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The Five Stages of Insomnia

Posted on by Ryan in Observations | 1 Comment

I actually wrote most of this a few nights ago when I was unable to sleep (shock, I know). The nearly exclusive reason for my occasional insomnia is that my brain is not ready to let me sleep, despite the rest of my body eagerly waiting rest. So there I was, not sleeping, when I realized over the last hour or so I had transitioned through several “phases.” Thinking back on those “phases,” I realized they were noticeably similar to the infamous Five Stages of Grief. Coincidence or not, I had to document my observations.

Stage 1: Denial

The denial stage is not so much about denying you are unable to obtain sleep. Instead, it occurs prior to the lack of obtaining sleep; specifically, when you decide to go to bed for various reasons other than you are literally falling asleep. Perhaps you have to be up earlier than normal the following day, or maybe it is fast approaching 2:15 AM and society tells us that we should be asleep at this time (unless you work a night shift, or you play video games). Regardless of the reason you decide to go to bed, it is not a good enough reason. This is denial, as it relates to insomnia.

Stage 2: Anger

At this point you are lying in your bed (or hanging from the rafters if conventional beds are too cliché for you). You realize you are not sleeping, primarily because you are able to realize you are not sleeping. A few minutes later you grumpily change your position in bed (or face a new wall, for you rafter-dwellers). The anger is slowly building inside you; a few more useless sleeping position adjustments and you may as well be a Sith apprentice.

“Come on,” you angrily think to yourself. “I need to be up in 4 hours. At this rate I will be lucky if I get a solid 3 hours of sleep.” Your anger has caused you to preclude the possibility of falling asleep this very instant, and instead have made the assumption that your lack of rest will continue for a while longer, but hopefully not more than another 60 minutes.

Eventually the anger passes, but you are still left awake. Read More »

Pedestrian Roadkill

Posted on by Ryan in Rants | No Comments

Maybe it’s just me, but don’t most pedestrians seem like morons around motor vehicles? Perhaps their self-preservation instincts shut off when they are walking in and around traffic. It seems abundantly obvious that motor vehicles should always have the right of way, given that in the event of a collision, people on foot stand no chance against automobiles. I understand that there are many situations where, by law, car traffic must yield to foot traffic, but I am speaking in regards to the people who will cross a street without even looking to see if the surrounding vehicles are yielding to them.

Where I come from, it doesn’t matter if you, as the pedestrian, have the right of way or not: you always check to make sure you won’t be hit before crossing in front of traffic. And not only do you stop and check, but you wave towards any vehicles that stopped for you, even if traffic laws dictate they stop for pedestrians. Your wave is a simple, polite way of saying, “Thank you for not running me the **** over.”

Read More »

Twenty Twelve

Posted on by Ryan in Ramblings | No Comments

That just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Not like 2011, which often came out as “twen’y ‘leven” if you were unwilling to take the time to say “two thousand eleven.” Say it one more time, now that you are thinking about your enunciation: 2012.

Despite that heart-warming moment we just shared, I am not writing a post solely on how easy it is to say 2012. I actually set out to write my first actual blog post, ever; it just so happens that this is also my first post of the year 2012, hence the title. It feels good to be writing something, but I am already feeling slightly overwhelmed. It’s not so much the act of writing; it’s actually just the idea that I need to organize my thoughts. Typically my through process is chaotic at best, so I imagine my first few posts will seem at least slightly scatter-brained. I think most people’s thought process is that way, but they either don’t admit it, or they don’t realize it. Read More »