You feel like your world is falling apart. Everything is a mess. You just can’t manage picking up the groceries, doing the laundry, the office work, the everyday pleasantries with people around, the awkward smile with your neighbor et al. You just can’t anymore. So, why aren’t you just taking a deep breath and letting it all go? Because you think you can’t. Isn’t this cycle driving you nuts?
It drove me nuts. Many times. I had to tell myself repeatedly that my neighbors will survive my non-smiling face (they did but I resumed smiling soon after my rejuvenation!) and my one day old unwashed laundry won’t send my cat into a coma. My office work? The company I work for won’t shut shop if one employee takes an off.
Do we realize that somewhere inside our head we have this wrongly wired circuit that keeps telling us: ”The world will stop if you do”. Oh! What a liar. Don’t let your mind fool you into thinking you’re god. Give yourself some credit for being human, embrace yourself, love yourself and most importantly, take care of yourself.
Logically speaking, if you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll not be able to take care of all of the other things in the long run. Empathetically speaking, you deserve the break to be able to refresh your body and your mind. Psychologically speaking, you’re driving at 100 miles per hour towards mental health problems. Here’s proof by Academy of Medical Sciences of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If you’re on the verge of burnout (you know you are), stop, breathe, take a day off and take care of yourself. Take more days off if you need to but do it. You can do the things that make you happy and make you feel confident. It can be just walks in the garden or spending time with your pets. Focus on “me” time. It’s not overrated. You’ll know it when you do it.
Don’t know what to do to reconnect with yourself? Here are some tips
- Start a gratitude journal. Write the little and the big things that matter to you, the ones you tend to forget in your daily busy life.
- Write your thoughts in a diary. Positive, negative, everything. It will help you reduce any bottled up anger, pain, frustration or stress.
- Call up a close friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. Talk about your old memories!
- Indulge in a hobby. Don’t worry if you’re a bathroom singer or if you have two left feet. Just do it if it makes you feel good.
- Read a self-help book. I strongly recommend ”Think Like a Monk” by Jay Shetty. Life changing.
- Listen to a podcast that helps you calm down and motivates you.
- Go to a coffee shop or an outdoor restaurant all by yourself. Treat yourself!
- If you like spas, go for a massage to help you relax your muscles and your mind.
Stop and Start
These are just few of the things that can help you put a speed-breaker in your life. Remember, its a speed breaker and not a full stop. Stop feeling guilty, you’re not committing a crime. There’s no need to lie that you’re down with fever or physically ill. Be courageous and say you need a break because you’re feeling burnt out and need to take time off to rejuvenate. Break the stigma. Start with YOU.
