Are you suffering from nomophobia – NO–MObile-PHOne-phoBIA?  Has your smartphone use morphed into an unhealthy over-connection habit?  One described as an emerging threat to our social, mental and physical health.  If your definition of self-care includes releasing the clench of over-connection, this post is for you.

Nomophobia and the over-connection habit, like addiction, are impacted by dopamine.  Dopamine, an important chemical messenger in the brain functions as both a hormone and neurotransmitter.  At well-regulated levels it serves vital functions in maintaining your physical and mental wellbeing.  As a neurotransmitter it plays a fundamental role in your ability to exercise executive function.  Executive function, regulated by the prefrontal cortex of the brain, drives all forms of higher thinking including motivation, attention, goal setting, planning, reason and problem solving.

In its function as a hormone, dopamine is known as the “pleasure or reward” hormone.  As with addictions, you get a burst of dopamine each time you engage.  With each ping, ding, buzz or flash your mood elevates.  Unfortunately, tolerance to dopamine develops quickly requiring more and more stimulation to receive the same pleasure or reward.

This burst of dopamine sets the groundwork for the over-connection habit to social media, gaming, texting and messaging and can extend to levels where your digital world takes on greater significance than real-life.  Over-connection may rise to the level of digital addiction, a more socially acceptable behavior than other forms of addiction but one that is still harmful to your health and wellbeing.  Excessive smartphone use has been linked to depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness and boredom.  While no consensus exists as to which is likely to have developed first, there is agreement that while losing oneself in a digital world may seem to stave off these feelings, it can actually make them worse. 

Breaking habits and addiction require changing your pattern of thinking and behavior.  Begin by taking ownership of your behavior, recognizing your triggers and acknowledge how your life is impacted by your actions.  Set goals for time usage and limit compulsive checking.  Create phone-free periods in your day and no-phone zones in your life.  Regular exercise and mindfulness practices of yoga, purposeful breathing and meditation can serve to foster a healthy separation between you and over-connection.

What will you be doing differently when living your wellbeing vision?  Do you have a wellbeing vision?  If not, I challenge you to create one.  What motivates you to be your best, or better, self?   Is breaking free of over-connection part of your wellbeing vision?   At Work Well Concepts, we are here to help.  Working with a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach you can gain confidence, enhance your motivation and overcome resistance to live your wellbeing vision.  Break free of over-connection and create sustainable healthy habits for life.

I am too stressed for self-care.  It is a luxury for which I do not have time!  Or so the argument goes. The answer to finding time for self-care may be learning to better manage your time.  Time is about control.  If you want to have time for what you want or need most, you must learn to control your time or it will control you.  Not having time to practice self-care is not a time problem, it is a time management problem. 

Cold, hard fact alert… If you do not find the time to practice self-care, you will have to find time for sick-care.  No one gets away with it indefinitely.  Not the family caregiver, parent, teacher, nurse, or 911 dispatcher, no one.  Without self-care your stress builds and as it does your brain goes through a process called somatization where it translates your stress into physical symptoms.  Chronic stress depletes your mental and physical stamina, leads to irritability, anxiety, exhaustion and depression.  This is not an inclusive list as the physical reach of mental stress can have a serious impact on your health and wellbeing.  Somatic symptoms of stress can be expressed in many ways including headaches, digestive problems, and insomnia.  Over prolonged periods stress will lower your immune response and can increase your likelihood of developing a progressive chronic disease.

At Work Well Concepts we care about your wellbeing. In the interest of promoting the practice of self-care, we offer these time management tips.  Do not be a victim of poor time management.  

1. Explore ways to ensure time to practice self-care is included in your schedule.
2. Experiment with mini-goal setting to incorporate some version of self-care – as you define it – into your lifestyle.
3. Prioritize and plan ahead.  No one can do it all at exactly the same time.
4. Set a schedule that allows for flexibility.  Life happens.  Build in time to proactively manage these added stressors.
5. Stop chasing rabbits.  Eliminate your time wasters including people who waste your time.
6. Learn to say no.
7. Embrace self-respect by ensuring time for self-care. Take deep calming breaths, eating to nourish, drinking to hydrate, sleeping to recover, stand instead of sit and take every opportunity to move your body. 
8. Working within the framework of the 3 Steps to Live Well program, we at Work Well Concepts can help you forge a better path to a happier, healthier life.  We offer personalized wellness coaching and wellbeing solutions.  We are here, to help you.