Hectic Lifestyle – In a world where 2+2 sometimes equals 5 and other times 78, it’s kind of hard to stay happy and content with the life you are leading. If anything, lifting yourself up mentally day by day seems to be the number one priority, especially if you want to stay sane, at least a bit. We go back and forth between strong plans but very poorly executed actions (or non-existing ones, really), and end up completely frustrated feeling that we’re not only missing out but selling ourselves short of everything we want and hope to do.
Usually,the subjective (maybe even objective) feeling is that the only thing we can actually keep up with are our careers, better yet – our working schedules,with our lives dangling somewhere in between. Does that sound bitter? No, how could it, right? Even if your hips have gotten 10cm wider, your social life has gone down the drain and your love life is currently non-existent, why would you be bitter? It’s all natural. As if.
To all of you who are looking to blow off some steam by at least reading an article written by someone as pissed as you are (and maybe even pick up some great tips along the way), here are a few observations on how hectic lifestyle influence our everyday:
Your nervous system goes to hell
With unhealthy lifestyle (irregular shifts at work, parallel jobs, overtime, multiple engagements, etc.) comes mental cracking. You don’t have to have a diagnosis to feel exhausted, worn out and mentally tired. In fact, it happens to everyone – and often. An imbalanced life is the first step to feeling bad long term. When you are juggling work, home (if you have a family) and some other pending commitments like taking care of your parents, pets, or being part-time on that other job, your body and mind will burst and shut down.
This is why it’s important to react as soon as possible and introduce some positive changes in your life, no matter how small or insignificant they might seem. Taking up yoga, going into therapy, leaving an extra hour for your morning coffee, sleeping 30 minutes morethan usual, engaging in happy conversations with your neighbors… anything that may move you away from the mundane into the happy will do!
Your body and health wrack up
Unless you are a superwoman (or superman) and you actually find the time to cook, you are probably eating takeout and all sorts of vending machine junk at the office. Naturally, with all the sitting and calories, it’s a given that your body will go crazy! You’ll probably gain weight, your body may reshape (yes, love handles, we are looking at you!), your posture will change and you may even experience health issues such as constant headaches, stomach pains, back pain, neck pain, sagging under-eye bags, etc. – all depending on the type of work you do and stress levels you have to deal with daily. Try to introduce any sort of physical activity in your day, even if it’s just walking to work, and make sure to keep yourself motivated to do it regularly.
This is why the activity you introduce should be easy for you at first, because it’s easier to convince yourself to do something that doesn’t seem like a huge effort. It’s also important to have a good sleep on a solid quality mattress which will definitely improve your mood and health. Shape has explained how sleeping on your stomach could give your body a positive boost – it’ll thank you!
Your social and love life suffer
When you are working 15+ hours a day or even 8 hours in weird shifts, it gets kind of hard to have a life outside the office. What usually happens is that you start going out with your colleagues because they are the only ones available and your “real friends” get to see you once a month (if that). Snap out of it, even if it meant seeing your friends after work when you are dead tired! They should adjust too, given the situation you are in. The more you see them, the happier you’ll be. Plus, they’ll be an amazing distraction from things you aren’t that pleased about.
Love and relationships will also suffer but it’s double-effort. Your partner needs to adjust too (just as your friends do) and work out a way with you to see each other as much as possible. Unfortunately, some things come at a cost – and yours is this one.
In conclusion, the price one might have to pay for the hectic lifestyle is simply too high and it’s totally not worth it! The good news is that you can implement beneficial changes before it’s too late, and we hope that this article was helpful to at least give you a nudge in the right direction.