What effect does work have on your health?

This month I’m going to change the focus on health slightly from the physical to the emotional/mental side of things. As a massage therapist and energy healer, I really believe that health needs to be looked at from a holistic perspective and it is only then that we can start to make changes to our lives for the better.

If we are to look at our lives currently, the majority of us can split it into three components – work, home/personal/family and social. I bet that for many of you, work takes up a good chunk of your day, and the other two components battle it out to share the little portion that is left.

Given that we spend a lot of our lives working, it is important to actually be in a job that you like, you have a passion for, and that makes your heart sing. If you are anything like me when I was a lawyer, I would constantly feel like this:

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That picture is hardly painting a picture of being happy, fulfilled and content in a job that I am passionate about!

Constantly having that sort of feeling really plays havoc with your mental and emotional state. I remember I would feel anxious seeing a new email pop up on my screen, be incredibly angry and annoyed at workmates who were trying to push me to get their jobs sorted out pronto, and I just was an unhappy person at work – I wasn’t the person I knew I was. Does this sound like you?

In my current job, I see the effects that these emotions and mental states have on your emotional and mental energetic body – certain areas become dense, thick and weigh you down. If left untreated or unnoticed, it then manifests physically in your body like lower back pain or constant headaches, chronic or adrenal fatigue, heart palpitations and could even manifest into cancer! Not only that, I have seen people who have aged so much in the space of a couple of months because of the toll that work has on their life. That’s not the best place to be in.

So what is the solution? It’s an obvious answer but one that brings up the most resistance (especially when it comes to money or things relating to your home and family) – change your job. Answer this question:

What are you passionate about?

For most of us, it’s a tough one to answer.

I’m a firm believer that if you follow what you are passionate about and your heart’s desires, then everything else follows (including the money) – you become happier, healthier and have a sense of freedom. One suggestion that I can give you is to think back to when you were a child – what did you want to be when you “grew up” or what did you have a lot of fun doing at that age? Or here’s another question: 

If you could be whatever you wanted to be or do whatever you wanted to do without any worries, what would it be?

Life is too short to spend the majority of your time being stressed out, depressed, having health issues and unhappy. The Dalai Lama summarises this concept perfectly when asked about what surprised him the most:

“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

Embrace that inner child of yours and don’t be afraid to make that change that is better for you, your health and your loved ones.

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