Rest-7th Law of Health

Oh, how this one bites me in the butt to talk about. What I mean is that I struggle with rest so deeply that it often makes me worse, not better. I can tell you why: I was mentally trained into this pattern as a younger teen and later as an adult. I had to be the one providing, so regardless of my own needs, the needs of others always superseded them. Honestly, I did this to myself for a long time. Rest is a vital part of the whole journey but, it isn’t the main event. It’s crucial to learn to listen to your body and give it rest when it’s needed; even when old habits push you to keep going.

Putting off rest can lead to increased cortisol and that begins; as we know, a harmful cascade throughout the body. That cascade can create a domino effect that contributes to high blood pressure and other cardiovascular strain. Meanwhile, your body is already slowing or stopping absorption of the nutrients you’re trying to push in to keep going. What that means is, your lymphatic system becomes sluggish and less effective at removing toxins and cellular waste as it should. In short; when you deny your body the rest it needs, you prolong illness, impede healing, and significantly hamper full recovery.

The more you put off rest, the further from healing you become. Like those colds we all get that just will not go away because someone else at work was sick and you had to be the one covering the shift, right? First off, I want to say we’ve all done this in our lives. People-pleasing. Not being able to say no. That’s a whole other subject. This one you need to learn quickly for your own health and wellness. You do not have to be the person who always covers those shifts. Even if whoever is asking you to cover gets upset, the only thing you should be worrying about is yourself. Will this extra shift affect your performance for the rest of the week? Unfortunately, if you are like me, after so many hours of work my brain shuts down. I have tried to push through and it causes more harm to me and to my environment than it does good. So I pay attention to the signs my body gives me to know when to say no — saying no to make sure you have adequate time to recoup after your previous shift or experiences.

I say this because energetically we all need rest as well. We lead busy lives, hurrying through our days trying to get all of our tasks done We are all energy. We constantly bump into and feel each other energetically; that’s part of how we form some of our emotions. What in our vicinity is pinging our radar? That input takes a lot from our reserves. We have to filter and choose how to respond. So resting and giving yourself deliberate self-care is necessary to refill your energy.

I do have to say, I still am working on some guilt I have around resting — like I owe the world my energy or something. That is one of the farthest things from the truth, and I’m steadily learning to challenge that voice. I am working through some past trauma and the triggering moments I’ve had around rest and slowing down. I know a lot of you will understand the feeling I am describing, and I also know there are many of you who have never had to experience this — for that, I’m truly thankful you haven’t had to feel it.

Still, I’ve moved through seasons of life where I simply couldn’t keep going: I was so extremely worn out, a mere skeleton of myself; other people could see it, and I felt it deeply. I reached the point where I had to walk away to protect whatever remained of me. Apparently I didn’t learn my lesson the first time, because I had to do it again six months later. Understand that when you give yourself permission to pause and take care of yourself, you’re giving your body the time it needs to catch up and heal. Things will always need to be done — so either do what must be done now and step back for rest, or wait until you’ve recovered enough to take forward steps in your health.