It's Not the Stimuli, It's Your Response (React vs. Respond)
[ Disclaimer: Neither the title nor text of this post supports excusing the struggles of or abuses faced by victims of any kind. I cannot express enough how further traumatizing it has been to have people use my “bad attitude” against me when I’ve suffered. “Bad attitude”, or not suffering “correctly”, is never a valid reason to victim-blame someone, deny them help, nor presume what is best for them.] I need my sleep. It is critical for the management of both my chronic physical conditions and ongoing trauma recovery work. I put in a lot of time and effort, beginning the moment I awake and ending with the moment I fall asleep, to ensure I will get the rest I require. Despite this, there are still times when sleep evades me, and I end up lying in bed frustrated. Experiencing frustration is, notably, not a sleep-compatible emotion. The more frustrated I become, the more agitation fills my body. Tension builds and takes over all my muscles, I find my eyes open and staring with no pur...