Would I be correct to say many people are exhausted in this present generation? From midweek, exhaustion begins to dance in my eyes and bones. I'm super charged for a new week by Monday but when Wednesday draws close, I begin to feel the exhaustion and start daydreaming of Saturday so I can have some time to rest and relax!
My city is an ever busy place—all twenty fours and seven days of the week. I'm accustomed to the hustle and bustle around here, with chaos everywhere yet a part of me knows when to pause or shut down my schedule and find time to rest. If I don't, the effect is always adverse. And I don't mean the physical effect but also the mental and emotional.
I find @tibaire’s question in the Ladies of Hive Community Contest #178 interesting because I get to talk about one way I handle stress and exhaustion. I've always wondered why women take on so many responsibilities and accomplish them all. I grew up seeing my mother and other women in my life handling many things and multitasking. I was brought up to do the same and in no time, it became a part of me.
No doubt, women are specially gifted and strengthened in the area of multitasking and we do it so well! However, we must understand that people do die from exhaustion and stress. This is a fact backed by evidence but I don't have the statistical data to support this now.
Isn't it ironic that with modernisation and our technological advancements that produce machines to make our tasks easier, yet many are slowly wasting away from the stress of performing these tasks?
Rather than let myself ‘waste away' from pressure and stress, I always make time to rest and relax. I think this is something we have to be intentional about or else, exhaustion has a sneaky way of eating into parts of our lives that we may not notice until it's too late.
When I feel exhausted, I schedule some rest time and this is usually on the weekends. This is a time when I don't think about work but focusing on getting my body and mind right again. Often, I watch movies and/or read novels to calm my mind while I devote some time to sleeping to calm the brain.
Book That Appointment!
Every once in a month or two, I book a spa appointment for a sauna and body massage. This is my way of giving my body a special treatment, the health benefits are great and also they positively impact my mind as well. So it's like using a stone to kill two birds.
Without sounding like one of those health blogs, sauna and body massage are important. It's kind of a luxury in my country because of the cost but if done properly by a well-trained masseur or masseuse, you'll know it's money well spent.
There was this one time I had a very hectic week. It was a Friday so I talked to my boss and left work earlier than the closing time because my head was about to burst (in my imagination). I had a headache that wouldn't go away for days so I scheduled a massage session and went there straight.
Arriving at the parlour, the receptionist told me the masseuse I preferred was not around but another lady would attend to me. I became pissed because they could have informed me on the phone when I was booking my session so as to reschedule for when my preferred masseur would be available.
After pleading with me, there was no point going home and I needed some relief for my head. So I undressed, used the sauna and allowed this lady to attend to me. It was the best massage of my life till date! She kneaded my head like she knew I was having a terrible headache (and I told her nothing of my condition). I went back home smiling that evening without a headache!
Sauna cleanses toxins from the body and it's refreshing. Massage, especially Swedish, takes care of the muscles and just sets your body right. That's how I usually feel at the end of every session. Though expensive, I do this not for the luxury but for the health benefits.
I once told a work colleague who fell ill after burning the candle from both ends that he's replaceable and must take care of himself first. Work can come second.
So ladies, show your body and mind some love. We must manage our schedule by making time for relaxation to avoid exhaustion. A spa session always makes me feel better after an exhausting day or week. How do you cope with exhaustion and stress?
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