I think everyone at this time of year can relate to this; FEELING TIRED and ALWAYS being tired.  

Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I say to myself, “I can’t wait to go back to bed tonight”.   I am so tired.  Pretty much ALL of the time.  I can remember working my multiple jobs, partying my ass off and returning to work after 4 hours or less of sleep; and not feeling A THING.  I was perky and springy as hell.  NOW if I stay up past midnight, I have the worst hangover even though I did not partake in any substances… except Advil.  Advil is my best friend.    

You can contribute it to the time of year.   To the weather.  It’s certainly the grey ass skies… day after day and every day for months on end.   It’s working and dealing with the pressures at work.  Its stress.  It’s lack of vacationing.   It’s raising a family.  It’s financially budgeting, and it’s a thing called ….LIFE.   Life is wonderful and mesmerizing, although it is VERY challenging.   I have this exact conversation with my friends all the time…  Where we question; is it more tiring because we’re older?  and with age comes aches?  Is it because we have a shit load of responsibility? Or is it because of autoimmune diseases\chronic illness\health related issues?

When you Google tiredness; Rheumatoid Arthritis rates 5^thout of the 10 top reasons for tiredness.   Depression rates 4^th.   Anemia rates number 1 and Chronic Fatigue rates the 6^th reason for being tired {I find this an hmmm… moment because most autoimmune diseases cause chronic fatigue}.

As we get older, we get busier.  Since we a busier, we’re tireder??   LOL {I know that’s not a word… I like to use my rhyming skills}.   We plan everything {ok fine!!… not everyone plans everything.  I plan everything about everything for everything…so what? }.  

The reality… we live a fast paced life.   We race against the clock… every damn day.    We run errands on our lunch, in between appointments and on the way home from work.   We rarely have time for ourselves.  We rarely watch shows at their appropriate times because we are too busy doing something else and we can PVR {record} it.   We don’t even shop in stores anymore, we buy everything online.  WHY?  Cause it’s more convenient and because we don’t have the time.   Although, it’s really a catch twenty-two because we spend more time staring at a screen and\or smart phone where we get instant gratification which also causes TIRED BRAIN.    A great majority of us are busy with children and all of their activities.  We have them in so many things to ensure they have several opportunities to explore themselves that we lose their cues of telling us they just want to stay home and play with their toys and\or outside with the neighborhood friends.  AND we do this until we have empty nests and\or retirement. 

We have all know what we need to do for more energy….

• Drink 8 glasses of water daily… I try but it’s hard to do when your mouth is open all day because you have to speak to people constantly.
• Exercise… ummm ya but it’s a vicious circle. Who wants to exercise when you’re exhausted; especially us chronic illness sufferers.  I suggest  starting as a  last minute decision when you have a day\evening when you’re feeling generally OK.  I swim.  It takes the pressure off my joints, doesn’t hurt during the activity, it’s a cardio\resistance exercise and it’s my serenity.
• Take Vitamins… Vitamin D does wonders. I swear by it!!
• Sleep 7 to 8 hours… This is another catch twenty-two. We work late; we make dinner, we have chores at home that need to be done even if they are the bare necessities to function.  If we have children, we support them through homework and bedtime routine.    For me, once I complete all my chores {and for those who know me… I actually do leave some chores … not many…but I do}, ME time starts very late so I’m not getting to bed until later.  Me time is essential for my mental health.   If I don’t get some ME time, people do not like me.   I am one nasty, resentful biatch…and scary too.   There’s also partner time to factor in. 
• Eat well… blah blah blah… we all know this. We all try to do this… but chocolate or whatever is your pleasure is just sooo damn good.  AND a drive thru is convenient isn’t it.  

There are a number of things we can try to do to get more energy.  The brutal truth though… we need to change our lifestyle in most cases.   In order to do that, you have to make life changes that are easier said than done.    We live in a Society where money is key.  Everything costs money…every freak’n thang.    I for one, am willing to make some of those changes.   I’m tried of saying “I’m tired” every time I’m asked how I’m doing.   Aren’t you?