Tag Archives: exhaustion

What if You ALWAYS Feel Tired?

It is fairly common for the average single parent—especially those who have full time custody of their child or children—to feel tired. After all, it can seem like the day and all of its responsibilities are never done. We may work too hard, eat on the run, and never get a full night’s sleep. Feeling tired can seem normal. However, if you are feeling so overwhelmingly tired that you just can’t get any energy going, or if you are constantly sleepy, achy or distracted, it might be worth it to look into your exhaustion. While tiredness is typical for the … Continue reading →

The Unexplained Tears

Most of the time, I feel like a fairly reasonable, practical person; I am not really someone who others would accuse of being irrational (while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that—it just isn’t really me), but there are those times when I DO get emotional, exhausted or overwhelmed. There are those times when I fall victim to the unexplained tears. And while my kids hate it—especially when I cannot really explain the why of it—I have learned that it is better for me to indulge a little cry now and again, then to try to ignore it, bury it, … Continue reading →

What Else Does Exhaustion Do to You?

A few days ago, I took a good look at myself and how being tired changes me. I get cranky, I get over-emotional, I eat more, and I get clumsy. And I’m not alone. Research has looked at how your body changes when you’re low on sleep. Sleep deprivation makes you crave junk food. Your body will be craving more calories than you actually need — especially in the form of sugars and starches. Just two nights of sleep deprivation makes your body produce more hunger hormones and fewer appetite suppressing hormones. Sleep deprivation makes your stress hormones spike. Cortisol … Continue reading →

What Does Exhaustion Do to You?

This is a totally subjective question. What does exhaustion do to you? Here’s what it does to me: Exhaustion makes me cranky. I tend to get very short tempered with people when I’m over-tired. Things come out much more sharply than I intend. I am brisk with friends and family. Exhaustion makes me clumsy. Yesterday, I dropped a full pitcher of iced tea (that I had just made) in the sink. No more iced tea! I’ve also made the mistake of taking a glass class — making pendants on a torch — when I was over-tired. I ended up dropping … Continue reading →

There Will be Days When the Exhaustion is Unbearable

I try to take a positive, encouraging tone when I write here in the Single Parents blog, but someone recently asked me if I wasn’t glossing over some of the realities and challenges of being a single parent. After all, for most of us, it is no walk in the park. I got to thinking that while exhaustion is not something that can be solely claimed by single parents, in my own experience, I never really, truly experienced utter exhaustion until after I became a solo parent… I think it helps to know that nothing lasts forever–even the exhaustion! We … Continue reading →

Don’t Take On Too Much!

I know that I am running the risk of lecturing some brick walls here, but take it from someone who knows and who has definitely been there—as single parents, it is important that we don’t let ourselves take on too much! I’m serious. I know it seems a little silly to be trying to tell the very people who get used to running around with heapingly full plates to take it easy; and I’m not really giving you permission to let everything drop and NOT do all the tasks, obligations, and responsibilities that come with a single parent family—I’m just … Continue reading →

Getting Enough Sleep Should Be a Priority

Meeting the needs of children with medical problems or behavioral disorders can be exhausting. A child who must be checked and re-checked throughout the night, or one with sleep disturbances or night terrors can leave parents frustrated and overwhelmed. And if we’re not careful, we can become accustomed to getting very little rest and almost forget what a real night of recuperative sleep feels like. When we’re sleep-deprived, we’re more likely to feel like we’re incapable of handling everything we have to accomplish in a day. Problems seem so much bigger. We’re irritable without knowing exactly why. Sometimes sleep-deprivation makes … Continue reading →

Exhaustion Impairs Clarity

I do not want to imply that single parents have the market cornered on exhaustion. Parenting, in general, can be incredibly taxing. Add in a full time job (or two), other relationships and responsibilities, and you’ve got a recipe for a fairly frazzled life. However, for single parents where overextension can be the rule rather than the exception, we need to keep in mind that exhaustion can impair our ability to see clearly, make good decisions, and be truly present to meet the challenges of our families. There have been those times when I’ve let myself get so far gone … Continue reading →

X is for eXtreme Fitness

Everyone has to stretch for a good X word when you do a list of alphabet tips and in our case, we’re doing exercise tips. I could have gone X is for eXercise, but eXtreme fitness is a topic we don’t talk about here as often as we might. The idea of extreme fitness is that you push yourself to your limit during every single workout that you do. The idea is based on no pain, no gain. Extreme fitness buffs want to feel the pain from their workout, believing that without that pain they won’t achieve their fitness goals. … Continue reading →

Dear Heather …I’m Exhausted

Dear Heather, I’m exhausted. I confess, I don’t like exercising. I do it because I need to do it and because I read blogs like yours that promote all the wonderful things that exercise can do for you. I want exercise to do all those wonderful things for me. But I have four children, the youngest is turning a year old next month and the oldest is finishing up the fifth grade at the same time. My husband works and is often gone for 12 to 14 hours a day. I never stop moving, from the moment I get up … Continue reading →