How To Rest

[ninja]

My mind and my body are not consistently on the same page. Sometimes my brain has more energy left to expend than my body and other times it is vice versa. Sometimes my brain will not be quiet, but what my psyche and body really need are some quiet. Sometimes my body won't stop moving even when what it needs and what I need is some peace and rest. I cannot consistently just rest. It seems I have to be doing something. I am trying to come up with calming activities that don't require tons of brain power but that can keep my brain or body engaged. Sometimes I have the attention span of an ant. So far I color, listen to audiobooks, take short walks, do yoga. Actually I find yoga often helps a bit, but I haven't gotten there on a consistent basis lately. Maybe it would be helpful if I created a sort of loose schedule for myself at the beginning of the week, so that I don't have to feel the pressure to make decisions on the fly if I am too tired to think.

Are there activities that work for you to recharge when you just can't seem to rest?

 

[Breezi]

I've gone through about a year of this kind of problem. At first, I begged for help from the mental health professionals. They adjusted meds and I went to therapy weekly. No sleep meds work. I still woke up, but was drugged so that didn't work. I also attended a DBT skills class twice, just so I could improve at it (if you haven't tried this, it's huge). I still couldn't sit or sleep. I couldn't really believe that anyone could live like this. I try to keep busy while pacing, so I have a very clean home and my organization has improved to a scary level, even when I forget what I'm doing often! :) I can sit at the computer for a few minutes at a time, but I am working on being able to sit longer. The improvement is so slow, but when I look at myself from a year ago, I can see progress, even if it doesn't fit my ideal timeline that I think it should. When I'm so exhausted, I literally fall asleep standing up, I still can't sleep when I lay down. I have to spend my time at least a little quieter at night, rather than during the day. I think it helps.
Have some patience with yourself. I found that when I went around thinking I couldn't stand even one more thing, physically or emotionally, one more thing always happened. It just made me more stressed. Meditation is supposed to help, but it takes practice apparently, so I'm not very good at it yet. I feel like I'm herding my thoughts back constantly, but I've been told that is normal for me, but it's frustrating. Many things frustrate me so much, and it's toxic to me. I need to take my own advice and cultivate patience with myself too!
Breezi

 

[ladee]

Walking on the back roads. No traffic. No people. Justt nature. And just stolling..looking for rock's..pretty wildflowers. Just what ever canvas nature provides. Sometimes I stay out there 3 or 4 hours.
I am So relaxed when I get home.always have a food nights sleep. Its simple and works for me.
Hope you invest more time in yoga if it helps.
When I am too tired seems like my life just goes to he'll.

 

[Recovery4Me]

Took time to find what worked for me. What @ladee offered helps for during the day and mobile gaming with nature in it helps me immensely for the twilight hours. The hits of dopamine transfers my brain from rumination into a focus with positive rewards. Fun ... is an art form which requires practice.:p I have just recently learned to have fun and I find that I sleep better. Who knew?!

Also taking an on-line class allows the midnight oil to be redistributed into productivity in a safe zone. The stress is different than that of trauma born toxins. It can be motivational at times. At least it was for me.

In those manners I changed what I could change and stopped trying to force my body/mind agreement. The result was that those parts of me ... sometimes have a truce. One day at a time is a beginning.

Great thread :hug::hug:

 

[Junie-pie]

Oh! I do all this (except coloring bc it stresses me out) but the one thing I've figured out is healing crystals work wonders. I have over 50 of them but only avout 20 I've actually managed to identify. I think of them as similar to plants b/c plants give off certain beneficial energies. And the ones I would recommend are rose quartz ( encourages self love and loving energy) Black tourmaline (banishes negative energy), Emerald calcite, (stress relief) and clear quartz (amplifies energy of other crystals, can be charged with any intent.) There are many others I can suggest which are both beautiful and very useful. If you'd like you can PM me for additional information :)

 

[ninja]

Thank you. I am making a little progress with this, through realizing that I can make my body rest. I can park it on my bed if I need to. I am also realizing that I can make my mind rest. I can challenge it to tire it out, but the challenge is a different sort. Mindfulness and paying attention to the world around me when thoughts are swirling in erratic form internally is challenging, exhausting and sometimes frustrating because I have to keep refocusing my attention away from the thoughts. But I am learning I do not have to listen to them at all. I do not have to feel lost in them. And this requires a lot of being gentle with oneself, which I am still learning a lot about.

Picture books are nice! Just really sitting still, for even a few minutes when it is really difficult to do so can be empowering. Or slowing down, walking slow, moving slow. Breathing slow. I find essential oils such as lavender to be fun to use.