Working Hard but Losing Your Health?

Do you work hard, earn well, look after everyone, and still feel tired all the time? Do you sometimes feel that whenever work grows, your health goes down? If yes, you are not alone. In 25 years of working with people, I have seen this pattern again and again. And I have lived it myself.

Most of us think this is simply the price of success. It is not. Very often, it is a belief we picked up long ago, a belief that quietly says: to earn more, I must give more of my body. In this post, let us look at that belief, the signs of burnout, what research says about overwork, and a simple practice to start changing it.

The trade many of us make without noticing

It rarely happens in one day. It begins with small trades.

We skip lunch because one more task is waiting. We tell ourselves we will exercise from Monday. We sleep late to finish work, and wake early to start again. Family dinner becomes a phone call. Weekends become "catch-up days". Our own time, our "me time", is the first thing we give away, because it feels like the least important.

Each trade looks small. But after a few years, we look back and see the full bill: our energy, our patience, our joy, and often our health.

Imagine a bank manager who promises his daughter he will come to her school function. One meeting runs late, then another. He reaches just as the function ends. He tells himself, "Next time." Next time, the same thing happens.

Or imagine a mother who packs everyone's tiffin, gets everyone ready, and eats her own breakfast standing up, cold, at 11 o'clock. Nobody asked her to. She simply feels her turn comes last.

The strange part is this. Many of us do not even feel we have a choice. Rest feels like laziness. Saying no feels selfish. Slowing down feels dangerous, as if everything will fall apart the moment we stop.

What research says about overwork

This is not only a feeling. Large health organisations have studied it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes burn-out as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It has three signs: feeling drained or exhausted, feeling distant or negative about one's work, and feeling less effective at work. WHO lists it as an occupational phenomenon, not as a medical condition.

In 2021, a joint study by WHO and the International Labour Organization found that working 55 hours or more a week was linked to a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared with working 35 to 40 hours a week. As WHO's Director-General put it, "No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease."

The American Psychological Association explains how long-term stress affects the body: muscles stay tense, which is linked with headaches and back pain, and ongoing stress keeps the heart rate and blood pressure raised. In women, it may also affect menstrual cycles and fertility. You can read more on how stress affects the body.

As a gynaecologist, none of this surprised me. I have met so many people who were looking after a whole family, a job and a home, and had simply forgotten to look after themselves.

The belief behind it: "When I work more, my health goes down"

Here is what I have learnt from my healing work. Overwork is usually not only about time. It is about a belief underneath.

The belief can sound like:

• "Money only comes through very hard work."
• "Rest is for lazy people."
• "If I slow down, I will lose everything."
• "Others first, me last."
• "Whenever I earn more, my health goes down."

When a belief like this lives in the subconscious mind, it does not stay as a thought. It becomes behaviour. We push past hunger. We ignore pain. We feel guilty when we rest. And then, when health does suffer, the mind says: See? I told you. Success costs health. The belief grows stronger.

This is a loop. And no amount of extra effort can break it, because the effort itself is part of the loop.

Imagine a young professional who gets a headache every evening. Instead of resting, they take a tablet and open the laptop again. A month later, the headaches come more often, and the mind says, "I have no time to fall sick." The belief wins again.

Where this belief comes from

Most of us did not choose this belief. We learnt it.

In many Indian homes, we grew up hearing "Mehnat ki kamaai hai, kahin nahin jayegi": money earned through hard work will never go away. It is a beautiful value. Hard work deserves respect. But somewhere along the way, many of us added a second, hidden line: only money that hurts to earn is real money.

We watched parents and grandparents work from early morning till late at night. We saw the person who rested being called lazy, and the person who never rested being praised. Children learn very quickly which one gets love and respect.

Many of us remember a father who never took a day off, even with fever, and was praised for it. Or a grandmother who was the first to wake and the last to sleep. We admired them. And quietly, we also learnt: a good person never rests.

If this sounds familiar, you may also like my post on 5 hidden beliefs that keep money away.

So as adults, we repeat it. Not because it works, but because it feels familiar, and familiar feels safe.

What I learnt from my own health

I want to be honest with you here.

Some years ago, during a very demanding hospital job, I worked such long hours that meals, exercise and rest kept slipping away. My health paid the price. Slowly, my mind formed a belief: if I work hard to make money, I lose my health.

Later, when I started building my online work, I was working very hard again, and I could feel the same old belief whispering. That was when I understood it was not about the job. It was a programme running inside me.

I am still working on this belief. But a lot has changed. Today, I protect a little time every day for myself: my meditation, my Ho'oponopono practice and some gentle movement. I no longer feel guilty about it, because I have learnt that this time is what keeps everything else going.

7 signs of burnout: are you trading your health for work?

Ask yourself gently, without judging:

1. Do you often skip meals or eat while working?
2. Is your sleep shorter or more broken than before?
3. Do you feel tired even after a holiday?
4. Do you feel guilty or restless when you rest?
5. Has your patience with family or colleagues become thin?
6. Do you keep postponing your own health check-ups?
7. Do you feel that you are always "catching up" and never done?

If you said yes to three or more, your body may be asking you to slow down. These questions are adapted from Mayo Clinic's guide on how to spot job burnout. They are not a diagnosis. If something in your body worries you, please see your doctor.

Why working harder does not fix it

When we feel behind, our first answer is usually: work harder. Wake up earlier. Do more.

But if the root is a belief, more effort only feeds the belief. It is like trying to dry a floor while the tap is still running.

Real change begins when we stop only managing the symptoms (tiredness, irritation, guilt) and start looking at the sentence underneath them. When the belief softens, behaviour changes on its own. You start eating on time, not because of a rule, but because you no longer feel you have to earn it.

Think of your phone. When the battery is at 5%, opening more apps does not help. It needs charging. Our body and mind work the same way.

As a doctor, I often explain it like this. A painkiller can quiet the pain, but if there is an infection inside, the pain keeps coming back. Working harder, or even a holiday, is like the painkiller. The belief underneath is the infection.

A 10-minute practice to loosen this belief

You can do this tonight with a notebook and a pen.

1. Sit quietly for one minute. Place a hand on your heart and take a few slow breaths.
2. Write the belief down. Complete this line: "If I rest, then…" Write whatever comes, without editing.
3. Ask: whose voice is this? Is it a parent, a teacher, a first boss? Just notice. No blame.
4. Notice what it has cost you. Write one thing this belief has taken from you: sleep, family time, health or joy.
5. Say the Ho'oponopono lines to that belief, slowly, for two to three minutes: I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.
6. Write a new sentence. For example: "I can work well and stay well." or "Rest is part of my success."
7. Choose one small act for tomorrow. Eat lunch away from your desk. Take a 10-minute walk. Switch off work 30 minutes before bed.

Do this for 21 days. Many people notice that the guilt around rest begins to soften within the first two weeks.

Imagine someone who, after a week of this practice, eats lunch away from the desk for the first time in years. The work is still there after 20 minutes, but the afternoon feels lighter. That one small change is the belief beginning to soften.

New to Ho'oponopono? Start with my 5-minute Ho'oponopono practice.

Small daily changes that protect your health

Healing a belief works best with small, steady actions:

• Eat at fixed times. Your body is not a machine that runs on leftovers.
• Take a 5-minute pause every two hours. Stand up, breathe, drink water.
• Protect your sleep. Keep a fixed bedtime and keep your phone away from the bed.
• Move every day, even if it is only a short walk or gentle stretching.
• Keep one hour a week that is only yours. Put it in your calendar like any other meeting.
• Say one small "no" each week to something that drains you.
• Keep your regular health check-ups. Prevention is also self-respect.

What changes when you heal this belief

When this belief starts to heal, work does not stop. It changes.

You may find you do the same work in fewer hours, because you are not running on empty. You make clearer decisions. You are kinder to the people around you. Your family gets more of you, not just what is left of you at night.

Most importantly, you start to trust a new truth: success and health can live together. You do not have to choose.

References

1. World Health Organization (2019). Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases
2. World Health Organization and International Labour Organization (2021). Long working hours increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke
3. American Psychological Association. Stress effects on the body
4. Mayo Clinic. Job burnout: How to spot it and take action

This article is for general wellness and education only. It is not medical advice and does not replace your doctor. Please do not stop or change any medicine without your doctor's advice. If you feel overwhelmed or unsafe, please reach out to a mental health professional; in India you can call Tele-MANAS on 14416. Read the full Medical & Wellness Disclaimer.

Start today

You do not have to change your whole life tonight. Start with one honest question: "What am I giving away to keep working like this?" Then choose one small act of care for yourself tomorrow. Your health is not the price of your success. It is the ground your success stands on.