By Wan Eizzul Islam Wan Zulkifli
Over the past two years residing in my home country, Malaysia, I’ve accomplished quite a number of things including being highly active and motivated in my university’s co-curricular activities. One thing has led to another and the wheel of fortune brought upon many wonderful opportunities for me which I have indeed benefited.
But most often, others are so mesmerised or distracted from the benefits to see the truth that those achievements work both ways. With great power comes great responsibility and a lot of time and hard work that needs to be sacrificed. Those who take upon this sacrifice know how crucial it defines you as an individual and how it can help you improve yourself, but one must know when or where to draw the line between sacrifice and overburdening yourself.
R&R or rest and recuperation is needed from time to time to strike a balance between sacrifice and being overburdened. Without R&R, you would endanger yourself, not only physically but also mentally or face psychological exhaustion, which would in many ways affect your health.
Everyone will experience this phase of exhaustion at one time or another. For me, it came about in my previous semester of study when I had to make too many sacrifices, which in turn have caused me to experience exhaustion both physically and mentally which resulted in me visiting the clinic several times.
“Take a break and rest for a while. You stress out too much, and your blood pressure is too high for your age,” said the doctor while injecting a bag of IV fluids into my veins.
I guess this is the part where you contemplate what to do next. Taking the doctor’s advice into consideration is one thing, but trying to implement  or carry out is another. With that in mind, I quickly made a mental note for myself on what to do during the semester break, so I could prepare myself. Prepare for what you may ask? Prepare for some much needed R&R, not only to gain back my strength and health physically and mentally but just to enjoy some leisure time alone for myself to find peace in my mind.
Considering that I have been working during previous holidays or semester breaks, it was a nice change of pace to finally finish with the previous semester’s examinations and to go for the much needed R&R.
Now it’s time to ask yourself if you are doing a good balancing. Too much work can be harmful, while too much R&R can be unproductive.
If you think you’re being overburdened, let me share with you some useful ways to help relieve the tension a little:
– Hobbies: Find yourself a hobby that not only entertains but can help distract you from the stress of other things.
– Light Exercise: Keeping your body active will not only help with your health but releases tension positively.
– Napping: It’s okay to shut down for a while and drift away from all the responsibilities. You will wake up feeling refreshed and ready to do your work.
– Talk to a Friend: Talking to someone about the tension that’s causing you to stress can help lift a lot off your shoulders. Empathising with others helps mentally.