Calendar Books by Allen James - Daily Reading

Some individuals may also experience nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, faintness, changes in heart rate and blood pressure, fear, anxiety, or panic. Some reactions to the symptoms are fatigue, depression, and decreased concentration. The symptoms may appear and disappear over short time periods or may last for a longer period.
Cognitive dysfunction (disorientation) may occur with vestibular disorders. Cognitive deficits are not just spatial in nature, but also include non-spatial functions such as object recognition memory. Vestibular dysfunction has been shown to adversely affect processes of attention and increased demands of attention can worsen the postural sway associated with vestibular disorders. Recent MRI studies also show that humans with bilateral vestibular damage undergo atrophy of the hippocampus which correlates with their degree of impairment on spatial memory tasks" (wikipedia.org/wiki/balance).

Very similar symptoms are experienced in our personal/private and/or social life when we don't maintain balance in our daily lives.  I've been hearing quite a bit of buzz lately surrounding our maintaining a healthy balance on a regular basis. It's important to do it. Ideally, we should all maintain a mix of work and play, of things we have to do and things we want to do, of things which drain us and things which feed us. We also need to carve out enough time for sleep, relationships to sustain us, exercise, healthy meals and other life-affirming activities (sex!) in our lives so we don't drown in only work and chores. But what does maintaining balance look like?

Sometimes maintaining balance can be messy. Even when we find overall balance in our lives, there are going to be times when we are overloaded, times when we realize we need to pare down, and times when we can't pare down STAT, but can work toward greater balance in the near future. If you find yourself in that position, don't stress about it; it's part of maintaining balance, too.

To illustrate my point, try balancing on one foot. (Seriously, try it now.) Do you notice you sometimes find yourself leaning in one direction and, in order not to fall, have to right yourself by leaning in the opposite direction? If you just stayed perfectly still, you'd fall. Maintaining balance isn't about staying perfectly still; it's about recognizing when you're getting out of balance, and righting yourself. Constantly.

Staying in balance looks different for everyone, as we all have different needs for balance, different variables we work with in our lives, different levels of tolerance for imbalance, and different resources available to us, among other things. Below are a few different balance-finding ideas to help you in maintaining balance, so you can right yourself when you find that you need to shift back to your center of balance.

Take a Mental Health Day

The movie Ferris Buller's Day Off, a favorite film of mine depictimng a high school senior making the most out of a day of playing hookey, became a classic for a reason: people everywhere can identify with the need to take just one day off from the pressure or monotony of life, and do anything and everything possible to make it count. You may not spend the day singing in parades, eating in fancy restaurants or trying not to be run over by your jealous sister, but spending one day in a way that feels restful or fulfilling for you is the trick. Use your imagination!

Just Say No

Think about all the things you need to do. Which ones do you want to do, and which ones do you have to do? Ideally, there should be a mix of both. When working on maintaining balance, you can do two things which involve saying no, and both can make a big impact. First, see if there are any 'have to' items you can cross off of your list. (Think of your own well being, and try to make the appropriate choice.) Second, be sure all of your 'want to' items really bring you joy and feed you emotionally. If they're just 'sort of' worth the time, cross them off and start doing something really worth your time. When time is scarce, make every moment count.

Ask For Help

It can sometimes be easier for an outsider--someone who is not you--to see not only when you're getting out of balance, but recognize what you can do to get back into balance. Everything in your busy schedule may seem vital (and sometimes it is) but if there's something which may be more easily let go, it's often a good friend, close relative, or spouse who can help you recognize it. If you don't have supportive people or persons in your life, it may even be worth finding help from a professional, either from a life coach or, in more serious stress situations, a therapist.

Keep a balance in your daily walk...and keep looking up.  :)   AJ

(Scott, E.)