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My Concerns
I can’t even count the number of times I’ve had conversations the last few weeks around how hard patients are pushing themselves. While it’s true that many are enjoying the “work from home” aspect, I’ve noticed a few common trends that I DO NOT WANT TO CONTINUE. Lack of Breaks Whether you’re working from home, at your regular work location, or at home (with or without kids) right now, it’s SO important to MAKE TIME to take breaks and take breathers throughout your day. I’ve had so many patients report that they’re absolutely exhausted by the end of the day because they’re literally going for hours on end without a moment to take a breather. This doesn’t mean that I want you to completely stop and do nothing or take breaks every 5 minutes, but to help you be your most productive and efficient, I want you to PLAN and set it in stone in your schedule for when you’re going to take a few moments to take a deep breath (or 10), have a good drink of water, quiet your mind and give yourself a moment of peace. Expectations There are also some really interesting and weird expectations that have come up lately, and I want you to make sure that you’re sitting in a good place with how you AND your body is feeling. I often end up telling patients who feel guilty about taking breaks or not pushing as hard as they feel like they’re supposed to, that I’m happy to let them use me as their scape goat. If you need to imagine me as the voice in your head telling you to take a break or helping to support your body’s cry or pleas to take a moment to rest, recover or relax, here’s your permission to do so too! Just because some of us are stuck at home, doesn’t mean you suddenly need to be extra ridiculously productive. You don’t need to do yoga everyday and bake a loaf of bread and provide 284 activities for the kids to do so they aren’t on screens all day long. This is a time for really giving space to recognize what’s going on in your body to check in to see if you’re pushing too hard or if there’s some other sort of support that you need. Health Effects of Pushing I’ve seen a variety of obvious health effects from all the pushing:
How to Manage THIS IS KEY. It’s so important that you not only listen to my helpful voice in your head 🙂 but also that you really listen to how your BODY is feeling with everything going on currently. If you start to notice symptoms coming up, IT’S A CLEAR SIGN that something needs attention and you definitely shouldn’t ignore it. I see the results of ignored physical signs of overwhelm in the body ALL THE TIME and they’re way harder to manage and support if you haven’t been listening to them for years compared to just a few moments. So check in with yourself right now. How are you doing? How are you ACTUALLY doing? How’s your physical body doing? What needs support or some adjusting? I’m here if you need help. |