I learned a lot about stress during one seminar at work. The HSE officer spoke to us on hidden triggers and cited some examples that we really did not know were a thing.
You see, stress could be tricky; when some of us hear the word "stress," the first things that arise in our minds are the feelings of fatigue and exhaustion, probably from the day's work or any physical activity, and one would think, "Maybe if I don't work so hard, I won't be so stressed," but the truth is, stress is inevitable. It's almost like an extension of every human being because if it doesn't come as physical, it comes as emotional or psychological.
You might not be a hard worker, but then you find yourself battling one form of anxiety or the other. It could be a turbulent love affair, a business deal gone bad, or a friendship gone south. It could even be trouble at work or government policies and the economy constantly sabotaging all your efforts to work smart and not hard.
Basically, whatever unsettles you has the tendency of stressing you out. And while we cannot completely avoid stress, we can only manage our activities, thoughts, and actions to minimize anxiety, fatigue, and the feeling of being overwhelmed.
I have shared countless times how stress dealt with me, and I thought it was just me reacting to coffee. At one point my hormones went wild, and every biological experience I had during that time was extreme, so much so that it became clear that it was no longer coffee.
I proceeded to think that maybe it was malaria; I ran some tests and treated it, but I was still hallucinating, and the awkward experiences, not so extreme anymore, continued.
It was not until I broke down completely and the doctor sought to know about my daily routine that I became aware of the amount of damage I had brought upon myself from taking up several jobs and working overtime. As always, the doctor advised that I cut down on my activities and get more sleep.
Well, I saw myself going from 2 to 4 hours of sleep daily to 6 or 8 hours of sleep. While my health improved, I still did not feel whole, as I often caught myself getting panic attacks and being overwhelmed with anxiety.
In fact, for every time that I sleep, I beat myself up thinking about what I would have achieved. But then I thought about my health too because what good will it be if I make all that money, execute all those tasks, and not be healthy enough to enjoy them? So in order to set things right, I struck a balance between self-care and work.
I did set the routine by apportioning time to every one of my activities; it's even funny how I was doing so much and earning so little. made me realize it's not about how much effort one puts in but how tactical and strategic these efforts are being expended.
Wrapping this up, my experience amongst many is the foremost reason why I do not joke with a calm mind and some beauty sleep.
Basically I stopped cross-carpetting my activities and took the phrase "there is time for everything" very seriously. The result? Wellness and a healthy mind.