When Life Slows You Down: My Struggle With Health, Stress, and Responsibility | by Tanzeela Akhtar | Sep, 2025

A few weeks ago, I was in a good flow.

I was exercising regularly, eating healthy low-carb meals, and taking my supplements on time. I wasn’t the most active person, but I had energy. My mood was better. I felt like I was moving in the right direction.

I was even posting my healthy recipes on TikTok. My account was monetized, and while I knew it wouldn’t make me rich, it felt good to share something I was proud of. Life wasn’t perfect, but it was steady, and I felt like I was building myself piece by piece.

And then, things changed.

Suddenly, I stopped exercising. My sleep schedule flipped upside down. Instead of sleeping by 10 or 11 p.m., I was staying awake until 2 or 3 a.m. and waking up around noon. Even when I woke up, I didn’t want to get out of bed. My body felt tired before the day even started. I lost my rhythm with supplements, forgot to eat healthy, and fell back into oily, heavy food — parathas, samosas, fried snacks. Slowly, I stopped caring for myself.

It wasn’t just physical. It was also the stress.

I’m the breadwinner for my family, and while I’m grateful that things are going okay, it’s not easy. I got a job on Upwork that brings in around $250 a month — a blessing, yes, but not nearly enough to manage a family of five. Add to that the pressure of upgrading my skills, applying for jobs, and the burden of paying off my laptop installments — and I felt like I was carrying too much.

TikTok, too, left me disappointed. Thousands of views, but not even a single dollar earned. I know one day it won’t matter, but when you’re putting in effort and already dealing with stress, the lack of reward can make you feel empty.

And so I stopped. I stopped making videos. I stopped exercising. I stopped eating the way I knew made me feel good. I stopped taking care of myself.

But here’s the thing I’ve realized: this is just a phase.

It doesn’t mean I’m weak or lazy. It means I’ve been under pressure, and my body and mind reacted the only way they knew how. Stress isn’t only mental — it seeps into the body, slows you down, makes even simple things feel heavy.

I know discipline matters more than motivation. Motivation comes and goes, but discipline carries you through. And even though I’ve lost some of that discipline, I also know it can be rebuilt. Step by step. Meal by meal. Night by night.

This is not the end of my story. It’s just one chapter.

And I’m sharing this because maybe someone else out there feels the same — tired, drained, overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities. If you do, I want you to know: you’re not alone. We all fall off track sometimes. What matters is finding the courage to get back up, no matter how slowly.

Because phases pass. Stress eases. Habits can be rebuilt. And little by little, we rise again.

f you’ve ever felt the same, how did you find your way back? I’d love to hear your story in the comments.