Life…’unplugged’

 

Have you ever had those moments when you  feel like you just want to ‘pull the power  cord from the wall’,  so you can simply ‘unplug’, decompress and reboot?  Those times where you just want to yell…..’TIME OUT!!!’  So you can take stock and get off the treadmill of life and press pause, even  just for one moment so you can recharge and catch your breath?  If this sounds like you, then its a sure sign you’re feeling the effects of too much stress.

It’s moments like these we need to listen to our body  and the message it is trying to tell us…. ‘STOP and REBOOT’.   But so often we find excuses as to why we ‘just don’t have the time’, or ‘it’s just not possible right now’.  But when we are under chronic stress we usually lose our judgement and true  perspective  of situations and what really matters…..subscribing to to the saying….. ‘urgency trumps importance every time’.

Your friends or family may even try to offer precious pearls of wisdom or perspective during these times, only to have  it thrown back in their face with the attitude of  ‘you just don’t understand’, when the reality is, they are probably the ones talking sense,  but we just can’t see it at the time.  Stress will also impact on mood leaving us grumpy and irritable, and this is when our work or personal relationships can suffer.

The effects of stress typically trigger sugar, caffeine, or even alcohol cravings,  as we turn to these vices as a means to cope,  fight fatigue and boost our mood.   Sleep may also go out the door, and many people find they either experience difficulty  getting to sleep thanks to ‘busy brain’, or wake during the night, leaving us feeling unrefreshed and continually tired during the day.   Eventually it all becomes a vicious, perpetual cycle, until one of two scenario’s presents….we either have an epiphany that snaps us out of the insanity stress has been driving and regain our perspective & take stock, OR  we are forced to stop in our tracks because something finally gives and the awakening is forced upon us – with the onset of a physical or mental illness .

This is a familiar story I witnessed in many of my patients who came to me for help, because they had subsequently developed a chronic illness, or a bunch of symptoms that Dr’s were unable to offer a solution for, outside of antidepressants, pain killers, or sleeping pills.  My advice to these patients was the same….  ‘until you are prepared to acknowledge the role you played in your current situation and are prepared to CHANGE the way you CHOOSE to  live your life and look at your attitude towards your body and health, then I cannot offer much  more than symptom relief.   This was certainly the case for me, nearly 20 yrs ago  when I was stopped in my tracks by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Lupus SLE.  Despite all the medicine  – both pharmaceutical,  nutritional and herbal, the real turning point in my health didn’t really occur until I acknowledged that I needed to change my attitude to how I viewed my life and what was really important, vs what I deemed to be so.

During my time in private practice, I was able to identify right from the early stages of treatment,  those patients who would make a speedy recovery from their illness, vs those who had a windy road ahead, before turning the corner towards recovery.  Those that were prepared then and there to take stock and make the necessary changes in their attitude and life, no matter the consequences, vs those that just looked to me to ‘fix them’, were the ones that I watched recover as fast as they were putting the right foods into their body and correcting any underlying nutritional deficiencies with supplements.

The first step to experiencing ‘life unplugged’ as I like to refer to it, is learning to say  ‘NO’ to people and requests that will only sap your life force or energy.   Try to look for people or things that ignite your life force, and engage in things that fulfil you, vs suck you dry and merely feed your ego.

Ask yourself this simple question…..”What would happen if you only said ‘yes’ when you really wanted to?”

I dare you to try it and note the difference it can make to your energy and your health.

For more health tips and delicious recipes, checkout my e-book, Eat Yourself Healthy. It's not just a healthy diet, but a way of life, so you can feel better than you have ever felt before .