Just Sitting There Can Kill You

We all want a peaceful, simple life because it reduces stress. We believe that's healthy. So instead of going out there to busy ourselves with whatever, we opt to remain home and relax. But wrong relaxation will kill you. It's good to go home and relax, but the question is, what do we mean by that? People have misleading ideas about relaxation which later ends them up in serious trouble.

Photo above by Raj Rana on Unsplash.

And I want to keep stressing this (I mean emphasize, not stress you out 😁) because so many friends and acquaintances are falling seriously ill or relaxing in perpetual peace because they've decided to just sit there. Or stand there. Or not sit at all. Sitting is worse. And yes, just sitting there can kill you, suddenly, without warning. It's not about sitting quietly somewhere and then getting hit fatally by something, though that's a possibility. 

I'm talking about just sitting there all day.

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Real Relaxation

Correct relaxation is healthy. It doesn't make you sedentary, inactive, desk-bound, or anything like that. In fact, relaxation comes only when you're physically active. The body gets quality rest and relaxation only after being physically challenged, like in a workout. And the body gets really stressed out when it does nothing almost all day. Just sitting there. Or standing. Sedentary living wrecks your ability to sleep.

Don't get me wrong. Neither am I talking about getting busy about things, doing this, doing that. Busy is not the idea of "a healthy, active life" because it also kills if fueled by and/or results to overstress. Particularly, it causes inflammation which may lead to deadly diseases, like autoimmune diseases. Says the NCBI site:

At the intersection of metabolism and immunity, inflammation may be an important link between stress and metabolic disease. Intense stress over-activates the immune system, leading to the imbalance between inflammation and anti-inflammation. Source

Although not all busyness is overstress. It depends on your emotional condition during the overwork. If you love what you're busy with, then it's healthy stress. But if it's about beating deadlines, pleasing superiors, pleasing the ego, proving yourself, showing off, having a competitive spirit, guilt, and the like, it's killing you--physically, emotionally and mentally. Even socially. Stressed out folks are cranky, self-centered, overbearing and fault finders. Here's what WebMD says:

There’s a strong link between workaholics and things like ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and depression. It’s likely that having these disorders makes you prone to working too much. You may use work to avoid depression, or you may work more because your ADHD, OCD, or anxiety won’t let you stop. Likewise, stress can affect your mental well-being and lead to symptoms of anxiety and depression.

It won't show immediately. You'd even feel elated and accomplished with overstress. But the free radical damage in your body system accumulates overtime and soon it strikes without warning. Kaboom! Yup, just sitting there and not just sitting there can both kill you. A lot of seriously ill folks wonder how they got the ailment. 

How Not to Die Just Sitting There

Here are tips I got from my research and my experience how to avoid dying due to just sitting there:

1. Don't get too absorbed in desk work. Time yourself to get up each hour and stretch, walk briskly or climb up and down stairs if you have one. I do some squats, push ups and weights now and then as break from my blogging and this is aside from my regular workouts. 
2. Get rid of the remote. Do everything manually. Get up and move about. Don't rely too much on automatic operations. Do the laundry manually and lift pails of water to fill up laundry basins. Carry dirty laundry water and use for toilet flushing. Clean the bathroom by scrubbing floors and walls with your hands and squatting to reach far corners. 
3. Hobby. Cook often (and enjoy it) or do some regular gardening. Don't use the water hose. Water plants by carrying a pail of water and use a dipper for distributing.
4. Walk around the block. I used to stop awhile from blogging, get out and walk around the street or the block. Then come back to my blog. Helps a lot. Now I just do warm-up breaks right in the room. I remember how I used to sneak into the empty conference room of our company to do my pushups and kicking exercises there.

How Not to Die Not Sitting There

For workaholics who feel rest, relaxation and recreation are sins or stupid ideas, simply find ways to get overstress out of whatever you're doing. If you're busy with work, do it without any compelling reason. I know it's hard, especially if your boss is strict or competitive, and this is why doing a job for long is a definite no-no to me. I prefer doing a business or livelihood I really love, like blogging.

In times I work hard or do some overtime, I do it because I love to, not because a boss requires me to (your egoistic desires can be your boss). Like when I get a good idea from my bible quiet time and feel I need to do an article because many can benefit, I work real hard writing, editing, putting graphics, toying with presentation, and doing research (lots of it). I don't feel overstressed.

Besides, I don't get tied up to my chair and desk and I regularly workout.

Use Your Most Inner Power

A well life is a prosperous life--spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and financially. Email at personaligyauto@gmail.com to get my e-book (free or with donation) "YOUR POWER WITHIN."