Energy conservation (aka REST) is something that I have only recently begun to take seriously. It is something that my rheumatologist and my occupational therapist tried to emphasize with me. I (unintentionally) disregarded it at the time. I think it's because there are certain things in my life (ie. school and work) that I have to keep up with. It's not exactly an option to just start "taking it easy".

Then, a couple weeks ago, I spoke with someone whose wife has rheumatoid arthritis. He said that she sleeps about 10 hours every night, and that it really helps with her condition. This got me thinking again. I went back and looked at a note that my occupational therapist had left for me. She said there were two things I should really pay special attention to. The first was preventing joint deformity, and the second was "USING YOUR ENERGY WISELY".

Fatigue and low energy are common symptoms for people with arthritis. The doctors asked me if I have low energy levels. I absolutely do, but I never thought that it might be related to the arthritis. I am a working student, I'm busy and of course I'm tired. How do you know when your energy levels deviate from the norm when they are normal to you? I'm still having a hard time accepting this possibility. If it is a reality, it is important that I acknowledge it and respond to it.

I have learned a lot about the importance of sleep. I know that the body does a lot of healing and detoxification during sleep. There is a direct link between sleep (quality and duration) and many health ailments.

So why is this so hard? Why is it so difficult to give myself permission to relax, rest or even slow down? I honestly feel guilty giving myself time to do nothing. I think we are socialized to always stay busy and productive. Sleeping in is often seen as lazy, wasteful.

I'm making a commitment to myself (and it's a process) to allow myself to rest. I have always tried to be in tune with my body and its needs. If I feel that I need to relax, then I need to feel guilt-free about doing so. I need to be okay saying no. I need to be okay with telling people what I need. I need to be selfish and give myself the gift of rest. It may be vital to my healing process.

2 comments:

  1. This is something that my mom has learned a lot lately. There is nothing wrong with you saying you need to go rest or go to bed, regardless of the time. Good for you girly! Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are NO words to express to you how much I LOVE this post!!! You always give me so much to think about and tonight I especially needed this!!! You have inspired me to do better at listening to my body. Love you! P.S. As a funny side note, my word verification that I had to type in to post this was "Restidia". Hahaha! Ironic or what? I don't know what Restidia is, but it sounds restful and like it goes with this post. Lol.

    ReplyDelete