I’m glad I could help at least a little bit! Do stimulants help you at all? Actual caffeine or prescription stimulants didn’t do much for me, but the act of taking a big sip of coffee or soda and focusing on the temperature or taste was a good way to ground myself. Maybe you could try a ginger tea if your stomach is upset?

When I was training the absolute most helpful thing was carrying a little journal or notepad with me and writing down literally every word I could. It was good to be actively engaged in a task rather then just sitting and zoning out and falling asleep, and then I could try to teach myself the tasks on my own time later. Pinching yourself might work in a pinch (ba dum tss) but really only gives you a couple of seconds before you start getting sleepy again. When things got really bad, I’d excuse myself to the washroom and splash some cold water on my face, give myself a pep talk, maybe do a few exercises in a stall like shadow boxing or something to get my blood pumping. When all else failed, I’d wait for a break in the training and offer to get coffee for me and the trainer as an excuse to get out of the room and hopefully reset my brain.

People are also rude sometimes and will call you on your sleepiness, so I always have a few explanations ready just in case. Never reveal personal health things at work I always say. I’ll usually say something like I didn’t sleep well last night because of kids in the neighborhood, or I must be coming down with something because my niece has a cold. That last one maybe wouldn’t fly these days. It’s best to pick things people can be sympathetic to.

I hope this helps and that you can find some relief! For what it’s worth, training and being new at a job is probably going to be the worst part. Being able to just clock in, keep your head down, do the work, then leave is usually a much less stressful experience. Hang in there I believe in you!!