Does A Demanding Job Keep You From Feeling Balanced In Your Life?
Are you a working professional who experiences constant stress and pressure to be on the clock? Do you find it difficult to unplug and relax during your breaks or leisurely periods? Are familial and other relationships suffering because you can’t seem to be present when you are away from your desk or your screen? Perhaps you have experienced a recent and sudden shift in your work environment, blending the line between your job and your home life. Or maybe you are concerned that if you create more boundaries in order to achieve a better work-life balance, that your job will be in jeopardy.
The professional culture in Silicon Valley is high-pressure, high-stress, and fosters the misconception that there is no room for anything else besides a career. As a result, you may experience anxiety and stress around the clock, worried that you will be punished if you make time for anything else. Such pressure can create a cycle of sleeplessness, which leads to a lack of energy to commit to anything else in life – even the activities and relationships that once provided joy and helped you to mitigate stress, like exercising or spending time with family.
Over time, every other aspect of your life may be overshadowed by work, and your relationships will begin to suffer. Eventually, overwhelming feelings of anxiety and symptoms of stress can become so exacerbated by feelings of guilt and sadness that despite maintaining a workload and being successful in a career, you feel there are no opportunities to find satisfaction elsewhere in life.
Our Culture Does Not Offer Strong Models For Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance does not come easily to most professional Americans, especially those working in the high-pressure industries of Silicon Valley. The vast majority of my clients struggle to achieve a healthy balance between their work obligations and their personal fulfillment, whether that fulfillment comes in the form of time with friends and family or exploring other hobbies and interests. And feeling as though every waking hour is spent on the clock, life becomes very one-dimensional and hard to enjoy.
If we stay in this mindset for too long, symptoms of stress and anxiety become daily occurrences and we eventually lose perspective as to what is going on in other essential parts of our lives. Personal goals we once maintained get quickly deprioritized and the relationships that once provided support, comfort, and security are impacted by our inability to devote meaningful time to them. Moreover, it is likely that we will experience professional burnout, causing us to resent the very thing around which we orbit our life.
Regardless, you don’t have to get caught up in the Catch-22 that develops out of a lack of work-life balance. Instead, the right counselor, therapist, or life coach can help you navigate the possibilities of finding time in your day and creating space for other aspects of your life besides work.
A Therapist Can Coach You To Develop The Skills Necessary In Striking A Balance Between Your Job And Your Personal Life
With effective guidance and individually tailored solutions, you can develop the time and stress management skills needed to find more harmony in your life. Therapy and counseling offer the opportunity for you to carve out time in your week for self-care and reflection, which will help to mitigate stress. Moreover, the right guidance will provide you with lifelong tools that you can use for future times when work-related stress becomes too difficult to manage.
I have spent my career working with successful adults who, despite their accomplishments and abilities, feel as though there is something missing in their lives. Therefore, I understand that a career can become such a point of focus that other important goals and sources of joy fall away. Together, we will work to identify the parts of your day where you can integrate more mindfulness and find time for yourself, even if it is by doing something as seemingly inconsequential as drinking a glass of water or taking a walk around the block between meetings.
I strive to create an environment where my clients can truly relax and find clarity in their thinking. Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), I will help you to better understand your thought patterns and how these thoughts affect your feelings and the decisions you make as a result. Additionally, I will help you figure out ways to give yourself permission to find time outside of work and engage in self-care. You have more control in your life than you might think. And once that control is recognized and acknowledged, you will naturally begin to feel more empowered and in charge of your life.
Your time on earth is not meant to be spent under a cloud of stress and work! You are entitled to a fulfilled personal life that offers moments of joy, relaxation, and changes of scenery. Together, we can find small ways to tip the scales so that you can find more balance in your everyday life.
Are there additional factors that keep you from seeking a therapist or life coach to improve your work-life balance?
How long will it take for me to find balance in my life?
There is no definitive timeline or metric of completion for this work. Finding balance is a lifelong process that will look different with every change of circumstance and every shift in priority. I have worked with professionals who are used to experiencing immediate gratification in their work and can thus feel discouraged when the therapeutic process takes months or years. Everyone experiences progress at different intervals and with different revelations, so I can’t promise one specific timeline for treatment.
However, I believe that time invested in yourself is always time well spent, despite how busy you may feel. And you have the potential to reap the benefits of investing time in yourself to find harmony and happiness. The quicker you can develop the toolbox to recognize opportunities for balance in your life, the quicker you will begin to see results and find relief from symptoms of anxiety and stress.
Given that I am struggling with my work-life balance, how do I find time in my life for therapy?
You likely have time in your life for self-care, even if you might not think so. Think about it this way: if you have recently experienced the shift from working in the office to working at home, you have virtually opened up all of the time you spent commuting to work before. And while you have likely since filled those hours with work, you know that there is a short period during your week that could otherwise be free and belong to you.
A great first step in the essential process of developing a self-care routine is seeking out the guidance of a therapist, counselor, or life coach. In devoting an hour or more to therapy every week, you are giving yourself time to catch your breath and develop useful strategies for time and stress management.
I simply don’t think I can find a better work-life balance in the job I have.
As I have mentioned before, you have more control in your life than you might think. Establishing boundaries is an essential skill for any person to have, especially those who work in demanding jobs, and you have the power and capability to create meaningful boundaries for yourself. I will work to show you the parts of your day and week that can be spent seeking mindfulness and staying present, instead of working mechanically under the pressure of a job that demands constant, round-the-clock involvement and participation.
Find A Healthier Work-Life Balance Before Your Job Overwhelms You
If you find yourself constantly stressed and worried about your job, or you feel as though other areas of your life have been consumed by your career, please contact me via email (erin@erinrosenblum.com) to schedule our first session. For more information about what kinds of solutions I offer for a better work-life balance, please visit my website.
Note that due to COVID-19, I am conducting all sessions online for the time being.