“I've been laughing about how I sleep easily and do a lot of it these days, but also realized what if it's just my coping mechanism??? Lmao just another thing to overthink “ - me, 26 April 2022
Even when I was in high school and taking naps during weekend afternoons were only a grade school thing, I didn’t care. I still slept after reading Wattpad stories and before folding our laundry. That was my weekend routine.
During college, when I was an irregular student who picked out morning class schedules with weekends off, I sleep in the library or on my way home. And now that I’m in my mid twenties, and started working a little over a year ago, I still sleep a lot.
At first, I told myself that it was just because I was tired from having a 7 AM to 4 PM job. I’m in the office at 5 AM every day, which means waking up at 3 AM so I could hitch a free ride with my dad’s cousin to Manila. Sitting all day doing desk job, riding through at least a 4-hour back and forth commute, with only 5 hours of sleep is really tiring. Add the fact that your day could not all be rainbows and sunshine.
So, I take all the chances and liberties there are to sleep. When I arrive at work, I use that 2 hour time to sleep. During lunch, I at least take a 30 minute power nap. At night, I find myself nodding off at only 9:30 PM. Then on weekends, even after waking up late at around 9 AM, I just eat lunch, tinker here and there then sleep most of the afternoon.
Sometimes, I worry that I am wasting my youth over sleeping too much. That instead of hanging out with friends, writing, meeting people, thinking about my future, or just doing a better job for myself, I chose to sleep instead.
But my mom says that it’s fine. It’s totally understandable because I’m working and work is tiring. I agree. Work is tiring. It’s demanding. It’s draining.
Not to mention that being in 20s is confusing and scary as hell. It’s the time wherein I do not absolutely know what to do. There are all sorts of advice on the internet saying not to rush things because it takes time, that it’s completely normal to be in this state, and that everyone has their own pace.
But it soothes me for only a day or night. Then I’m back to being scared and lonely and lost.
When I stay off from the Internet and all social media to just sleep, it all goes away. I do not think about those things or those people. It’s just me.
I know these concerns and worries will not go away. In fact, it only gives me a couple of hours of peace. Sleep does nothing but to make me feel rested physically. But I do it more often these days.
And now, I’m even worried about what seems to be my coping mechanism.