Busy, Busy, Busy!

Always rushed off your feet? Nutritional biochemist Libby Weaver explores the modern malaise of ‘rushing woman syndrome’and suggests how to slow down and get more from life.

NEVER before in my work have I witnessed so many women in such an intense rush to do everything and be all things to all people. Women are wired. Many of them are tired too.Tired yet wired.

And this relentless urgency, this perception that there isn’t enough time combined with a never-ending to-do list, has significant health consequences.

The perceived need to rush – whether we show it on the outside or keep it under wraps – is impacting women’s health in a detrimental way.

Sex hormone-based health issues such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, infertility and debilitating menopause symptoms – not to mention exhaustion – have never been greater.

Today our cellphones ring, ping and vibrate incessantly to inform us of the arrival of emails, calls and social media notifications – at all times of the day and night. Unless we choose to have boundaries around when we’re contactable, we’re essentially on call 24/7.

We’ve also seen an enormous change in the way we eat. Few of us in the West now live off the land, and instead many of us choose to get our nourishment from non-food ingredients out of packs because we’re in such a rush – and the quicker the better.

You don’t need me to tell you this kind of eating comes at a cost. You’d have to have had your head buried in the sand not to know we need to be eating a diet of mostly fresh foods, and that most of us need to eat way more vegetables than we currently do.

We’ve become so far removed from our origins that many people believe it’s a luxury or a fad to eat seasonal produce, to turn off their cellphone at night, take their shoes offto feel the earth beneath their bare feet, not respond to emails within three minutes of receiving them or take a day of rest or leisure each week.