Did You Know Grief Causes Fatigue? - #101

Fatigue is defined in the dictionary as extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness.  

This definition doesn't name grief as a cause of fatigue.  I think tiredness and need for sleep are often omitted in lists of grief symptoms.

Grieving, letting go of what/who we have lost, requires surrender. Letting go takes practice and patience. It is not always obvious how much energy it takes to surrender.

As I write this, I am feeling a low level of fatigue. I've learned to expect this so I'm not fighting it. When my Mother died, I remember rushing home from work and falling asleep, waking up to eat, and then going back to bed. I was worried that something was physically wrong with me.

When grieving, plan on feeling this way. Fatigue comes and goes in waves that are difficult to understand or to explain to others.

The Prescription:

Naps. 
Rest. 
Ask for help with daily chores. 
Take Out Food.

My plan for today is to fill this prescription.  Marion Woodman* writes this in an elegant way that fits for us in the Northern Hemisphere:

To surrender is to accept

life as it is:

winter today, spring tomorrow;

cruelty with beauty;

aloneness after love.

 Thanks for exploring the mystery with me - Nicky Mendenhall

*Coming Home to Myself: Reflections for Nurturing a Woman's Body & Soul, page 117.