Day by Day--Handling Stress

The BEST part of the past two weeks was me figuring out that I can’t stay at school til 5:00 anymore. My neighbor is always concerned about my stress levels (I cried on Christmas Day—how lame is that?) and told me to look up Dr. Lam’s article on Adrenal Fatigue. I’m not going to follow Dr. Lam’s strict program for Adrenal Recovery, but reading his article made me realize that I wasn’t giving myself enough time to rejuvenate each day. By going to bed late, I robbed my body of the time usually spent rejuvenating the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are what the body uses to handle stress. I knew I couldn’t just eliminate all the activities in my life. Instead, I had to ensure that my body was able to handle the stress of teaching school from day to day. By going to bed at eleven, my body didn’t have enough rest to recover and be replenished for the next day. So the next morning, I’d already be running on borrowed energy. That night, I’d go to bed late again, trying to keep up with writing, recreation, and family duties, thus depleting my energy reserves even further, day after day, until my body literally couldn’t handle the stress any more.
This week, I’ve committed to go to bed by 10:30 every night so that my body gets enough sleep to replenish the energy I need for the next day. In addition, I’ve committed to leave school by 4:00 every afternoon to make sure that my brain has enough time to recover from school, emails, and angry parents before I have to attend institute, FHE, or karate practice. School is great, but I need time to unwind and regroup before I’m ready to socialize at institute.
Basically, I’ve committed to give my body the sleep and time it needs to replenish itself every day instead of waiting for Summer vacation to feel happy again. If I don’t clean off my desk, I can do it the next morning when I’m feeling refreshed and energetic. I’ll have more energy and thus, I’ll be more efficient and get more done. It’s worked! I’m loving it so far. It’s okay for me to have a terrible, stressful day at school. I just need to have time to rest and recover. Leaving school at 4:00 is now a NECESSITY, not a luxury.
I never knew that bedtime, day after day, was so important! My neighbor was very concerned, knowing that I needed to figure out how to handle all the stress in my life before diving into an accelerated, one year film school program. How would I survive? The Advanced Immersion program goes for 11 months straight. NO summer vacation. I can’t wait for the weekend anymore to feel “okay” again. I don’t want to wait for summer vacation or Christmas break or the next term to feel happy. I want to be happy every day, every hour. I have a RIGHT to be happy every day and wake up in the morning with a cheerful heart. Although I can’t escape the stress of everyday life, if I give myself time to rest every day, than it won’t matter anymore. My problem wasn’t the fact that I had to do Mom’s tax abatement and write and handle lesson planning, along with writing projects and singles ward activities, the problem was that I was running myself to the ground, never stopping, night after night. If I rest as I go, I’ll have enough energy to handle it all. If I rest, I can greet the next day with a cheerful heart and be prepared for whatever the next day might bring. Wow.
My life has grown. More activities, more responsibilities, more requirements. I way I handle all those things has to change, too. Day by day, work and rest, sorrow and joy—that’s the secret. Just like Elder Anderson said in his CES fireside talk. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. That’s the secret.