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Why is it so important to get your life back in balance? "Without change, everything will get worse, not better," says Stevan Hobfoll, PhD, distinguished professor of psychology at Kent State University. Allowing your life to overwhelm you week after week, year after year, can lead to exhaustion, depression, and anxiety disorders. Your health, your family, and your career will suffer as a result, Hobfoll tells WebMD. "Relationship problems will get more serious, burnout will become more severe. You will do your job badly and possibly get fired. … The romantic parts of your relationship will become part of some deep webs of your memory."
Hobfoll and his wife, Ivonne Heras Hobfoll, co-authored Work Won't Love You Back: The Dual Career Couple's Survival Guide. Rather than viewing your family and job as competing commitments, Hobfoll recommends shedding "the mythology of the rat race." He says investing time in your relationships will benefit you career. "Intimacy is one of the main things that counteracts burnout and stress." Similarly, investing time in yourself will benefit your relationships. That means creating space to do the things you enjoy, even if you have to neglect the dishes on occasion and ask friends or family to help out with your kids.
"I thought I could do it all on my own, but when I stopped and asked for some assistance, things got much easier," Wiley says. "I have realized that taking a break from the baby can be a great thing. I am a better mother if I get time to myself and time with my husband. " Reviewed by Charlotte Grayson Mathis, MD, on November 7, 2006
Reviewed by Michael J. Breus, PhD
On September 5, 2007
Five tips for a better work-life balance
