How do you fix a broken heart? And a broken mind? For the first one, many people will say that you just need to let time do its magic. Time heals all wounds, right? And for the latter, you’ll get a great variety of answers: therapy, meds, meditation, and so on.
There’s one element that is key when it comes to healing, and it’s one that we seem to overlook most times, specially when we’re going through very stressful hardships. That element is rest.
I don’t just mean getting enough sleep, which is very important too, but making sure you have plenty of “you” time everyday when dealing with difficult and overwhelming life phases.
When dealing with grief, trauma, loss or heartbreak, we may reach a point where we find ourselves taking greater pains at work, putting more effort into our tasks, trying hard to go the extra mile for our boss, working more hours, going out with friends more often… Anything that keeps our minds away from the source of our misery.
I’m no expert and I can only speak from my personal experience, but I think we tend to do that when we’ve been grieving for quite some time already, and feel like we’re on a neverending cycle of sad thoughts that sink in our hearts like a heavy, unmovable stone. We feel depressed, but we’d do anything to shake that painful feeling.
So we start moving, start planning, try hard to focus on other things, focus on work, focus on friends, work work work, go go go, and don’t stop! If you stop you may start thinking again about your trauma, or worse: you may start overthinking.
And yes, being active helps A LOT to keep our minds and bodies on the right track. But we mustn’t forget about resting.
Our recent life experiences may keep us awake at night. But we’re smart, aren’t we? Our wise brain tell us we need to make up for that lost sleep, so we take a nap. That’s exactly what we should do. Let our bodies repair some brain cells. I’m sure it’ll benefit our healing process.
It’s Saturday and you don’t work, and you don’t have a plan for doing anything either. Well, stay home, watch a movie, read a book. Or go out and take a walk. It’s ok to not be hyperactive and productive all the time. Find a relaxing hobby, play a game on your phone. Rest your mind.
Isn’t it scary that sad, depressing thoughts will come to your mind when having “you” time. Well, those thoughts will come and may come very fast, specially if the trauma is recent. But it’s important that you start taking control of your mind, making sure that you give your rest the place and importance it deserves.
Maybe you can stay in bed ten minutes more. Or, why not!, wake up a bit earlier instead and prepare a special breakfast, then sit down and enjoy it. Whatever feels good, whatever recharges your battery. Sleep, napping, taking an extra long shower, doing nothing on the sofa. Just listen a bit more to your body and a bit less to your mind, so you can refresh the former and quieten the latter.
But remember! It’s a process. Take it easy.
