The Glow Down

It is true, it shows on the outside what is going on in the inside. If you’re in circumstances, situations, or relationships that are more stressful than they are relieving, it will be reflected. Not only psychologically, but also physically.

Your skin might dry out, you might get acne, your hair could fall out, or it may thin and gray, you could start putting on weight, inflammation here and there, along with dark circles around your eyes, or even a pale “dead” look. Along all that, you might not even find it in yourself to take as much care of yourself as you otherwise would.

And while many of these consequences are reversible, they can still take a lot to get rid of once they’ve begun. What’s worse, though, is that some can be permanent. You can literally age faster when put under severe stress. And that’s without touching the very real damage that it can cause to your brain.

So you may call it vanity or what you will, but this is part of why hanging and sticking around people and places that strain you isn’t recommendable. You don’t get a badge of honor for enduring detrimental treatment or labor. What you get is your suffering reflected on you.

Sure, we can’t always be chasing absolute bliss, pushing away and shutting out everything and everyone who isn’t that for us. But we can seek to reduce and counter those moments that take a toll on us. Setting clear boundaries and making room for nourishing activities, having no reluctance to ignore and dismiss any guilt-tripping that could come our way about it.

Some people are martyrs and expect you to be too. And some people are abusers and expect you to allow abuse. Neither should have a say on what you do and don’t do with your life. It is the people who yearn to see you doing well, and who even help you move toward this, whose opinions matter.

We don’t always realize when we’re pushing beyond what we can properly handle, probably being caught up in the frenzy of tending to whatever it is that’s consuming us. So when these things start to happen, when you’re glowing down, they can be taken as symptoms to realize that a change is required.