Stress

I have always thought  that I was good at handling stress. I work the best when I am under pressure to get things done. But sometimes I get so overwhelmed that I forget to take care of myself. I was diagnosed years ago with Epstien Barr Syndrome. I had to get at least 9-10 hours of sleep a night or I would get sick. My ammune system was shot and I got every virus that went around that year. Eventually, I started staying healthy and so far this year I have not even had a cold. I have managed to get down to about 8 hours of sleep and still be ok.

This week has been very stressful. On Weds. morning I was notified that my coworker is no longer with the agency so this means that I have to do my work and his too until he is replaced. Normally , I would say no big deal, but I have been swamped with my own work and have been working extra in the evenings just trying to catch up.  This week meant even more hours of work along with the other everyday stuff that I do.

Yesterday it started catching up with me. I was soooo tired that late in the afternoon , I even layed down and took a 15 min power nap.  I should have recognized then that I needed to be aware of my stress level but I just went back to work and then I kept 4 of my grandkids overnight.

This morning I woke up with my upper lip covered in fever blister which is how my body reacts to stress over load. I have 3 blisters and boy are they painful. I also tend to be a little short with people around me (if I offended anyone this week, I apologize).

I got to thinking , why is it that we never learn when we need a break. We just keep pushing our bodies and minds to the limit. I am reminded that there is a reason that the God created everything in six day and on the seventh took  a break. Even God knows that we need to take a break. He made our bodies to withstand a lot but He also built in a self perservation mode that says when enough is enough. Unfortunately we don't always recognize the warning signs or we just choose to ignore them.
My thinking was I had to get the work done so there was no way I could do anything else.

So today I pay the price with 3 unsightly and painful blisters and I am still soooo tired. But I am going to stop and take a break to day. No work and maybe even a nap this afternoon. Then we are going to church tonight and in between I will work on a puzzle with one of my grandsons.
Sometimes we just have to take a minute and rest in His peace. Everything will be ok in the end. It always works out.

I remind myself of my blessings and my husband for putting up with me when I am testy and grumpy and sometimes just plain mean. He usually takes the brunt of my stress.

So , How do you handle stress? Any tips you would like to share ?