Increase in Responsibilities- How do you tell everyone you aren't Superwoman(anymore)
 

As many of you know, I am attending grad school part time. Although I am not working, I am taking a class that is like an internship. I spend 12 hours a week in a preschool classroom for kids with special needs. (3 days 4 hours a day per drs instructions). This class/internship and my other class require a lot of writing/computer time. The internship was one of the few classes I have left to complete my degree, so I didn't really have a choice to put it off.

I'm feel very overwhelmed. My professors and the classroom teacher have been wonderful and understanding and allow me to turn things in as I finish them, take breaks as needed etc.

The problem is that friends and family assume since I'm back in the classroom, I'm must be almost better. However, my brain and body are struggling to adjust to the increased demands. I have seen a huge spike in symptoms. The days I am in the classroom, I come home and completely crash out. Which leaves the other 4 days of the week filled with computer time and homework.

It seems everyone assumes I should be able to keep all with all the added responsibility AND all that I had been doing before, such as taking care of the house, spending time with friends and family, etc.

This is really hard for me because I've always been one to take care of others before myself. It took a LONG time to accept that this couldn't be the case during my recovery. But now that people think I'm "better" (despite my increase in symptoms!), I feel guilty that I am not able to do all those things and keep up with my new responsibilities.

How do you tell people that increased responsibilities, may mean you are able to do less (at least for a while), than you had previously been doing? No one seems to understand this. And it hurts, because it makes me feel like people think I stopped caring about them. That's not case. I just can't be superwoman.... how do I get people to undertand this?

<shivers>
Just your title alone hurts my stomach. I go 1,000 mph at work, I work through my lunch and break, and in the evenings. Just the thought of that pace scares me into a brain fog.
I'm not sure how you tell people, but I know boundaries are important for your well being. Retire your cape superwoman. Even Michael Jordan came out of retirement from time to time...because he chose to. Chose what's best for you, other people don't have to live with your symptoms. Oooohkay...rambling now. Symptom of my brain injury.
Best wishes,
MissingMe

I am sorry you are going threw this.It is the hardest thing to get people you love and care about to understand the complexity of this complex syndrome and for others to understand that pushing ourselves to far will come with relapses....I would tell them that you are feeling better from initial accident but you also feel yourself relapsing from the stress and being overwhelmed that this could turn into a negative relapse....

I would also remind them that you are very grateful of their support and you are trying your hardest but your brain is starting to bring back symptoms and this is a indication that you need to slow down for your recovery and not relapse. I feel your pain and I hope this helps you:hug:

You poor thing. So much stress!

I would just tell them that being back in the classroom is taking a lot of your energy right now -- maybe even more than you expected -- and so you are finding that you are going to need some extra help or understanding with XYZ.

Don't apologize. The work you are doing is hard for people WITH a fully functional brain!! :)

You tell them you are injured on the inside of your head. It maybe hard to tell because you can look the picture of health. The brain can take a longer time to heal than say a broken limb which will have a visual que when the injured is better. If that does not work tell them to go to You Tube and watch the series, " you look great parts 1 thru 6." If that fails to get the message across look them straight in the face and say, I am sorry my brain injury is your inconvenience! It is amazing how little value friendship is to some people. When you are truely injured is when you find out who your true friends are. Lose the guilt you are injured and it is reasonable to expect people to respect that fact!