Dubai, April 16 — Within the fast-paced professional world of the UAE, many professionals tend to overwork themselves in their career journey which adversely affects their well-being.
Shedding hours in the office, with little to no breaks, leads to troublesome coping habits – both psychological and physical. Productivity goals are prioritized over health. As the month of April commences, marking World Health Awareness Month, we hear some citizens hope to voice the utter neglect of health driven by ambition, and how this miscalculated exploit rudely backfired.
One of them is a 42-year-old Iranian businessman Osman Kazami, residing in Deira, Dubai, who did not take too long to understand that working tirelessly is not the only solution.
“For me, work always came first. I constantly compared myself to other businessmen and competed with them every day. My delicate condition forced me to change my perspective. After all, my body coming crashing down on me was an eye-opener,” recalled Kazami.
Kazami would cycle daily between his shop, office, and client meetings. These commutes would be accompanied with fast food and energy drinks to save time, and sugary snacks served as staples. He would sleep less than five hours a night, and smoke to cope with stress.
“Skipping meals became the norm for me as I attended back to back meetings with international clients, chasing business opportunities. I used to reach for a cigarette for stress relief. I did what I thought was necessary for success,” he conveyed.
The Kizami jump-started heart frame might have been his worst moment but this moment served as a wake-up call, enabling him to turn his head in a different direction. But the relentless pursuit had already made payments to the bodily bank.
“Like some of the more drastic parts of UAE’s professional world, the experience is very common,’’ he further narrated. While self-care in the form of exercise and mental health has reached a new low, the general population continues to work relentlessly – something healthcare professionals do not approve of.
Advocates are now using the world health awareness month for July to raise awareness around general checkups, exercising all and following an active lifestyle which further escalates towards proper eating – approach that stands in direct contrast of the fast paced world full of burning the candle at both ends.
Remember success means nothing without caring to support it with a body’s stamina to burn. Shifting the body requires adapting to changes in food and rest patterns and that gravitational shift gives a Kazami proper rest years.