Living Life, but Missing Life

The Adrenaline Lifestyle, Adrenaline Addiction, can be very difficult to acknowledge and to balance. It’s a form of compulsive behavior, sometimes leading to substance abuse and depression. A busy lifestyle can be compelling because society seems to admire and promote this. People who are perceived as popular. People who are the president, chairman, organizer. People who always seem so busy. People who are invited to everything. People who seem to be able to balance many plates in the air at once.

With adrenaline also comes stress and complications - there is a price that’s paid on your mind, your body, your living environment and your relationships. Not allowing yourself to rebalance everyday, especially 30 – 45 min before you go to bed, will take its toll.

For instance, it can affect you physically with chronic back pain, since you don’t take the time to truly rest and to clear your mind before you go to bed. You might be dropping things, having small accidents, not paying attention while driving, walking too fast, stumbling. Too much adrenaline can affect your intestinal system – eating too fast, eating on the run, not eating a healthy diet, just grabbing something quick. Allowing your body to be out of balance can deplete your immune system.

If you are a person who is sensitive to other people’s feelings and circumstances, then you are particularly vulnerable to the challenges of self-care, since you are usually putting everyone else in priority before yourself.

Burning the candle at both ends will more quickly burn it up! Here are some ideas:
+ Don’t plan your calendar too far out into the future; allow time to be spontaneous.
+ Don’t feel like you have to always have something to do or be going somewhere; learn to embrace time by yourself. Learn to covet silence; turn off the TV, the radio, the email, the cell phone; maybe find “quiet time” again and read. If it makes you laugh, cry or think, then even better. If you like to be creative, then plan this in your life everyday; it will help you stay in balance.
+ Don’t feel like you have to plan all the “fun” for your family and friends; allow them the space to pick up this ball.
+ Exercise is good, but not only for physical health. Swim, to really feel the water or look at nature while walking.
+ Don’t feel like everything has to be perfect and on time.

Are you living Life, but missing Life? Is the Adrenaline Lifestyle making time feel like a blur? Are you beginning to think about the possibility of depression, feeling constantly exhausted or having one drink too many? Can you control how to spend your time? Make your minutes/hours/days meaningful, if only because of the peace and perspective you will gain.