From Autumn last year, I fell poorly and couldn’t shake it away. I was run down, stressed out and exhausted and it took its toll on my body. There’s only so long that you can burn the candle at both ends for and I’d reached breaking point. I realised that although I had enjoyed holidays during the year, I needed a proper holiday with zero work and zero phone time. I went off to Cape Verde for Christmas and it honestly did me the absolute world of good. Sometimes you may feel as though you need a break from your job or even the stresses of life and its easy to feel as though you’re alone in feeling like this and you can even feel silly admitting it but honestly, theres no shame in saying, I need a break. If you’re feeling in a negative space mentally or physically, a holiday may be perfect for you. Today I’m going to share with you some top signs that you need to take a holiday.
BORED WITH A LACK OF MOTIVATION
If you find that you are bored, and that you have a hard time getting the motivation to do just about anything, then this could be a sign that something needs to change. You might find that everyone annoys you and that you are never satisfied or fulfilled when it comes to your career path and daily grind. If this is the case, then it’s certainly time for you to take a break. If you don’t then you may feel as though the feelings only get worse and that you have an even more difficult time moving past them.
YOU’RE IN PAIN
When you are overwhelmed or even anxious, your brain can trigger the release of stress hormones. This can be a fight-or-flight response to the cause of your stress and over time it can increase your pulse rate and blood pressure, cause chest pain, back pain, eye strain, headaches and even problems with your digestive system too. A holiday can help you to relax and refocus so that you can help yourself to reduce your stress levels. Running reduces stress, and that’s another thing you might want to consider when you’re overwhelmed by the stress of life.
YOU CAN’T SLEEP.
When you’re feeling stressed, it can be very difficult to sleep at night. If you want to get more sleep then you need to find out the cause of your stress, for example, whether it’s your job, relationship or even just all-round pressure from everyone. When you have identified the cause, you can then try and help yourself by making the right changes, seeking help where needed and put plans in place to move forward. For example, if you are on the brink of a divorce then you may want to speak to and hire divorce solicitors. Taking the first step can help you to relax more when you need to the most.
YOU’RE MAKING MISTAKES
The fight or flight response doesn’t just harm your health, it can also give you a level of tunnel vision. When you are under chronic stress, your focus will narrow, and you may also have a hard time paying attention to other things as well. You may find that your performance at work starts to slip and that you are also not able to concentrate for longer periods of time either. This can really cause you problems and you may even find that you end up making bad decisions or choices you wouldn’t usually make had you not been feeling so run down or stressed.
YOU’RE NOT COPING
If you find yourself reaching for a glass of wine far more than you should, or if you find that you’re comfort eating or leaning on crutches that you don’t feel are productive or good for you then this could be a sign that you are not coping very well and theres no shame in that. It may also be a sign that you are suffering from burnout too; we all get that from time to time and its all about listening to our bodies and minds, knowing when to hit pause and actually taking some time out and that could be with a night in with your phone on the in flight mode or it could be with a holiday. You decide.
Just make sure you’re doing what’ll make you feel refreshed and inspired again!
