How to De-Stress Your Routine When it Turns Toxic

After the hiatus of summer, fall is oftentimes synonymous with routine. The kids are back in school. Work settles back in. Weekly activities find a rhythm. Oftentimes, however, this routine does not provide us with peace and security. Instead, these routines can become both frantic and monotonous, sucking us into the daily grind and propelling us down a toxic path.

We become consumed by our activities, frantically moving from one thing to the next. We stop thinking, caring, observing, reflecting, or reflecting on our actual happiness, and simply try to get through the day. In the hurriedness of our days, we often lose sight of our purpose in life and what really makes us happy. We start to experience feelings of depression and anxiety, and our lives slowly start to feel out of our control and instead controlled by life and our “routine.”

What do we do when life seems hopeless or out of control? We move into areas we think will help: more work, more alcohol, more obsessive/compulsive activity, more entertainment, more frantic escape from reality. But it’s always more and more of the wrong thing. Instead of helping us regain control of our lives, it produces an internal environment that evolves into burnout. We feel an uncontrollable sense of disease, but because we’re on a vicious cycle of unproductive activity, we keep doing the same unproductive activity over and over. When our burnout and stress builds to a level at which we cannot endure the pain any longer, we cross the line to physical and mental exhaustion. In this process of cyclic franticness, we forget that joy comes from within, never from external sources.

To some degree, we’ve all been there. We’ve all experienced the franticness of a routine coupled with the absence of purpose. This frantic routine can eventually breed depression, anxiety, addiction, and other unhealthy behaviors. It’s only when we are ready to acknowledge our stressful, unsustainable path that we are able to heal.

We need to start by getting rid of all of the killers of our mind, body, and spirit: the junk food, the alcohol, the negative thinking, the toxic relationships, and the pressure to “do it all.” We will need to break the cycle of our routine to reach out to people, to slow down, and to remember that we need to first build a routine of wholeness and health before we are able to act as our best selves. Baby steps are required. They are the all-important steps toward inner healing.

If feel like your life is so out of control that you can’t regain balance on your own, you may need to seek the help of a professional. At, The Center • A Place of HOPE we not only helps ease your symptoms but seek to heal their root cause. If you are ready to regain true balance and happiness in your life, fill out this form or call 1-888-747-5592 to speak with a specialist today.