Tag Archive for 'anger'

snapping, but not like a turtle

There’s a very destructive cycle that wraps around my relationship with bigR.  I have obvious and serious anger issues, and often (OK always) snap far too quickly when the little dude is not acting quite right.  Trouble is, he snaps just as quickly, which causes me to snap even quicker, which causes him to — see how obvious?

He’s three, he’s temperamental, I understand that.  I’m thirty, I’m cranky, I understand that, as well.  But that should place me with the advantage, right?  I know I’m anger prone and short-tempered, and I understand his stage in life.  bigR just knows I’m daddy, and everything I do, he does.

It’s just too bad he’s such an attentive observer and an uncanny imitator.

headaches, medication, anger, etc.

Today’s been rough.  Steadily worse.  A battle to control my anger, as my fuse burns shorter and shorter.  I’m almost too tense to write - it’s amazing how distracting such frustration can be.

So what’s got me upset?  The usual.  Noise, headaches, sinus trouble, bigR’s attitude, littleR’s perfectly-pitched cries, work.  You’d think after all this time I’d have learned to deal with it all and just relax, but I can’t.  The worst of it is, after wrangling a free day off work for my nonsectomy, I slept for eleven hours last night.  That’s like, unheard of.  Seems the longer I sleep the worse I wake up feeling.  That’s not right.

I should be on my way to the airport to pick up my mother right now, but her flight is having numerous problems, which is unsurprising.  She is flying out here on a free ticket she received for her last flight having problems.  Looks to be no different this time around.  So, if you’d like to purchase just one ticket to Hawaii, then receive a free ticket every time you want to come back, fly ATA.  This seems to be their standard practice.

Let’s get back to this headache; this thing will just NOT go away.  As you may know I was recently prescribed Tramadol
for my migraines.  So far we are swinging 0 for 2 on its effectiveness.  After giving up on the drugs for the day, I turned to my Anti-Drug: alcohol.  Guinness #1 went down nice and smooth with dinner; #2 is even better as I write this.

Here’s hoping for a better tomorrow.

getting over the hump

I swear I used to be a pretty good writer. I think I peaked just before coming home from Iraq, last October. I think long-term lack of sleep has something to do with this. Truth be told, I got way more sleep in War than I ever did (& do) at Home. I run a steady four to six hours a night, and that’s pretty much been the norm for most of the last decade. Sure, there are some good nights in there, but not enough to fully recover from a week of in-bed-at-midnight-and-up-for-work-at-4AM.

I recently saw a neurologist to help explain some bright spots on my brain and minor slips in my cognitive ability lately. (Don’t ever do your own web research on any symptoms you have for anything - I was scared shitless for weeks because I had convinced myself I had MS.) There were, indeed, bright spots, but they were small, and around the outside edges. Migraines were the likely culprit, due largely to long-term high blood pressure, due largely to lack of sleep and excessive stress.

Wait, where am I going with this? Ah, right, my writing.

Fifteen months stuck in the desert of northern Iraq was just the place I needed to realize my creative powers. Regular and frequent writings lead to better style, sharper wit, and more engaging dialog. And there’s no denying the creative push of ANGER. Lots and lots of anger.

But now I’m home. I’m safe, I’m happy. The anger is still there; I’ve found it terribly difficult to get rid of. Trouble is it doesn’t have much of a target anymore, so I just find myself a little angry at a whole lot of things. I’m working on it.

Ok, now that we’re coming to a close on my Thesis of Incohesive Thought Processes, I almost want to do something I know I shouldn’t. Two steps in I feel I should defend myself and apologize for the quality of my work. I want to, but I’m not going to.

Instead I’ll have some tea. And I will do my best not to melt my mug in the process.

Stay tuned; better things to come.

[EDIT: I have such trouble focusing my attention I don’t even remember what that subject line has to do with … what hump?]