Selfcare is not selfish

I am starting with a bit of humour – a conversation between a call agent and a customer.

The policy of a customer care centre was to use a client’s name at least five times before the call ended, no matter how brief. Here is a client care agent’s attempt at doing that:

Client: Do you provide such-and-such service?

Care Agent: I’m Ada. May I know your name?

Client: Sure. It’s Joy.

Care Agent: Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, we don’t. Thanks for calling.

Either of the following could be responsible for Ada’s action. Lack of understanding or irritability. So, how irritable are you getting lately, even over little things? Since you resumed work or your routine, do you feel stuck? Could you possibly be tired of your job, or are your activities becoming mundane? Do you feel confined within certain boundaries or going around in circles?

Feeling stuck in a rut is a silent stressor that many people quickly get used to often. It’s a type of stress that stems from roles played at work coupled with prolonged exposure which can lead to severe burnout.

Therefore, if you get unnecessarily irritated without any reasonable cause or experience mood swings, are becoming disinterested in work generally or meeting deadlines, or are overeating or drinking excessively. You may want to check the following areas to ascertain you are not overworked or overstressed.

Your Emotions: do you unnecessarily feel edgy and can’t pinpoint what is behind it? Do you quickly lose your cool over trivial matters often? Are you sleeping too much or finding it difficult to get good sleep? Is apathy creeping in that you find yourself procrastinating more?

If you answer – yes – to most of these questions, fatigue and chronic stress may have triggered a psychological response indicating burnout lurking. A break might be what you need to cool the nerves.

Your Weight: Are you overeating or undereating? Are you drinking too much? Daily gaining or losing more than 1% of your body weight is another stress sign. Either you were too busy to eat or drink enough water or didn’t notice you overate the previous day.

If the inability to take a break from work is not the only problem, you may need to take a step back to reassess things. Such as when you eat, how you eat, and what you eat.

Your Waste: what is the color of your urine? Lighter or darker? The color of your urine can indicate dehydration. The lighter the color, the more hydrated you are, and vice versa. Proper hydration aids the absorption of nutrients, which increases energy levels. Drinking enough water/fluid somehow boosts brain alertness.

Lack of hydration because you are too busy for water breaks can lead to sluggishness. Therefore, it is counterproductive not to have healthy sips at work as nothing eventually gets done. So, take a break or always have a bottle of water handy.

Your Resting Heart Rate: Did your pulse rest after all? You can take your pulse before you get out of bed, especially in the morning. A few apps can help with this if you can’t do it manually.