Recently there has been a lot of articles around the internet about taking breaks and relaxing. I particularly loved this one and this one on Paper&Stitch because they really got my thinking about how often I relax (or seemingly don't!).
I recently got a really bad sore throat that put me out of action for a couple of days, I tried to work through it for about a week and finally gave in two days ago and went to the doctor's. They said it was due to stress. STRESS! I felt like saying "No, you must be mistaken! Look at me! I'm covered in glitter! I'm wearing yellow! I have pages and pages of lists and notes keeping me busy and organi...oh." So it would seem I'm a bit of a workaholic. I always have been. I've never been able to just sit and have a coffee, I have to have a notepad in front of me. I always have to have something to plan towards and I've NEVER been able to have a bath (WHY AM I JUST LAYING HERE!?). But I realised that if I was actually getting ill I needed to change my lifestyle in some way.
The problem I have here is that I don't actually know how to do this. I've always found this sort of thing quite odd; for instance when people tell people to "cheer up" or "get over it" it's really strange because at no point are you told HOW to get over something. So it seem that although I know that I should relax I don't really know how to. I mean there are things that are stereotypically relaxing such as taking walks and baths and things but I don't really enjoy those as I find myself totally distracted thinking of all the things I have to do after my walk/bath. Don't get me wrong, this is most certainly not a cry for help. I am a really happy person with a wonderful life, I'm just a little anxious I'm cramming a little bit too much in but at the same time I'm reluctant to drop any of the exciting elements that I'm cramming into my life. It's a wonderful nightmare!
I need advice people! Is anyone else out there suffering from the same problem? Does anyone else find it strangely hard and even quite unenjoyable to relax? What do you do and what have you done?
