Wanted to share this almost as a PSA, bc I’m seeing so many msgs on these channels: “If you feel like doing nothing, just do nothing…this yr has been hard on so many, so you’ve earned it.”
So much of that’s true. This yr has been hard on many of us. And working hard means that you’ve earned your rest. But, here’s my caution – just learned from my own challenges along the way: stagnation breeds stagnation – most especially when it comes to our MH.
Here’s the tricky part: when we’re little kids, we get sick w things like strep throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, flu, & what do our parents tell us? Curl up in a blanket, drink tea & eat soup, & let the body rest & recover. There’s comfort in hearing that. Our body FEELS run down…& in a few days/a wk, we start to feel better. We get energy back. We get back to our normal routine.
When I was at my lowest w my MH, that 2.5 years of hell, I felt run down, tired, lethargic, out of it. All similar things to the common physical ailments mentioned above. So, what’s natural for us (me in this case) to do? Lay arnd. Sleep more. Do nothing bc – that what’s worked in the past when we’ve had those similar sensations.
However – w MH, the lack of movement completely, leads to a spiral. I WISH I knew during those 2.5 yrs, the extra sleep day after day wasn’t helping me…it was keeping my body from charging my mind.
I gave the example on the 2nd slide➡️, that our mind is kinda like one of those automatic watches (I love visuals & analogies…hope this one’s helpful): An automatic watch movement uses a rotor, or metal weight, to power the timepiece. The rotor oscillates freely w/in the watch. Every time the wearer moves their wrist, the rotor spins. That spinning motion is transferred into energy that winds the mainspring in the watch.
You move, the watch works. I’m not saying don’t sleep in…don’t watch movies…don’t put work aside. But I AM saying: don’t do nothing. Go for walks. Do yoga stretches. Start a breathing practice. Jump up & shake things out every couple of hrs. It doesn’t have to be complicated…but we weren’t meant just sit arnd. The body charges the mind.
