Stress laxing, do you suffer from it too?

Today we're going to talk about a topic that seems overused, but isn't. It's called stress , and until it disappears, it's necessary to talk about it because many women suffer its consequences , and we need to make it visible in order to find a solution. What we will do, however, is mention another new—and twisted—form of stress: the kind that arises when you feel guilty for being able to relax.

Let's take an example: your workday is over, you're at home on the sofa, and your best friend calls you. You start talking to her, and after two minutes you begin making a list of what you have to do or anxiously checking the clock, thinking that this conversation is going to throw off your schedule and disrupt the rest of your pending tasks.

Another example: It's Saturday, and suddenly you find yourself checking your work email, just in case something happened yesterday while you were gone (a nuclear bomb, a kidnapping?). You read the emails you didn't read yesterday (that is, the ones that came in outside of work hours), close your email, and continue with your "break," feeling more at ease.

These two examples are not isolated; there are thousands , and they happen to so many people that, in the end, popular wisdom has coined an English term to define it (we already know how good this language is at creating concise sociological terms that are easy to understand at first).

Stresslaxing , as this new type of stress has been called, refers to the stress that occurs when you try to relax from the very thing that's causing you stress. A tricky and complicated emotional tongue-twister.

We live overwhelmed by endless tasks. The list never ends, because in addition to work there's the house, the family, the pets. Everything is likely to need you nonstop . A version of you on an infinite loop.

We, tireless seekers of well-being —not understood as an unattainable ideal, but as that intangible positive state that allows us to enjoy the small and big things in life— have also experienced stress laxation at some point . All of us, to a greater or lesser degree, and not just thinking about work; sometimes even the leisure time we're missing out on can be overwhelming. There's a lot of social pressure to be perfect, to be "in."

Myriam, from SKINVITY, shares what she believes are the keys, or at least what works for her: “When I feel that unsettling nagging feeling creeping in on weekends, the one that makes me feel stressed and makes me want to get on the computer and get ahead on work, I take a hot bath, or light a candle and listen to a podcast, or do both at the same time. It took me a long time to realize that what was happening to me wasn't an excess of responsibility, but pure and simple stress, which forces me into a perpetual state of obligation, whatever it may be. Now I counter it by dedicating myself to taking care of myself with intensity and devotion . It doesn't always work, but at least I try.”

The important thing is to identify it, without a doubt. To know that what you're experiencing is stress and to accept it. Once you've identified it, there are various ways to manage it. Some people do it by adding adrenaline to their activities, others start therapy, meditate, change jobs, or ask for help from loved ones.

We recommend that you take better care of yourselves, find a new, more fulfilling rhythm that allows you to enjoy the little things more . Almost everything can wait, except your well-being.