Light, Noise, and Nerves

Sometimes, as women or men with Chronic Illnesses, we have to bend to the way the wind blows.  For some reason, my blood sugar is going up – I know it is not diet, so that leaves illness or stress.  I suppose my diabetes could be getting worse, but I doubt it.  And the other thing is that I have felt extremely jittery almost all day, with it increasing early this evening.  It feels as if every nerve in my body is standing on end.

[David Castillo Dominici] / FreeDigitalphotos.net

One of the things that is really getting to me is noise.  Some days, I can listen to different stations as my husband surfs stations during commercials; but today, I am cringing inside with the different noises in the house.  It is as if my body is wired and the nerves are being attacked.  Why that changes from day to day is a mystery to me.

However, today, I was reading an article by Adrienne Dellwo, and she had written, “We don't know the causes of light and noise sensitivity, but they're often called "generalized hypervigilance." That means our bodies are constantly on high alert. It's also a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder.”  I don’t know if a nightmare, right before you wake up could aggravate hypervigilance, but I had a humdinger that was about the dearest people in my life right before I woke up today.  I remember waking up grieved and sad.  That might be enough to start a bad day that would stimulate hypervigilence.

However, I have not let that keep me from going on to Day 7 of  FlyLady’s 31 Daysof Beginner Babysteps.  And it is worth it, because tomorrow, I can say I have done a week’s worth of steps. I congratulate myself for following through.  I don’t have a clean house yet, but I am going to.  I am sure of that. 

One more thing:  I have found FlyLady Bingo is a game that encourages me to make headway.  I played it today, and got some things done that were on my to-do list.  Action is sometimes a way to make it through a day that starts off badly.  That at least gives me the satisfaction of knowing I am in charge, not my illness.