Do you have a habit of making life more complicated than perhaps necessary? Do you find yourself feeling overstimulated, exhausted or disconnected from yourself and others because things are moving at lightening speed? You’re not alone. And if we’re honest with ourselves, life could be a lot simpler and less stressful.
It’s Mental Health Awareness week and there are many people who suffer in silence, lack of awareness or denial from mental ill-health – from mild anxiety and low mood to more severe conditions such as depression, Bipolar Disorder, PTSD and anorexia nervosa. People can be suffering from the stigma as much as the condition itself.
Yes, mental health problems are starting to be acknowledged publicly as a human reality: a glaring symptom of our fast-paced, performance-obsessed society. Yes, companies, schools and health services are beginning to readjust their approach to mental wellbeing and stigmatisation at an organisational level.
But we still have a way to go. And that means taking things into our own hands. It means learning to prioritise our mental and emotional health for the sake of our overall wellbeing. And it means developing a deeper awareness of our lifestyle choices and the emotional triggers related on a day-to-day basis.
While many people struggled with feelings of isolation and loneliness during the 2019-20, one positive that may have arisen from the experience for others was that for the first time in their lives, they had the time and space to just be with fewer external
demands and obligations distracting us from how we really feel inside.
We live in a society where we’re permanently expected to be “doing” something and that this must contribute towards financial gain, new ventures, experiences and people. Everyone wanting a piece of you. In short, we’re constantly chasing our tails, scared to miss out, miss the boat and get left behind.
But what if we actually choose to not take the boat?
Learning to value smaller, simpler, slower-paced pleasures: quality interactions and experiences, rather than quantity, goes a huge way towards boosting inner satisfaction, while reducing levels of stress, overstimulation and exhaustion – for adults and children alike. Burnout isn’t age-sensitive!
Overstimulated? You have to make more time for you.
As the people around me know, I’ve always divided up my day with phone-free walks, mostly alone. It gives me a chance to recharge and process any mental or emotional stress and press reset for the next part of the day. The motion inspires thoughts and ideas I probably wouldn’t notice, were I to cram my day with back-to-back tasks, overstimulated by both human demands and technological automation.
The fact is: a simpler life, one with fewer diversions, enables you to become more attuned to what your body and emotions are communicating: And you in turn become more aware of what you need personally as an individual to feel good and able to grow in the way that suits you – not one that is forced on you.
Take the sting out of modern life.
Life isn’t in the least bit simple and I’m not by any stretch of the imagination suggesting we should live in the middle of nowhere and pick daisies all day long! But there are definitely better, healthier, more satisfying ways of running our lives, when we allow ourselves the chance to stop, breathe and choose. And choose again.
Are you feeling overwhelmed by daily demands and general pace of life?
Put your emotional health first and get in touch with me at Freeflow Coaching to talk more.
