tips for relaxing needed

[midori]

Originally posted by jenny

i'm actually not terribly stressed, just usually hyper, and now a bit sad.

 

anything in particular that has you sad?

[Tony T]

As yourself why you are hyper. Again, you control that. Being hyper is a decision. Nobody has you under remote control. Why are you hyper? I can't begin to tell you how many people are killed each year speeding to their homes or other places when they have nothing particularly important to do upon their arrival. Analyze why you are this way. If you find you must be hyper, then work yourself up into being as hyper as you possibly can...I mean work yourself into a dizzying frenzy. This technique was termed "paradoxical intention" by Vienese psychiatrist Victor Frankel. He used it to help people fall asleep...by urging them to do everything in their power to remain awake...and it worked.

 

But for some reason you have found a need to keep yourself in a hyper state. It sounds like a learned behavior, probably from your parents who may have given you many tasks to do quickly when you were young. As an adult, there is no good reason to be in this state...unless you are trying to work up some high blood pressure. Think back on just how you were coaxed into running around like a chicken with its head cut off...why you insist on having throught buzz through your head at the speed of light. What good purpose does it serve you...what good comes from it?

[jenny]

i'm frustrated (ergo sad) by not getting the response i desired, which is about control. i see what you mean, and that's valid. alright. i'm off to teach and not think about this any longer. thanks again guys...

[jenny]

i never really thought about it, truthfully. i was pretty over-stimulated as a child, i guess.

 

 

were you ever hyper, Tony?

[moimeme]

People who get the most stressed are usually control freaks who have a need to have things occur just a certain way and in a certain time. When you give that up, you'll find things will go a lot better for you.

 

Bullfeathers. People who have excesses of cortisol feel stressed and hyper. Cortisol release can be triggered by caffeine, among other things.

 

As yourself why you are hyper. Again, you control that

 

Again, not true. People can have anxiety disorders or even AD/HD, one of whose extremely common characteristics in adulthood is feeling 'stressed' and/or 'hyper' all the time.

 

What good purpose does it serve you...what good comes from it?

 

This is the behaviourist school of thought. The more we learn about the physiological causes of psychological issues, the less useful these theories become. I would first find out if there's a chemical disorder underlying your problems, Jenny. Even our lovely female hormones can affect our sleep. No need to examine yourself for 'faulty thinking' or some sort of childhood 'learned behaviours' just yet.

[jenny]

i appreaciate all of this input, and especially your concern, moi, but it's really only once every five months or so that i have *this much* trouble sleeping. i won't mention it again. i'll also be more careful with my adjectives - i think i misused hyper - most of the time it's closer to energetic and optimistic. occasionally in love.

 

thanks again in any event!

[moimeme]

Ah, well that changes the story. Every few months or so, my sleep/wake cycle goes askew, too. In fact, mine's been bunged up a little. I fix it by sleeping on the couch rather than in my bed. The change of venue seems to shake the new cycle loose. Don't know if it coincides with the solstices or what..