elysian

13 - for the love of god drink water

So I learned today that dehydration can cause symptoms like irritability, fatigue, and even trigger what's called sensory overload (it's common with anxiety, where you're sensitive to small things such as a spoon clanking against the sink or being able to hear a clock ticking or someone breathing, etc. etc.).

And since I have anxiety, I experience fatigue and irritability and sensory overload literally almost every day. What I noticed, though, was that these symptoms were more frequent on school days — when I'm around people from early in the morning to the almost-late-afternoon without a single break, which causes my anxiety to skyrocket to the freaking moon.

But I came home from school today and had the sudden urge to drink water, so I did and I probably drank a lot more than someone should at one time, but I was so goddamn thirsty. I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

And then I realized that, oh yeah, I don't really drink water while I'm at school. I'm usually too busy and forget or just don't want to drink too much because I absolutely despise public bathrooms.

But after I drank all that water, I seriously started feeling better. I didn't need a nap after school like I usually do — though I did chill in bed for half an hour anyway because introverts have to recharge or I'll never get anything done. And I was actually able to finish my homework before it got super late.

Moral of the story: drink your fuckin' water, kids. Seriously.

Air conditioning — which runs constantly in school — will dry you out and cause dehydration. Being too busy and forgetting to drink water will pile up and dehydrate you. So drink. water.

I don't even care if you have to drink a ton before you leave the house and then a ton when you get home to compensate, drink your water. Your body needs it to survive, and it'll probably lessen your symptoms (if you have any of those I listed) if you do.

It did lessen mine, though they didn't entirely go away. I still have anxiety, so those symptoms are still very much present, but they weren't as heightened. The fatigue wasn't so bad that I had to take a two hour nap. The irritability wasn't so bad that I had to literally sit in my room with the door closed for an hour to calm myself down. The sensory overload wasn't so bad to the point that I had to put headphones in while we were out eating dinner.

I still felt these symptoms, but they were more manageable. I was able to substitute the nap with a half an hour chill-recharge-on-YouTube-time. I was able to substitute closing myself in my room with that chill time. And I was able to actually enjoy dinner without needing music to have my brain focus on something else.

That's all I have to say really. Stay hydrated. It's important.