There are times when we get so engrossed in life, that we forget about taking time out to recharge the batteries.
After years of trial and error, I have worked out that when the corners of my eyes start to burn, that is my low-battery notification. Others I have talked with have a similar warning sign - a knot in the stomach, sore or tight shoulders, a heavy chest perhaps, or some other physiological sign.
Prioritise 30 minutes of 'you time' each day to recharge before your low battery sign turns up. Spend just 30 minutes doing what you want to; something that makes you happy, something you get lost in.
Should We Sweat The Small Stuff?
With smaller annoyances, we tend to try and dismiss the event as insignificant, trivial, and easily moved on from. We often try to ignore the event or think that we did so, yet later that day/evening the annoyance returns to our thoughts. We might not tell anyone about what happened, for fear that it won’t mean anything to that person or that they may ridicule us for getting hung up on such a little thing.
When we hold onto any negative event in our head, the thoughts of it become exaggerated due to something termed as catastrophizing. It’s our brain's way of expanding the danger to bring clarity so that we can fix the issue. Unfortunately, when we catastrophize, we create a reality that doesn't exist.
If the annoyance has been and gone, we are left with only two options; try and dismiss it, or talk to someone about the annoyance to bring balance to our thoughts.
We know that trying to dismiss something that is playing on our mind generally doesn't work so we are left with talking to someone about it. Talking almost always helps us when we choose the right person.
There is a third option you may wish to try - “Run to the fire” - a mantra I coach. Bring the annoyance to the fore as it occurs. For the majority of us, we should deal with little annoyances at the time to prevent them from playing on our minds.
Switiching Off After Work.
The main challenge facing those working from home is the ability to switch off from their work life to their home life.
For many of us, we leave home and go to a place of work, then return home. Each location has a specific destination, so we can switch on and off reasonably comfortably. Home and work have different sights, sounds, smells, and our senses pick up on these differences and automatically switch our thoughts.
There are ways to work from home and switch our brains on and off so that we can relax at home and not think about work, despite it also being our place of work.
Just like getting a good night's sleep, it is all about consistent patterns.
When you are working from home, have a single place that you call "the office". If you don't have a room designated as an office, it can be anywhere in your home. I suggest somewhere far away from where you relax.
For those in the farming community or who actually live in the middle of their work, and don't have a physical office, choose a chair that is 'the work chair'.
When you enter that office/location or sit in that chair, say inside your head say - "Time for work!" When you have finished work and walk out of that office/location or stand up from that chair, inside your head say - "I'm home!"
Changing our pattern of behaviour can take a little time, often 60 to 80 days. However, if we bring physiology (a physical action) and psychology (what we say or think inside our head) together, amazing things happen in a much shorter timeframe.
For those who come home from work, all you have to do to switch off is to walk inside your home, while taking a deep breath through your nose as you do so, say inside your head - "I'm home!" When you have to do work from home in the evenings, use the same technique described above.
If you receive a work phone call at home, head to that office or sit in that chair to answer it.
We once had clear delineation between work and home, those lines have now been blurred. Introducing a few boundaries can be very effective in bringing balance back to our busy lives.
Let's talk!
Struggling With The 3pm Slump?
Struggling with the afternoon slump? Here are three quick-fix suggestions on refuelling your brain when you get tired, lethargic or fatigued;
Move it - moving around will produce endorphins, increase oxygen flow, bring ideas, burn off cortisol, and much more. A 15-minute fast-paced walk at lunchtime will get you through the afternoon.
Hydrate - 80% of your brain consists of water, you need water for your brain to function properly. Pure water, not coffee, tea, sodas, or any other fluid that might contain diuretics which will dehydrate you even further.
Get your protein in - prevent the afternoon crash by having a source of protein with every main meal.
Look forward to it - Looking forward to good things coming up in the future will generate similar chemicals to those produced when you smile. Think about something you can look forward to forward to at the end of the day or at the weekend.
You Are Not Mental!
"You're a mental!" A sentence said in jest by me growing up as a child of the Baby Boomer generation. As children, we seldom know what we are saying.
As adults, we know better. The words you use in jest can bully, humiliate, hurt, and ultimately destroy another person.
I'm a mental, a person who has had a mental illness.
Those words 'mental illness' conjure up all sorts of things. Words matter
I am a person who has had a brain sickness.
Brain sickness comes in many forms, from totally debilitating to those controlled with medication, to those who have recovered. Note I did not say fully recovered. Just like when you break a bone there is always a weak point where the bone has repaired itself. The same happens with your brain, there is always a weakness that you have to be careful with.
I used to think that all you needed to do to get over depression was to harden up, and get on with things. That is not so, these days!
If you have had a serious broken bone you may be left with continual pain that has to be managed by medication. It is okay to take medication for the pain of a bone injury, to go to the doctor to get help with healing - and therefore it is no different to take medication to manage the pain inside your head, or to seek help from a professional.
I am lucky, I do not have to take medication. But I do have to ensure I get enough sleep, exercise, and socialisation so that I do not get sick again.
When I had a mental illness, a brain sickness, I had a mild case of depression. (I convince myself it was mild, as it only lasted for a year and I didn’t need prescription medication to recover).
Note that I didn't say that I 'suffered' from it, I was 'had' it. Suffering is another negative word that we attach to the term mental illness. I wouldn't wish what I went through on anyone, not even for our worst enemies. However, what I learned about life on my journey I could not have learned any other way. And for that, I am very grateful. More grateful still to those who stuck by me.
There are many great people I know who have been to see the black dog and returned to be much wiser. Not stronger, wiser.
Some of those people love to share their gift with others so that other people don't have to go through the same thing. Listen to these people, and you will learn a lot.