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Too Many Open Channels

There are a few people with one track minds and then there are the rest of us whose minds are (literally) running in a slew of different directions CONSTANTLY. Remember Dory from Finding Nemo? Kind of like that.

It’s true that many Americans don’t get enough sleep. You hear about it all the time, especially from the mattress providers whose mattresses are delivered to you like a rug. After you have kids, well, it’s pretty much over. And if you are a mom, you most likely have this crazy “spidey” sense (did I hear a child crying, falling out of bed, choking on gum in his sleep?) that inhibits you from falling into a deep sleep, unless of course, there is wine involved. Usually, copious amounts. But then in the morning, you realize that the throbbing headache was not worth the seven hours or so of sleep. Such a dilemma.

In talking to many of my friends, who are also moms, we share tips on the secret potions that eliminate, or really just hide for a couple of hours, the bags under our eyes from lack of sleep. So how did we get here? And WHY can’t we just have a temporary face-lift machine in our bathrooms for the morning get-ready routine? Of course, that would just be too easy.

Women are notorious for and EXPERT AT, multitasking. And sadly, that means, in quiet times aka laying in bed trying to fall asleep, we run literally 50,000 things in our heads. Ok, maybe not THAT many, but still. “OMG did I shut off the crockpot (can’t have the house burn down like in This Is Us), did I pack (insert kids name) lunch, did I pay the light bill, f$&k I forgot to sign (insert kids name) permission slip for the school trip, etc etc ETC. And this is no joke. Ask any mom. It’s like a computer that opens window after window after window until it finally sh$&’s the bed.

Aside from medically induced semi-sleep coma’s from the likes of Xanax and Ambien, how do we shut it all off? I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking. Personally, I have tried shooting (in my mind only) the idea or thought that I can’t get rid of, but I must be a terrible shot because it keeps coming back. I’ve tried guided meditation to try to occupy my mind, with the person’s voice from my iPhone telling me to sense the feeling of my skin on my body, etc, all the while I’m thinking of some To Do List item I forgot to accomplish. And really, how do you sense the feeling of your skin on your body without touching it? Apparently, I’m not good at sensory imagery.

Sleep for many, myself included, is often elusive. Too many open channels in the mind is the ultimate culprit. When my Mom was alive she used to joke all the time and say, “I need a frontal lobotomy.” I never asked her what she meant by it, but maybe this was it. Or maybe it was because my brother and I used to drive her crazy. Who knows!

I just hope we can figure out how to close all of the windows on the computer that is our mind before, of course, we end up sucking our thumbs and rocking back and forth in the corner of an insane asylum. If anyone figures this out, let me know. In the meantime, I guess I will opt for the wine.

Connie Bramer
Connie Bramerhttps://gyrb.org/
Connie Bramer is an entrepreneur, mom, breast cancer survivor, and author of “How Connie Got Her Rack Back,” her comical spin on the journey of cancer. Connie’s mission to help others through her own experiences drove her to found Get Your Rack Back Inc., a not for profit organization that provides financial assistance to cancer patients in Upstate NY. GYRB assists patients – men, women, and children with varying types of cancers – with gas and grocery gift cards as well as medical copay assistance. Connie has been featured in several magazines including Her Life New York and Womenz Straight Talk. As a cancer survivor, Connie was awarded the Hyatt’s prestigious Portrait of Understanding Award. In addition to her inspirational blog, gyrb. She also shares her everyday antics with a snarky sense of humor on her blog, The Humor Of It All. Connie is a contributing author to the inspiring books; Chaos to Clarity: Sacred Stories of Transformational Change and Crappy to Happy: Sacred Stories of Transformational Joy

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