10 Worrisome Habits Of People Who Need To Slow Down, According To Psychology
Our society glorifies going. Going more, faster, higher. We wear the label “workaholic” as a badge of honor. We flaunt our busy schedules as if to show how accomplished we are.
We climb proverbial career ladders, pushing through sleepless nights and caffeine-fueled days, all in the name of getting ahead, attaining goals, and getting someplace where we can find true happiness eventually, someplace where we can slow down one day.
Except we’re killing ourselves to get there. If we all take a minute to look up from our desks, from our phones, and our incessant mind chatter, we just might realize we need to slow down — and these worrisome habits prove it.
Here are worrisome habits of people who need to slow down:
1. You wake up with an aching jaw and a headache
When you’re stressed in your sleep — if you can get to sleep at all — then you know it’s time to take a breather.
2. The first thing you do each morning is scroll through your phone
I know how checking email and scanning through Instagram can become compulsive itches we can’t stop scratching, but it’s a terrible way to start the day. We jump into the day already behind. We look at all the status updates, the accomplishments, and braggy posts, and it’s barely 8 a.m.
A study of smartphone use and the impact on well-being in Frontiers in Psychology supports that we can at least start our mornings in the real world, not whatever edited world is reflected on our screens.
3. You live in an “if only” frame of mind
If only you made more money per year, then you could relax. If only you had this job title, or that boat, or a new house, then you would be happy.
Every once in a while, it’s important to stop and realize everything we have right now, right this very minute, is enough.
4. You often skip meals, ignoring your body’s cues
The day flew by, and you forgot to eat. I used to do it all the time — living too much in my head, not enough in my body.
5. You scarf down food
Either in moving vehicles, while staring at a computer screen, or standing over the sink, you multitask your eating.
Pull up a chair and sit down. Pay attention to the food going into your body. Chew slowly, deliberately. Taste!
6. Your friends stopped texting and calling because you never answered anyway
Until one day, you finally realize it’s the people in your life who matter, not the busy work, not even the money.
7. You’re often described as cynical, negative, or restless
Is there a burnout brewing? According to Dr. David Ballard, head of the American Psychological Association’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, cynicism, and perpetual frustration are a sign of burnout that can wreak havoc on your health, happiness, relationships, and job performance.
When we go too hard for too long — exposing ourselves to prolonged chronic stress — our bodies give out. So, check your defeated, disillusioned, jaded attitude. Maybe you just need to slow it down and regroup.
8. You say, “Let’s go!” and “We’re late!”
Those words come out of your mouth more often than “Take your time” or even “I love you.”
Our go-go-go mode can affect everyone around us, especially the smallest people. When we’re constantly moving, thinking, plotting, or going, we can’t possibly be connected at the moment with people.
If we’re always rushing from one activity to the next with barely enough time to find the lost shoes and missing items (which are inevitable), with barely enough time to just be with other people, then we’ve taken on too much. We need to slow down for everyone’s sake.
9. You waste paid vacation/sick time because you can’t be away from your work
The Center for Law and Social Policy found our society doesn’t value taking time off, considering that 34 million U.S. workers had no paid sick leave in 2021 — a stark difference from every other advanced country in the world.
But for those of us lucky enough to be afforded paid time away from our desks, almost half of U.S. workers don’t use their paid time, as suggested by a 2020 study. Take the vacation, paid leave or not, and enjoy it. Feel the salt-water wind on your skin; taste an exotic meal; go experience the world.
10. You spend your free time completely shutting down
Mostly because you have zero energy for anything that requires movement, a little binge-watching never hurts anyone — we all want/need to turn off our brains and zone out at times — but if you’re full-on shutting down each night? That’s a pretty big sign that you need to slow down.
Here’s the truth: If you zoom out from the rat race — if you step away from the ladder — you’re likely to find yourself circling a never-ending track of empty promises. We’ll end up in a hospital bed, aching from stress-related illness, before we reach our happy place.
Why? Because your happy place is already here, right around you, right this very minute, we’re just too busy with our to-do lists and jam-packed schedules to notice the life slipping through.
We’re trained to think, “What’s next?” We get caught up in the momentum, always looking two steps ahead, pushing ourselves just a little further. We brag about our stress levels and about how little sleep we get. Stress is the root of inflammation and chronic illness. Sleep deprivation is thought to cause lasting brain damage, as suggested by 2016 research. And for what?
I used to be that way. Who needs sleep? Not this girl! That was before an unexpected pregnancy stopped me in my tracks, forcing me to step to the side and reassess what I wanted.
For the very first time, I had to listen to my body and take care of my needs.
I had to stop putting myself, my life, underneath a stack of to-dos designed to help me be a more celebrated and accomplished person. I’m a person, period. I’m a human being with biological realities, not a worker bee, and I have a life to live.