Coping Skills for Exhaustion

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I am just so tired.

That phrase has been coming out of my mouth multiple times a day for weeks now.   It's not that I have too much to do, although I could always use less responsibility; it's just the weight of the many hats of a mother, a wife, a woman in ministry, a friend.... well, you know.  You know how it is.  I wouldn't take any of it back; I am just so tired.  Is it okay when you're tired but it's all from good things? I hope so.

My best friend called me last week, concerned, and asked, "What are you doing to take care of yourself?"  I replied with something like, "Ummm....."  That's a good question.  When I'm overwhelmed, I default to:  candy, chocolate, and eating.  Hmmm...I don't know if it's working out well for me.

What I need to be doing and what I am doing are two different things.  Here are some things that are good to do when overwhelmed:

- Just say "no" to more time commitments. This would come in handy now that we're committed to 24 Little League practices and games, just in the month of March.

- Spend time with God each day.  This is obvious, but I confess, it's probably the first thing that gets neglected when I'm overwhelmed with too much to do.

- Go to bed earlier.  Did I really need to watch "The Bachelor: The Women Tell All," even if it was to finally see Courtney show some remorse for her awful behavior?  (Disclaimer:  I honestly hate that show and have only watched it 2x, but long enough to see who the evil villain was!)

- Eat healthy.  Take it from me, a diet consisting of Girl Scout Cookies, fast food, coffee and Hershey's kisses will only make you feel worse.

- Have some time alone each day.  When some people are overwhelmed, it helps them to be around friends more, have coffee time, or chat on the phone for an hour. That definitely helps me too.  Yet at this level of exhaustion, I'm finding that time alone does more for me than anything else.  Time in quietness, in a dimly-lit room, just sitting still.

I'm sure exercise is also a great coping skill for exhaustion, but I'm just starting with these 5 things for now.  A nap couldn't hurt, either.  A long, five day nap.  What coping skills do you find work best when you're tired or exhausted?

This image was on Facebook today, with no link to the original source, but I thought it represented my current state of mind well :)