The After Holiday Crash
A mother shares her story:
Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 7:12pm
My daughter Christine has Lupus (I suffer from my own auto immune disease) and she thinks she is invincible. She tries to overcompensate for the times she feels like hell, by being Superwoman, Supermom and Martha Stewart, all rolled into one.
In the weeks preceeding Christmas her home looked like a Winter Wonderland, tastefully decorated with snowmen and snowflakes. She had her precious daughter Olivia's picture taken with Santa and her photo cards were out on time- way before mine. Chris even managed to buy and wrap over 40 gifts and bake about 10 dozen batches of cookies. She definitely had the Spirit of Christmas and her energy level seemed nothing short of a Christmas miracle.
Fast forward two days after Christmas; the presents were all unwrapped, the cookies were now crumbs, the parties and family get togethers were all over and my daughter's house looked like Babies R Us had relocated to her living room. Unfortunately, Christine had hit the wall. Lying among the torn wrapping paper and pile of toy doubles that needed to be returned, I found my daughter crashed on the couch. She was totally depleted- she had spent all her "spoons" on the holiday and now she was left with none. Chris was upset that she was again sick- that Lupus had flared its ugly head once more.
But I am sure Chris is far from alone. Since Christmas, so many of my friends, the healthy ones, have all been bitten by a strange "bug." They think it's a virus, but I think it's "Holidaydepletion." Everyone, especially women, wear themselves out during the month of December in hopes of creating the perfect holiday of their dreams. And on top of that, I find that many people with a chronic illness turn down one of two paths. They either become depressed and give up, saying that the holidays are overwhelming or they do what my daughter does and over-achieves, trying to make everything perfect, even though her body is not. I once told Chris she had an over-achiever's mind in an under-achiever's body.
So back to the proverbial Wall that so many hit after the holiday. Be kind to yourself- allow yourself the luxury of sleep, without guilt or fretting. Do all the things your mother used to remind you to do- drink lots of water, eat healthy food, take your vitamins, soak in a warm bath, put your feet up and most of all rest. For those with an illness, don't always think your cold or run down condition is from your illness, the healthy among you are dragging themselves around too.
Article written by Janet Miserandino, © 2009 butyoudontlooksick.com
Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 7:12pm
My daughter Christine has Lupus (I suffer from my own auto immune disease) and she thinks she is invincible. She tries to overcompensate for the times she feels like hell, by being Superwoman, Supermom and Martha Stewart, all rolled into one.
In the weeks preceeding Christmas her home looked like a Winter Wonderland, tastefully decorated with snowmen and snowflakes. She had her precious daughter Olivia's picture taken with Santa and her photo cards were out on time- way before mine. Chris even managed to buy and wrap over 40 gifts and bake about 10 dozen batches of cookies. She definitely had the Spirit of Christmas and her energy level seemed nothing short of a Christmas miracle.
Fast forward two days after Christmas; the presents were all unwrapped, the cookies were now crumbs, the parties and family get togethers were all over and my daughter's house looked like Babies R Us had relocated to her living room. Unfortunately, Christine had hit the wall. Lying among the torn wrapping paper and pile of toy doubles that needed to be returned, I found my daughter crashed on the couch. She was totally depleted- she had spent all her "spoons" on the holiday and now she was left with none. Chris was upset that she was again sick- that Lupus had flared its ugly head once more.
But I am sure Chris is far from alone. Since Christmas, so many of my friends, the healthy ones, have all been bitten by a strange "bug." They think it's a virus, but I think it's "Holidaydepletion." Everyone, especially women, wear themselves out during the month of December in hopes of creating the perfect holiday of their dreams. And on top of that, I find that many people with a chronic illness turn down one of two paths. They either become depressed and give up, saying that the holidays are overwhelming or they do what my daughter does and over-achieves, trying to make everything perfect, even though her body is not. I once told Chris she had an over-achiever's mind in an under-achiever's body.
So back to the proverbial Wall that so many hit after the holiday. Be kind to yourself- allow yourself the luxury of sleep, without guilt or fretting. Do all the things your mother used to remind you to do- drink lots of water, eat healthy food, take your vitamins, soak in a warm bath, put your feet up and most of all rest. For those with an illness, don't always think your cold or run down condition is from your illness, the healthy among you are dragging themselves around too.
Article written by Janet Miserandino, © 2009 butyoudontlooksick.com
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