To feel overwhelmed.

[PiriPiriMenopause]

This year has been so very difficult. Financially I’m barely keeping my head above water. It’s just been very stressful for such a long time with one thing after another and I think it may be catching up with me now. I feel like I’m shutting down. It’s a horrible sensation and I really don’t know what to do.

I am exhausted all the time and I just feel horrible. I feel like if I could I would just sleep for a month. DH has been trying to help over Christmas with various things to make things easier, but I just feel like I’m losing myself more. His job is 90% of what drives the stress we’ve been experiencing and he’s taking a break over Christmas which is great but as soon as it’s over it’s back into it and I’m just lot ready. I’ve been through stressful periods in life, as we all have, but nothing has left me feeling this knackered physically and mentally. This is such a strange and alien feeling to me and I can’t do anything to shift it. Even the thought of having to go to the shop later is overwhelming and my body is physically aching and I just feel hideous. I just don’t really know if it’s the stress, hormones, age or a lack of something. It’s almost like a feeling of being claustrophobic. I have to go out in 1/2 an hour to do my daily stuff and then go to the shop and try and get two days of food for the family as well as friends coming for NYE on a really tight budget. I just can’t face any of it and I actually feel sick. I don’t want to have to use my brain!!

Who else has experienced this and how have you tackled it? I just don’t know what’s wrong. This isn’t me and putting on a social mask is becoming really hard work.

I am SO tired.

I haven't experienced this but I think you need to take it seriously. I would prioritise sleep. Cancel the friends on NYE. Talk to your husband about what changes can be made to your lives. It's difficult to advise without more info about how his job creates this level of stress.

I can’t cancel this late, but I’m definitely not going to socialise for a while after this!

I sleep fairly well generally but I never seem to wake up feeling rested. I’ve started having really weird dreams every night too. Usually I don’t remember my dreams but for the past month I seem to wake up most morning having had really vivid ones, which is strange.

Our entire lifestyle is DHs job, so there is never escape from it, and it’s so turbulent just now, huge family fall outs and all sorts of mess. There are many wolves at the door and it’s a relentless daily battle to keep every one at bay. It’s just drowning me. He deals with stress by switching off where as I am in full fight or flight mode 24/7 whilst maintaining everything’s ok on the surface.

it is utterly exhausting. I don’t think the lack of sunlight is helping because it just always feels so dark. Thankfully we’ve got through Christmas ok.