AIBU to be sleeping so much after Mum died?

[millmoo]

My Mum died a few weeks ago and although it was sad and I do miss her it was the right thing for her. She was in pain and suffering so much with cancer it was horrifying to watch. I’ve put this in AIBU as didn’t know where to post so HQ might want to move it but I can not stop sleeping! I’m going to work and stuff and functioning normally but I just want to be in bed by 8pm and can sleep until 6.30am and I am sleeping soundly not even waking up to use the bathroom at night. Is this grieving or is this recovering from burn out as I’ve been working full time and doing as much care as I could for my mum but now that duty has gone.

Im sorry for your loss. Perfectly normal. I remember very little of the months after my mums death it was a blur

I’m really sorry to hear about your mum. I think the sleeping is your body’s way of healing after everything that has happened.

Listen to your body and sleep. But do make a point of spending time outside in daylight hours. And probably not best to laze in bed. But sleep is very important for all sorts of physical and emotional health reasons.

I’m sorry you’ve lost your mum. I recall being surprised at how exhausted I was after my dad died. You’ve been on ‘alert’ for some time and worrying, and now your brain is getting time to rest. I remember sleeping a lot too and just feeling so tired. It did pass.

So sorry for your loss. It's probably both. Grief affects people in all different ways and you'll have been under more stress than you realise. Your body is doing what it needs to.

You have been in a heightened state of emotions for a prolonged period and your body and mind need to rest and recover. Grief is a heavy burden to carry and often we don't realise how heavy it is - you need the sleep right now so just surrender to it. I'm so sorry for the loss of your mum 💐

It’s probably both, grief and burn out. If you need the rest then take it. Things will get better with time but for now just rest and take care of yourself

This happened to me after my Dad died. So much so that my mum had a go at me! I felt like I needed to sleep all the time. Looking back now I think it was just my body and brain’s way of coping.

Lost my husband 3 years ago and for about 6 months I’d have to have a nap after a morning activity (not working)

I read that a contributing factor to the tiredness is because you have to maintain the outside persona (masking) and then the grieving one so it takes so much more mental energy

you will gradually get your energy back

and youve also identified you may be burnt out

Emotional exhaustion and probably masking your pain all day. Can you take time off for a bit to recover and rest fully? It might help. I'm sorry you've lost your mum. I've been there and it's very hard.

I lost my mum a few weeks ago and I have slept so, so much . I am sure it’s your body recovering from the upset of it all .

When my mum died (she was ancient, I wasn’t overly upset), I can remember suddenly realising I was sleeping like a log. Same when my dad died 2 years later. It was weird.

I can remember friends texting me and asking if I was able to sleep. I didn’t like to tell them I was sleeping incredibly well. 😳

Probably both, could also be that you feel some kind of relief and your body has decided it's your time to rest.

No two people's grief is the same, there's no time limit. Listen to your body.

Sorry for your loss.

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thank you everyone for your kind words. I will just keep accepting the rest that my body obviously needs.