This is not a balanced lifestyle, and you are stuck in this workaholic trap, wearing your badge of courage, work has likely become less fulfilling and less enjoyable.

If you're in a client-facing industry, therapy, financial advising, coaching, training, or mentoring, you need to show up for your clients. You know that it's important for you to be there for them.

If the economy is taking a dip, some people may be stressed out or worried about what they're doing next, or what their business might look like. So they tend to work more during these periods.

During COVID, as we interviewed over 250, business owners, we found that a lot of people who had decent balance before the shutdown were working more because they were stressed about the future and the unknowns.


Mental Health Awareness
Today is World Mental Health Day and we are focusing on how we can improve our mental health.

Mental health is not separate from your physical health, we tend to put one and the other as some sort of, you know, unrelated health discussion. Yet, the more that I've studied psychology at the master's and doctorate levels, I've concluded that mental health is physical health.

The brain is an organ that works, it has its systems, but it works in conjunction with the nervous system, your immune system with all of the other systems in the body.

Yes, it's a vital organ. Yes, you know, it does perform things very, very differently than most other organs in the body.

However, because it sits in this human frame, this physical frame, we need to understand that the physical body and our physical health are tightly related to mental health.

So those of you out there, touting mental health, I applaud you, those of you out there saying, hey, let's make this not as stigmatic.

I applaud you.

However, I think we're approaching it even still from the wrong direction.

Holistic Approach
As a society need to see this as a holistic problem and find holistic solutions. We need to look at our mental health and even workaholism holistically.

Who are you as an individual?

Who are you as a human being?

How do you take care of your physical health?

What I found is in coaching for dozens of years, speaking and researching these topics, the more that we can become physically active and healthy in our nutrition, and the more that we are spiritually connected, the better our mental health is overall!

Physical Health
There has been a recent study out of Australia that reviewed over 1000 studies and had over 125,000 participants. (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2023/03/02/bjsports-2022-106195)

They found that "Physical activity is highly beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress across a wide range of adult populations, including the general population, people with diagnosed mental health disorders and people with chronic disease. Physical activity should be a mainstay approach in the management of depression, anxiety and psychological distress."

Workaholism is a diagnosed mental health disorder, so maybe before we medicate, the first intervention should be exercise, nutrition, and prayer/meditation!

There are all sorts of side effects with medication and other unintended consequences, and possibly other addictions to certain medications.

Medications have their use, but I believe it should be the secondary or tertiary intervention. Unfortunately, it has become the primary intervention and often the sole treatment.

Shouldn't our primary intervention should be what can we do to strengthen our physical body?

What do we need to do to be more physical, more active, and more spiritual?

I love to mountain bike and I find when I'm able to get out on the mountain bike, get in the mountains, and just enjoy, feel the speed, the adrenaline it allows for a great mental hormonal release.

I'm not focused on what's going on at work. I'm not focused on what my clients need for me, I'm able to disconnect. My brain is telling my body "Hey, good job. You're working out. You're doing awesome." It does give me a natural high of endorphins and adrenaline that tells me this.

Spiritual Health
The Spiritual allows for a different but similar disconnect that is very healthy.

AA has found when its members connect to the spiritual, they are much more likely to stay sober from the alcoholic addiction (https://fherehab.com/learning/12-step-programs-why-they-still-work/)

I have found great solace in knowing that those three are actively connected, the spiritual, the physical, and the mental.

When I'm more spiritual, I am more grateful and I'm connected to God, I'm praying, I'm reading, I'm communing, and meditating.

When I'm doing those things consistently, I have found that that has also led to me feeling better. Instead of self-medicating, with other habits or addictions (i.e. workaholism), that will give at the moment, a quick burst of adrenaline, or other soothing hormones.

Instead, I can draw in the spiritual and allow that to fill my body, and my mind with greater light and greater knowledge and understanding.

It allows me to further my mental state. For example, I serve in my church, study scriptures, and read scriptures with my children, etc. When I do these things regularly it has the power to take me out of what it is I'm stressed and worried about.

So if you're struggling with work; try activating the physical AND spiritual.

Balance Connection
The more that we're able to disconnect, the more we're able to set boundaries and work on those things that can help our mental health through spiritual and physical related health. Not only will allow us to disconnect, but also, these are the same areas of life that I found consistently, for the last 17 years are the most important priorities in life.

As I wrote about in "Achieving Balance", Balance is living your highest priorities! So the balance connection is to disconnect from work by being physically and spiritually active brings one into more balance.

In addition, I have found in my experience of working with clients recovering from workaholism, that if they can find this outlet, not only do they feel more balanced, but it helps them to keep from falling back into the workaholic trap.

One client, I have worked with does a marathon/month to keep his balance and is a great example!

Try it!

And if you are already, let us know how this holistic approach to mental health has benefitted you in the comments.

As you make time for your highest priorities, you "make time" for your physical and spiritual, it will affect your mental health, and it will improve it because it's all connected.

Live Life on Purpose,

Dr. Travis G. Parry