Learning to slow down and rest is often what your body is longing for, even when your mind says to speed up and do more to be enough. This can feel especially true if you are used to constantly doing and being on the go, which can make slowing down and resting feel stressful more than it feels good.
Identifying Ways You Avoid Resting
If you feel unsure about how you resist resting and why you tend to speed up instead of slow down, it might help to notice what your reaction typically is when feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and burnt-out. For instance, perhaps you find yourself scrolling on social media too much, you continue to say yes to things you do not have time for, you fill every minute of every day, or you feel incredibly uncomfortable when you have “downtime.”
To begin to dissolve these patterns, increase your awareness about the ways avoiding rest shows up for you with acceptance and compassion for where you are in your journey. When you are aware of what you put ahead of rest, you can work on changing the behavior.
Creating Space
Cultivating a practice of resting and permission from yourself to do so requires space. Creating space could look like:
- blocking out a time each week where you get to do nothing other than rest in a way that feels good for you
- making a cool-down period a part of your evening routine
- being mindful of when your body is telling you to slow down
- setting boundaries that allow this space for rest to exist
Making Rest a Practice
The truth is, it is a radical choice to slow down in a society that seems to be constantly speeding up. It is no wonder rest feels threatening. At the end of the day, rest is a practice. Cultivating rest as a practice of self-care means resting even when it is uncomfortable while acknowledging and challenging thoughts that pop up as you are resting that may tell you, “You should be doing more.” What if perhaps that thought, although valid, is not true?
Your body might be longing for rest, even when societal narratives reinforce the obsession with achieving and doing more to be enough. You are enough right where you are, and listening to the need for rest and making it a practice is essential to your well-being. Feeling safe to enjoy rest starts with understanding why you avoid it and then making space in your life to practice resting.
Recovery from addiction and mental illness requires learning how to slow down and rest. For many individuals, speeding up even when they need rest is one way to avoid healing because business is uncomfortable. At Avalon Malibu, we understand how difficult it can be to create safety to rest when it feels like you do not have permission to. Our team is here to support you as you learn to embrace slowing down as you are healing. If you are ready for support, call Avalon Malibu today at (844) 857-5992.
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