- Don’t zone out
- Don’t abuse yourself
- Don’t merely distract yourself
A dear friend of mine of many years was consulting me because she believed she had some degree of adrenal fatigue. She remembered all that I’d gone through and was experiencing some of the same symptoms herself. She’d recently had a lot of major life changes- not necessarily bad, many good, but it was still a disruption of sorts. Then the coronavirus hit and she was sheltering in place. Her old distractions of socializing were gone. She asked “How do you distract yourself [from the bad thoughts and fears, etc.]? I thought, well the point is to not distract yourself. And to feel the feelings and fears and everything that feels like it will overwhelm you- kill you even. And sit with it and process it. XXX million Americans are on antidepressants. It’s in our water supply [cite] it’s in our fish and food chain [cite]. I am thankful for these medicines for those who really have chemical imbalances and need them to function or to get back to a place where they can work on things. But antidepressants are over prescribed and over relied on.
Rest as a State of Mind
Rest is not just about what you do or don’t do. It’s a mindset. It’s the lens with which you see the world. [research on neuroscience and fight or flight response][refer to your brain on the pill]. The idea that we have control over things happening is largely a delusion. Often we only have control over our own actions and our responses to things. We can’t control other people and situations.
For me- I couldn’t truly rest until I learned to let go of outcomes and trust (Jesus)
We all have faith in something. But many have faith /trust in outcomes. “If I can get this job, this salary, this spouse, this body THEN I will be happy and peaceful.” We resist circumstances that aren’t going the way we want. We grit our teeth and just soldier through challenging times and miss the wonderful gifts that challenges bring. [The age of coddling is over, learn what hardship has to teach us]
When we say “If I get this, then I will be happy” we are giving power over our joy, peace, contentment to an outcome… that we have no control over. What a frightening way to live.
I’m by no means a “detach from everything so you have no desires” sort of person. There are some truths to it, letting go of specific outcomes is crucial for sure. But the point is not to be nihilistic, but to be unshakeable. I’m more of a “suck the marrow out of life” sort of person. I’m passionate and want to find that which I can burn passionately for. Those things, people, goals, causes worthy of my passion, my all.