Anxiety is rising.  Frustrations are high and tears are flowing.

“Is your body beginning to show the signs of constant struggle after “too much” multi-tasking and “too many” obligations?  Maybe you’re waking up several times throughout the night or having difficulty falling asleep because you can’t “turn your brain off”.  If you are a woman, overstimulation and the resulting chronic anxiety may be negatively affecting your hormonal balance.  If you are a man, you may be noticing muscle atrophy and weight loss happening at an unhealthy rate.

The demands on your time and talents, deadlines and the uncertainties of life (job security, family, relationships) keep you distracted and tired, full of worry, discouragement, and maybe even fear.  Even if you love what you do, you can inadvertently take on too much and find yourself spent.  Without energy, you may not be able to practice the kind of self-care you really want to practice.

I spoke with a client last week who, after being overloaded with excess work pressures, described himself as being wound tighter than ever.  He notices that he catches colds more frequently than he ever used to and that recovery from them is no longer quick.  Instead, colds linger for weeks.   This is understandable in light of all the chronic stress and pressure.  If you can relate, it is time to take several steps to simplify and refresh your life so that you can enjoy life and vitality again.

In this new blog series, we are going to go step by step towards revitalizing your lifestyle and releasing habits that may be adding to the overload and to your sense of overwhelm.  The last thing any of us want is to have our self-care regimen sabotaged by behaviors that keep us stuck in unending stress.

To help you kick off step 1 towards courageous self-care, I am going to ship three copies of the excellent book How to Break Up With Your Phone by Catherine Price to three readers who comment first on the struggle with overload and the need to courageously make changes, beyond nutrition,  that enhance health and lifestyle.  This book will not require you give up your cell phone but rather encourage one to use it in a healthier way and take a break from it and other technology from time to time.  It will take courage but the outcome will be worth it. This investment of energy in your lifestyle will go a long way in helping you to release pressure that may be sabotaging your efforts to recover your vitality.