Rat Race Stress - How Downshifting
Can Improve Your Health
By Sally Lever
About 17 years ago, I consulted a Complementary
Therapist for the first time. I had decided
to take a different route and try out what
was for me an unknown and unexplored alternative
to the conventional medicine I had always
relied on in the past. Why? Because I was
pregnant for the first time, suffering chronic
morning sickness (of the "all day" variety)
and unwilling to risk harming my baby by taking
conventional drugs. This experience was to
be a revelation for me and my introduction
to a totally new way of viewing my own health
and wellbeing, as well as that of my child.
Priorities and values
Suddenly, with the prospect of being
responsible for someone else’s life, my
priorities had changed. No longer did
my health come second to my availability
to work and earn money. Some would say
that my behaviour was a natural reaction
to surging hormones - nature taking over
and asserting itself. I prefer to see
it, with hindsight anyway, as the start
of a shift in my priorities and values.
When we choose to prioritise our quality
of life above our money earning capacity,
magical things can happen with respect
to how we treat ourselves. For most who
downshift, improving health and wellbeing
take a driving seat, often where it has
previously been denied or ignored. And
for those who are forcibly downshifted
through ill health, this change in circumstances
can be very challenging indeed. For those
who take the route of voluntary simplicity
and decide of their own accord to slow
down their pace of life and reduce their
stress levels, miraculously, it seems,
health issues suddenly seem to become
less of a problem. How does this happen?
Trading money for time.
The answer is very simple. Downshifting
involves deciding to accept a lower level
of income in return for more time to spend
as we want to spend it. In order to practice
preventive medicine and optimise our health
and wellbeing, time is exactly what is
needed.
Spending more time on ourselves benefits
our nutrition. Real food, home cooked,
is higher in nutrients, lower in harmful
additives and costs less than convenience
food in money terms. Growing and preparing
food can also be an enjoyable experience
for many, rather than just a means to
an end. Thus, the process of looking after
ourselves in itself becomes a stress-relieving
activity.
By reducing our stress levels, we strengthen
our immune systems and are therefore less
likely to succumb to infection or contract
stress-induced chronic conditions, such
as heart disease, cancer, depression,
chronic fatigue states or diabetes.
When we spend more time on self-care,
we are more likely to find a form of exercise
that suits us and that we find enjoyable.
When we are ill, time gives us the opportunity
to explore the options with respect to
treating the illness. We can choose to
take a more holistic approach through
diet, exercise and rest, alternative or
conventional therapy or lifestyle changes.
During the pregnancy that I mentioned
above, one thing I came to realise was
how incompetent I was as a patient! I
was so lacking in self-awareness that
I didn’t have the first idea how to answer
my homeopath’s questions. Ok, to be fair
to me, they did seem to be rather odd
questions, like "How do you feel in a
thunderstorm?" What on earth did that
have to do with how long I could keep
a meal down? I got impatient with her
and wanted a quick fix, when really what
was needed was my cooperation and thoughtfulness.
Often I felt like cutting out the middle
man and just throwing my carefully prepared
platefuls of food straight down the toilet!
I was afraid that I would not cope with
the situation and that my baby would not
survive. My anger soon dissipated when
I realised the homeopathy was working
and I was starting to benefit from giving
myself time to be more self-aware rather
than fighting my affliction or denying
it existed.
What other aspects of downshifting are
beneficial to our health and wellbeing?
Trading an unhealthy environment for
a healthier one.
One of the parts of our lives that we
attempt to optimise when downshifting
is the way in which we earn a living.
Hopefully we will take steps to modify
our employment to suit our values and
minimise stress levels. Looking at our
working environment can be part of this.
What effect does working in an air conditioned
office have on our well-being? What about
fluorescent lighting, noise levels, access
to sunlight, fresh air and water? Trading
an unhealthy environment for a healthier
one can benefit our wellbeing by reducing
the physicals stresses we have to endure
and by bringing us into contact with fewer
infections.
Reclaiming the responsibility.
In my experience, many downshifters discover
during the process of changing their lifestyle
that they feel more able to accept responsibility
for their own health and wellbeing. They
learn to face up to the challenges of
making self-care a priority
One of the advantages of working from
home (and home educating) that I’m personally
very grateful for is that when I or my
sons are ill, there’s no one putting pressure
on us to return to work or school. When
we need to rest, wrap up warm, take extra
fluids or get more fresh air, we can adapt
our day to incorporate this and recuperate
in our own time.
Ultimately, it’s not up to our physicians,
our bosses, our family or anyone else
to keep us well. It’s up to us.
© Sally Lever 2005 http://www.sallylever.co.uk
Sally Lever is a Sustainable Living Coach
who specializes in supporting those who
are downshifting or otherwise moving towards
a more sustainable way of life. She offers
one-to-one coaching, teleclasses in "How
to step off the Treadmill" and a free
email newsletter.
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