Committed career and business women are expected to have their life sorted. You know: up early, exercise, powered-up work day, amazing social interactions, laughing at pressure and hurdles — and always holding it together and on a high.
That’s what the world wants you to think. But it’s wrong.
In fact, women who are flat out juggling everything often have moments of low times and often too ashamed to admit it when in fact, it’s normal. Yes. It is normal to feel depressed sometimes.
So here is an insider’s list to what other women go through on a regular basis and tips on how to get through it without needing to throw in the towel — or see yourself as a failure or defective:
1. Lost interest
Do you feel like giving up on all your goals and dreams? You’ve suddenly lost interest in your journey. In fact you couldn’t even care if you never left the house or even showered again? You’re not alone. It’s a classic sign of burnout.
This is NORMAL. So don’t feel you are the only one that has experienced it. Most women have
Solution: give yourself a break. That’s right, you probably haven’t given yourself permission to do nothing (guilt free) in a long time. Take a week off or even a day off and spend it purely on YOU. Facials, shopping. Switch off emails and don’t do any work. You will feel vitalized and often come up with new directions and ideas as a result.
2. Can’t get out of bed
That moment you are in bed and you never want to leave … This can be a result of fear.
Fear of failure, fear of not living up to your own expectations. It can cripple the best of women. However, most fear is developed all on our own and in our heads. We have control over what we fear and also how we deal with it.
Solution: admit your fear and write down three steps to face it. Ask a friend to be your mini coach and to push you through the journey. Then plan to reward yourself for each stage. E.g. Get out of bed = a coffee. Sounds simple but it works.
3. Heart ache
We have all been there. But the pain does last. Here’s a strategy I use after a breakup.
Day one: allow yourself to cry as much as you want. Get that crap out if your system. Block him on all communication. Out of sight out of mind (and you can do better)
Day two: eat what you want.
Day three: buy yourself something just for you. No need for justification.
Day four – day seven: get back to your routine and make sure you exercise a little each day.
Yes it will take a little longer depending on the length of the relationship but how you respond to negative situations will determine how you recover.
4. Eating non-stop
If food makes you happy then when you’re feeling down, guess what? You’ll over-eat. So if you find yourself eating in excess, stop and have a look at what you were thinking — or what happened — right before your binge.
Solution: Once you identify what is causing you to grab the fourth doughnut, swap eating it for a productive activity.
You may need a nap. Maybe go for a walk and think about how you can prevent yourself from being in that situation again in the future
5. Always distracted
Are you finding it hard to stick to one task for longer than a few minutes? Does your mind constantly drift to thoughts of the negative kind? Then you finish your day and week feeling like you have not achieved much at all?
Solution: the best way around this is to have a to-do list EVERY DAY. List on there just the three most important things you need to accomplish that day. Once you have ticked off those three, then you can rewards yourself with doing a fun activity or even a workout!
Also, find yourself positive quotes and put them on your desk, walls at home, phone, you name it – you plaster those quotes wherever you need to in order to be reminded of who you are and where you are headed.
