Experts teach how we can feel as good as we were away from work. Even when (now) we are not ...
We work more and live less and less, but does not have to be. If they were offered ten million dollars to work 24 hours a day for 15 years and then retire, would you? The provocation is form Tim Ferris, author of '4 hours a week' and the example is intended to illustrate a simple idea. Contrary to what was expected, the technology has brought more free time. The economist John Keynes predicted, in 1930, a journey of three hours of work for there to three generations.
The reality is in the antipodes. In 2012, 14 percent of employees working more than 48 hours per week, on the concept of threshold internationally recognized as overworking. And not only in the less skilled jobs. A survey showed that more than half of CEOs of large companies working 12 hours / day. Days 15 hours are not uncommon and only ten percent does not work at the weekend.
Living without living
There is a whole movement that convinces people that work hard for a long time, it is well regarded and should be encouraged. Many people start to feel blamed if they work less. Work too much, for fear of being fired, being supplanted, frowned, placed on the shelf, say psychologists.The pressure companies to produce is now unavoidable and so excessive that dehumanizes us and Guts, ourselves.
The result of this lifestyle is known as levels each increasing concern of stress, increased incidence of cardiovascular and even oncological diseases, because all tend to increase in the inflammatory field promoted by stress, higher incidence of panic and anxiety disorders. And above all, "the perception that the most important of life is going to side with the loss of meaning and purpose.
And fear! Fear of not being good in any of the areas of life. be assessed as an absent father or mother, a companion on the road and, when present, so tired or so out there, thinking about what remains to be done in the email that did not respond, the report to end, who lives life without living.
Neurosis Sunday
By living life this way, often when the holidays arrive, we are too stressed, tired or absent ourselves to enjoy. "Two centuries of industrial society, based on idolatry for work, have made us suspicious of leisure and unable to try it without guilt complex.
The rapid pace during the week implies an adrenaline production increase. In some cases, adapting to a different situation may take longer, giving the feeling that you can not relax. At other times, feel more anxiety when approaching the holidays.In the extreme, we live in this way and an excessive identification with the work until retirement.
It should be offered psychological support design and art-psycho therapeutic population to a Board in South Tagus, due to the recognition of a large number of people with symptoms of depression after retirement or early retirement. They told me that they felt deprived of the meaning of life.
The writer and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl called it "Sunday neurosis," a "kind of depression that affects people who realize the meaninglessness of their lives when passing the hustle and bustle of the week and the emptiness within them becomes manifest. The same is true for pensioners and elderly crisis, "he writes in" The Man in search of meaning
You have to find the meaning of life on a daily basis. Realize that changes in us during the holidays can help us bring these qualities to the daily. For psychotherapists, it is above all a state of openness that allows us resume hobbies, explore new, being with family and friends and in contact with nature, become more aware of what is interesting, new and creative.
It is a time when everything is suspended and suddenly there we are with who we are and what makes us make sense rather than simply dipped in fatigue, apathy and malaise. And the body responds quickly. Sleep changes, time of concentration, blood pressure and hormones that are in the bloodstream, everything changes with the turn of responsibilities.
There is, however, a problem. The effect of lasts very little vacation time, there are many studies on this, so companies should better distribute the balance of the recovery times of the people.
We will even stop
It also suggests that the North American expert in positive psychology Tal Ben Shahar, who says the best way to enjoy the weekends, holidays or retirement is to work in order to be able to dismiss them. For this suggests a paradigm shift permitting made regular routine stops.
Creativity and productivity decrease when there is no time to recover throughout the day (15 minute break every hour or two) of the week (at least one day break), and year (have truly vacation every six to twelve months). Small holiday more frequent and spaced is a solution, as well as more flexibility in schedules, rewards and benefits that focus on relaxation, health care, take time to shut down.
The power of creativity
The reality is far from this scenario, but scientific studies support these ideas. One of the most recent, published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology in 2014, suggests that people with creative activities outside of work cope better with stress and have better professional performance. The justification relates to the recovery time, physical and mental, that these activities provide.
In the United States, Zappos company, inc. paid the enrollment of employees in art studios or writing courses and gives them access to musical instruments. Some companies in France prevent workers from having access to email at the weekend and from certain hours of the day, encouraging life beyond work.
These are some of the behaviors that you can use to achieve this:
- Plan your holiday
Robert Sapolsky, professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, found that the production of dopamine, one of the well-being of hormones, is not so much related to pleasure, but more with the expectation of pleasure. That's why "vacation plan is as important as having them. Reliving them in memory, pictures or conversations, is another useful strategy.
Set time to relax
Do it consciously setting a period for you. "These 15 minutes are mine, and not that rain nails or now do not read the newspaper, to be open to the woman I love, children or friends. Even mark in the phone book time to relax.Meditate and breathe
Practice meditation. It helps to modify the brain of stress patterns. Or do breathing exercises, how to speed up breathing and panting make it a minute or two, then go breathing slower and slower to enter a deep and gentle pace. It helps a lot to break the agitation and anxiety.
Do not watch TV
In this case, we are only passive receivers rather than we send in our mind and emotions, and this gives us a feeling that's all we can do.Try coloring books for adult
In the early twentieth century, the psychotherapist Carl Jung inaugurated the painting mandalas as a form of therapy in their patients. More recently came the fashion of coloring books for adults as Antistress therapy. Science explains the popularity of the phenomenon. Paint activates different areas of the cerebral cortex in both hemispheres, including areas linked to vision and fine motor skills.
But it also has positive effects on the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in the control of emotion that is affected by stress. In addition, active faculties as the imagination. The concentration in a very specific activity, such as painting, can relax the brain of almost equivalent to meditation form.