Do you always feel like you are late, even though you are actually on time? Does the idea of being one minute later than the planned time make you nervous? If you are always multitasking, timing yourself, and scrambling between one obligation and another. I used to boast about being early, always on time. However, over the years, my compulsion to be punctual was wearing thin. I would rush through meals, power-walk everywhere and worry about slight delays. My brain was always racing, going over worst-case scenarios if I was even a minute late. Realizing how tough I was being on myself I began to slow down gradually every day.

Although not a medically recognized condition, 'hurry sickness' is a state of chronic stress caused by the relentless need to be productive, meet deadlines, and maximize time efficiency. It’s a common affliction in our fast-paced world, affecting mental health, work performance, and even personal relationships. If left unchecked, this constant urgency can lead to exhaustion, burnout, and decreased overall well-being.

Hurry sickness is a phenomenon of today, which many of us unknowingly experience. As much as punctuality and being efficient are worthwhile qualities, maintaining a state of urgency all the time can exact a heavy toll on mental as well as physical health. So, breathe deep, slow down, and don't forget—life is not a race, and the finest moments often come when we give ourselves permission to stop.

Psychological and Physical Impact of Hurry Sickness

Hurry sickness is not merely a state of mind—it comes with actual emotional and physical implications. The constant desire to always be in transit can lead to a vicious circle of stress impacting various areas of life.

1. Irritability on the Rise

When each minute is filled, even small interruptions can feel like disastrous setbacks. If a sluggish elevator, a friendly chat, or unforeseen traffic leaves you inordinately irritated, it's a sign that hurry sickness is getting in the way of your emotional control.

2. Overwhelm and Anxiety

Your to-do list might not be as long as it feels, but when your mind is in a constant rush, even a handful of tasks can seem insurmountable. This perception of limited time can create overwhelming anxiety, making it even harder to complete anything efficiently.

3. Burnout and Exhaustion

Chronic rushing and stress can bring about burnout. When you never give yourself a moment of rest, your mind and body don't receive the time it needs to get recharged and thus exhaust you, reducing motivation and productivity.

4. Difficulty in finishing tasks

Ironically, the more you hurry, the more difficult it is to get things done well. Environmental psychologist and well-being consultant Lee Chambers says that hurry sickness comes in the form of a hyper-vigilance of tasks, so one will keep going over their to-do list repeatedly. This repeated mental rehearsal has a tendency to make individuals forget information, miss mistakes, or do things inefficiently since they are already planning for the next.

How to Overcome Hurry Sickness?

Escaping the hurry sickness takes effort and changes in mindset. Here's how you can begin slowing down and taking back control of your time:

1. Stop Considering Rest Unproductive

Most individuals with hurry sickness view rest as time wasted. Rest is, however, necessary for cognitive processes, decision-making, and overall productivity. Rather than working through fatigue, give yourself planned breaks. You will discover that taking time to stop actually makes you get things done quicker and with greater concentration.

2. Write Everything Down

A mental to-do list always seems longer than it is. Putting things down in an hourly planner allows you to see your schedule and realize that, yes, you do have time. This small action can defuse the feeling of urgency and stop you from getting overwhelmed.

3. Get Support

If you have a hard time shaking off the tendency of always rushing, discuss it with someone you can trust. A simple chat with a level-headed friend, family member, or colleague can be reassuring and help remind you that tardiness or taking it slow once in a while isn't the apocalypse. External support can influence your perception to move away from urgency towards balance.

4. Plan Deliberately to Arrive Late

If worrying about being late is what sends you into a panic, turn your thinking around by anticipating slight delays. Building in a purposeful buffer—by telling yourself you'll arrive a few minutes late—can fool your brain into calming down. You might even discover that, in spite of your preplanning, you still get there on time, just minus the anxiety.

5. Practice Mindfulness and Meditation

Taking control of your mind is essential to curing hurry sickness. Meditation, breathing exercises, and mindfulness practices can slow down your frantic mind, bring your attention to the present, and calm your nerves. These practices enable you to re-evaluate your daily dash and manage time more peacefully.

For over eight years, a 37-year-old, Delhi-based woman silently battled a painful, discharging lesion on her lower back. The condition, located in the sacrococcygeal region near her tailbone, was repeatedly mistaken for a common infected sinus or abscess.

Despite undergoing multiple incision and drainage (I&D) procedures, the lesion persisted—causing chronic pain, swelling, and periodic discharge.

Strikingly, the patient exhibited no symptoms related to digestion or bowel movement, further complicating the clinical picture. The misdiagnoses and unsuccessful treatments continued for years, with little improvement in her quality of life. That was until a recent evaluation led to a breakthrough discovery.

How Did The Diagnosis Happen?

The patient’s condition took a dramatic turn when her case was referred to Redcliffe Labs, which is a pan-India diagnostic services provider. The consultant pathologist, Dr. Mayanka Seth, led the team that reviewed the case with a renewed perspective.

Initial clinical assumptions continued to point toward common conditions such as pilonidal sinus or subcutaneous abscess. However, upon detailed examination, the team noted that the lesion was unusually deep and showed no communication with the anal canal. This prompted surgical intervention for complete removal of the cystic structure.

Subsequent histopathological analysis confirmed a rare and unexpected diagnosis: subcutaneous tailgut cyst—a congenital lesion that arises from embryonic remnants of the hindgut.

While tailgut cysts are rare in themselves, their typical location is deep within the pelvis. In this case, the cyst had developed just under the skin near the tailbone, making it an extremely rare presentation and a diagnostic challenge.

The case also been documented and published in the Indian Journal of Case Reports. This has contributed to medical literature on rare congenital anomalies.

Treatment and Complete Recovery

Following the complete surgical excision of the cyst, the patient experienced relief from her chronic symptoms. With no further discharge, pain, or swelling, her quality of life also improved.

“This case throws light on the importance of considering rare congenital lesions when conventional treatments fail to provide results,” said Dr. Mayanka Seth. “Subcutaneous tailgut cysts are easily misdiagnosed due to their resemblance to more common infections in the sacrococcygeal area. Accurate diagnosis often hinges on thorough clinical evaluation and timely histopathological examination.”

What Are Tailgut Cysts?

As per Radippaedia, a peer-reviewed, open-edit radiology resource, Taligut cysts, also referred to as retrorectal cystic hamartomas are rare congenital growths believed to develop from remnants of the embryonic hindgut. These lesions are typically found in the retrorectal or presacral space, although extremely rare cases have been reported in unusual locations such as the perirenal region or subcutaneous tissues.

Who Is Affected?

Tailgut cysts show a strong female predominance and are most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 30 and 60. However, they can occur at any age.

Symptoms

On gross examination, these cysts usually appear as multiloculated (multi-chambered), thin-walled masses with a shiny internal lining. They are typically filled with mucoid (gel-like) material. A distinguishing feature of tailgut cysts is their varied epithelial lining, which may include ciliated columnar cells, mucin-secreting columnar epithelium, transitional epithelium, and squamous cells.

These lesions generally measure a few centimeters in size. Occasionally, they may be associated with defects in the sacral bone or exhibit internal calcifications.

We often associate stress with dramatic breakdowns, overwhelming work, or emotional turmoil. But what if the real danger lies in the tiny, everyday pressures we don’t even notice building up?

What Is Microstress and Why It Matters

“Stress is the most notorious yet underplayed disease,” says Alma Chopra, motivational speaker, disability rights activist and life coach. “It’s often thought of as an emotional onslaught that makes it difficult to function. But stress isn't just limited to our emotions; we can also become physically stressed from a chronic illness or an injury.”

Alma explains that microstresses are small, fleeting moments of stress that sneak into our daily routines. “Sometimes it creeps up through daily pressures until we hit our melting point. These are called microstresses,” she shares. These could include running late for a meeting or scrolling social media right after waking up. They may feel harmless in the moment but layer up to become chronic stress over time.

How Microstresses Mess With You

“These reactions feel minor and temporary, so they're quickly replaced by the next task or eased by a smiling face or a piece of cake,” says Alma. But the danger lies in how these minor stressors build up over time. “We tend to ignore these micro-stresses, but over time, they build low-level tension that will affect your sleep, focus, mood and health.”

Alma lists common microstressors and their effects:

• Alarm: “Jerks the body into a sudden state of alertness, disrupting natural rest.”
• Checking work email: “Doing this first thing in the morning puts us into a state of panic and anxiety.”
• Scrolling social media: “Overstimulates the brain and drains mental focus.”
• Confrontations: “Force us to deal with discomfort we’re not emotionally prepared for.”
• Unfinished tasks: “Juggling a long list without breaks builds pressure and leads to burnout.”
• Bruising your knee: “Even minor damage to the bone or soft tissue creates physical stress in the body.”

Alma advises recognising patterns and creating little routines to manage stress before it spirals. “Begin by recognising patterns, checking what drains you and creating little routines to relieve stress,” she says. “Start taking short breaks, creating boundaries and incorporating rejuvenating practices into your day.”

When Lifestyle Fuels Microstress

Sukirti Midha, spiritual wellness coach and founder of Sukh Yog, points out that microstress is a lifestyle issue. “Micro stress, as the name suggests, is small things we face as a working person or a householder. No gender age or designation we are discussing here; it’s the same for all,” she says.

According to Sukirti, “It’s in our lifestyle now; still, we are not aware of it.” She adds that people often don’t even feel it building up. “Do you think it happens overnight? No, nothing happens overnight except the sun comes out,” she jokes, adding a serious note that many people today don’t even see the sunrise, contributing to deficiencies like vitamin D.

Sukirti points out how society’s pressure to look good and maintain appearances feeds microstress. “When one gets conscious about looks, which include not only clothes but also touch-ups, make-up and hair. It’s not social pressure but created by us only.” She questions why people rely on external validation to feel good. “Why is it always important to look good to feel good?”

She also flags social media’s impact. “Many social media applications have filters to make you feel more beautiful and younger, which gives you plenty of stress when we look back in a basic mirror.” Comparing ourselves to others’ curated lives triggers a subtle but ongoing sense of inadequacy.

“Maintaining a status is a pressure these days,” she says. “Always remember as we shift from past to present or future to present, we learn happiness is about you & not the things or society status.”

The Simple Way Out

Both experts agree that while microstress can’t always be avoided, we can manage it better by slowing down, drawing boundaries and valuing simplicity. As Sukirti says, “Staying away from microstress isn’t easy, but preferring solace is an easy way out.”

If you have ever colour-coded your wardrobe, wiped the kitchen slabs repeatedly just because a speck of dust exists, or straightened a slightly off-centre painting on the wall, someone has probably laughed and said, I am so OCD too. But the thing is that you are probably not. And neither are they.

Somewhere along the way, we all misunderstood Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a serious mental health condition, and casually said it. OCD has become shorthand for being neat, organised, or a lover of clean aesthetics. But as mental health professionals and those who actually live with OCD will tell you, that stereotype could not be further from the truth.

OCD is a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder. It is not just about being extra clean or a control freak. It involves a cycle of obsessions, which are intrusive, unwanted thoughts and compulsions, which are repetitive behaviours or mental acts done to try to neutralise those thoughts.

Imagine being haunted by a constant fear that your loved one will die unless you tap the light switch exactly five times. Or being plagued by the thought that you have hit someone with your car, even though there is no evidence of it happening, and then going back to the same stretch of road again and again to check. That is the lived reality of OCD. It is not cute, it is not fun, and it definitely does not feel satisfying or neat.

The Cleanliness Myth

Yes, some people with OCD have cleanliness-related compulsions. But not everyone with OCD is a neat freak, and not all neat freaks have OCD. The need to wash your hands repeatedly until they are raw is not about loving cleanliness; it is about desperately trying to get rid of a feeling that something is terribly wrong. Often, the compulsion is not even rationally linked to the obsession. It is about trying to regain control over overwhelming anxiety, even if only temporarily.

In fact, OCD themes can be disturbingly varied, from fears of harming others to taboo thoughts to symmetry to morality. The common thing is that the thoughts are distressing, the anxiety is debilitating, and the rituals are exhausting.

Why It is Harmful To Mislabel Yourself As “OCD”

Calling yourself “OCD” because you like your stuff arranged by colour might seem harmless. But this kind of throwaway comment does a real disservice to people living with the actual condition. It trivialises their experiences and contributes to misinformation.

It also prevents those who might truly be struggling with OCD from recognising their symptoms and seeking help. Because if society keeps painting OCD as a personality problem, why would anyone think it is a serious problem?

What OCD Actually Feels Like

Ask anyone with OCD, and they will tell you it is not fun. It is not satisfying to double-check the lock for the 17th time. It is not enjoyable to feel like you are going to vomit because of a thought you did not ask for and cannot get rid of. It is a relentless loop of “what ifs” and “just in cases” that can take over your entire life.

OCD can interfere with relationships, work, sleep, and basic daily functioning. It is often accompanied by shame and secrecy because people worry others would not understand, or worse, will think they are dangerous or irrational.

Time To Rethink The Label

You might just be tidy. Or meticulous. Or even perfectionistic. And that is fine. But OCD? That is a diagnosis. A tough, often debilitating one that deserves respect. If you think you might actually have OCD, then help is available. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), particularly Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), has been proven to be effective. But it starts with understanding what OCD really is.