When we are in the disease, we use food to escape from life. When we stop binging on food, we may substitute food with binging on work or general busy-ness, which is a vicious cycle that can lead us directly out of recovery.
Addiction to “hyperness” and adrenaline is part of our addiction and it is causing us, just like food did, to escape from life. The consequences are exhaustion, resentment, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction. And the risk in overdoing is that it could take us back into the food for relief. Thus, the vicious cycle.
A few weeks ago I allowed my time to manage me instead of me managing my time. I gave myself permission to work later, I didn’t keep my boundaries of breaks and rest time, and I didn’t “weigh and measure” my tasks in a way that was supportive to my recovery. Thank God that the food is not an option for me anymore, but I definitely felt the consequences mentioned above: I was tired and feeling resentful, which led me to make amends. Making the amends was a red flag for me. It told me that something was off, and I took the time to pray, evaluate, and correct. I took actions to bounce back to balance.
3 ways to Undo Overdoing:
- ACCEPT that you’re off.
- CREATE a daily mindfulness practice.
- ORGANIZE your time to support recovery.
You must see the connection between overdoing and addiction. It is not something that is just happening to you. It is your escape mechanism and it is part of your disease. Awareness is always the first step!
Mindfulness is being present, experiencing the moment with no judgment. By building a daily mindfulness practice, you consciously choose to balance the DOING with BEING. I start my morning with prayer, meditation, and self-Reiki. I also read and plan my day. By making the time to start my day centered, it is easier for me to remember to pause and appreciate “God Moments” throughout my day.
I love my work and I’m passionate about helping people. That’s why it’s hard to stop. There are some things I choose to do to make sure that I set boundaries and don’t put my recovery at risk: Scheduling rest and recovery activities into my calendar, committing to a “hard stop” time. This to me means I finish work every night at 7 and stop! When I teach on weekends, I have to plan a free day during the week. Preplanning my grocery shopping, cooking, including batch cooking, is also important to manage time effectively.
Organizing your time requires taking an honest look at your tasks and your priorities. Get rid of projects that are less important and integrate recovery related activities into your calendar.
By taking these actions, evaluating and correcting, your life immediately feels less busy. When we undo the overdoing, we are also taking care of our health, making recovery first, no matter what. And that is our ultimate goal, right?