Achieving Balance In Everyday Life

Abstract

There is growing interest in developing a conceptual understanding of the experience of balance in everyday life, from an occupational perspective. The purpose of this study was to gain insights about balance in the everyday lives of women with stress‐related disorders. Data were gathered from 19 women who were past the first phase of recovery from a stress‐related disorder and participated in one of five focus groups. Analysis revealed that the participants experienced a continuum between imbalance and balance in everyday life. The themes that emerged were image of occupational self, strategies to manage and control everyday life, occupational repertoire, and occupational experience. Balance in everyday life was achieved through a dynamic interaction between these themes, which the women characterised as respecting their own values, needs, and resources; having strategies to manage and control everyday life; having a harmonious occupational repertoire; and engaging in personally meaningful occupation. Engagement in personally meaningful occupation appears to be a mechanism that enables people to achieve balance in everyday life by enabling them to develop a successful occupational self‐image, manageability, control, and a harmonious occupational repertoire. Well‐being seems to be the outcome of balance in everyday life, and lack of balance is experienced as overload.

Key Words:

• Balance in everyday life
• Working women
• Stress
• Occupational science