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| Image credit: Mathew Knott |
“Thank you, Jesus, alleluia, thank you, Jesus, alleluia, thank you, Jesus, alleluia, thank you, Jesus, alleluia…” Curled up next to her in the double bed we shared, I sighed just a little louder, hoping to muffle the sound of Grandma’s prayers. I couldn’t even get away with telling my little sister to shut up, so there was no way I could use those words on Gram, but I thought them in the same repetitious rhythm as her chant. OK, “shut up” was too disrespectful, but wasn’t there a Bible verse somewhere criticizing the Gentiles who repeated the same words over and over? Probably wouldn’t go over much better, though. Perhaps sensing my growing irritation, she switched to song. “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.” My thought about Jesus keeping her singing verged on the profane.
I am over at A Deeper Family today sharing about my panic attacks, Grandma's insomnia and growing in understanding. I actually wrote this post a month ago, and although the stress from this last month has been even higher, my anxiety has been much better. My midwife suggested Peace and Calming essential oils from Young Living, and although I am not a distributor and have no incentive for promoting them, that oil has been amazing! It has stopped several panic attacks within seconds for me, and I have felt so much more balanced and in control when I use it. I know that different things work for different people, and I am looking at several options to deal with anxiety, but this has been the most helpful for me so far.
I have had great success with melatonin for helping both Whiz Kid and I overcome our anxiety-related insomnia. I worried about starting it because of not wanting him to become dependent. But all the studies said up to 3 months with no ill effects, and they were right. I used it for three weeks or so, then switched to every other night and sometimes an extra night if we'd had a stressful day. And it worked! Now we take it on an occasional basis as needed. Life is so much better. The best thing is, it doesn't prevent you waking up if you need to, although you might be a little groggier; but it will allow you to go back to sleep within a few minutes instead of laying there awake until an hour before the alarm goes off. I highly recommend it. And we use the 3mg size, so you don't need a lot. It comes in increments of 1mg (which I sometimes use for the younger two to prevent the toddler waking me up, and the 6-year-old from having nightmares), 3mg, 5mg, and 10mg.
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