We all know the mind is a powerful thing. There is a large understanding that there is a deep connection between the mind and the body. The medical community has been slowly shifting gears and realizing that our mental state can have profound effect on our bodies and that our state of mind is sometimes a connection to our physical ailments. Society today is under a lot of pressure, and the stresses of life can catch up quickly.
About 5 years ago, I had the burn out experience. I was 22 years old, living on my own and just trying to get by. I work a total of 6 different jobs. Housekeeper, dance teacher, brand rep for 3 companies and had weekend job at a local casino. I worked every day, some nights I would get home at 3 or 4 in the morning and get up at 6 or 7 AM to start all over again. Some days the only time I got to sit down and eat was when I was in my car driving from one job to the next. This lasted about 5 months until I completely crashed. I had no energy, got really sick and was in terrible mood all the time. Although I needed the work, I was completely useless because I couldn’t even function. I had no time for myself to relax and unwind, it was go, go, go.
I ended up find one full time job and eventually things slowed down however, it took me almost a year to recover. I had developed terrible stomach issues that caused me to have low energy, I felt sick all the time and I had a rash all over my face. My immune system had totally crashed. I had seen so many doctors and spent a lot money on seeing specialist and naturopaths. I put myself through all that stress and over working myself and it just ended up costing me thousands of dollars and a year to recover. It was so not worth it.
We are told if there is no pain there is no gain but this isn’t always true. I tortured myself with a ridiculous schedule and gained nothing but weight, stress and health issues. When we over work ourselves there are many lasting health effects like heart, sleep, stomach and weight problems. We develop poor eating habits, can become anxious or depressed. I would say the less pain, the more gain when it comes to balancing your life. It is so important for us to pull back sometimes and do what is best for ourselves.
Sometimes we need to disconnect in order to reconnect. We have the world at our fingertip through our devices, and there is a growing addiction to the need of this constant connection and lose ourselves in midst of all of it. While being connected to the world has many amazing things about it, we need to connect more to ourselves to be part of the beautiful things in life. This is why taking time for yourself to relax, reflect, meditate or laugh is so important. We repair our bodied and minds when we are rested. When we have time to think and process things is when we grow. This is way more beneficial than being burnt out a miserable. Take a minute to be present, relax and surrender and feel all the magnificent benefits of a clear mind and body.