Sick Of It Day
By Dr. Brigitte Garth-Young
IDEA Governing Board Member
Back in the early 1990's, there was a song entitled, "Funk Dat!" by Sagat. The song was from his LP "The World According to Sagat". Sagat was at capacity! He was frustrated about everything, no matter how big or small. And every time he got upset, he would say, "Funk Dat!” During this time, you couldn't say that on the radio, so they replaced Funk with Umph. Therefore, the phrase "umph dat!" is what we would say to express our frustration with family, siblings, school, church, friends, jobs, what we had for dinner, anything! Check out the video!
Now, 28 years later, I can fully understand and feel what he's saying as I fight adultitis. What is adultitis? According to the Escape Adulthood website, adultitis is a common condition occurring in people between the ages of 21–121, marked by chronic dullness, mild depression, moderate to extremely high stress levels, a general fear of change, and, in some extreme cases, the inability to smile. People can appear aimless, discontent, and anxious about many things. Onset can be accelerated by an excess burden of bills, overwhelming responsibilities, or a boring work life. Generally, many of us suffer with this and didn't know there was a name for it.
The founders of Escape Adulthood, Jason and Kim Kotecki, have an entire website dedicated to adultitis and have a plethora of ideas on how to combat it. Jason had just sent a recent email to members about listening to your inner check engine light. He gave the analogy of having a car, and your engine light comes on. Oftentimes, we would ignore it by putting a piece of black electrical tape over the illuminating light. When you do this, there could be a serious underlying problem with the car that must be addressed. He compared the car with how we ignore physical symptoms when our "engine light" comes on.
What I am recommending that you do if you are silently suffering are the following:
- First, take the tape off the illuminating engine light and begin to analyze what you are feeling.
- Sometimes, all you may need is a soothing bath, meditation, music, or a pig-out session of your favorite food (without the guilt).
- Adopt a rescue animal for emotional support. (I have my pup SPYCE. He's a charm.)
- Say, "Umph Dat!" to release some frustrations, so that things aren't pent-up.
- If you know that the job is stressing you out, take a few sick-of-it-days! We also call these mental health days.
- If you see a pattern with job related stress, you may want to consider a career change.
- Ease up on calendar commitments, spend more time with the family, or treat yourself to the spa.
- If none of the above is working, consider seeking medical attention from your physician or a therapist.
Don't be afraid to peel back that black electrical tape on your "check engine light". See what it is trying to tell you and let it lead the way towards wellness. Say, "Umph Dat!" Allow yourself to be sick and tired of being sick and tired and get a break!
Ponder this: What is your go to when you get "sick-of-it"? I'd love to hear about it. Please share your thoughts.
