The lost art of being bored

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I’m a big fan of rest. Huge fan actually. Resting, recovering, breathing. Always planning my days with a lot of space for slow mornings, and planning my weeks with a lot of time for audiobooks and gazing out over the river. I’m even planning trips I'm taking with extra space before and after, just to give myself time to mentally prepare, and to rest.

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In today’s world everything seems to go faster and faster, and it happens almost without us noticing. We are getting so used to the uptempo and the high speed that we are becoming speed blind. Have you lately checked out your old favorite children programmes, just to realize how incredible slow they are so you’re just wondering how you even could focus and find it interesting for more than five seconds? Or feeling nostalgic and dug out and old hit from the 80s or 90s, that you used to dance like crazy to and get all excited about, just to realize, it actually doesn’t have a very fast paste?!

We are supposed to have fully booked calendars to feel like we’re doing something right. Very tight schedules to show that we are successful and moving forward in the world. This includes also what we expect from others, the  expectations on communication and how fast one should answer messages, emails and phone calls etc. The constant input from outside, together with always be on the move, causes a lot of stress for our minds and our bodies. Long periods of stress and lack of rest effects us hugely, and can cause long-term  damages that one will have to manage for many years.

Longterm (chronic) stress does not only come from busy work schedules, but also from dysfunctional families, abusive relationships, poverty, lack of resources to change your living situation etc. But when the world is spinning faster, our society is rushing forward, where there’s little to no time just to be, it’s even more important to make time for rest. To take the time to rest. Some symptoms of chronic stress is pain in your body like muscle tensions and headaches, insomnia but also fatigue, withdrawing from friends and social events, low energy, brain fog and problems remembering things, changed appetite (weight gain or weight loss), and difficulties in focusing. It can also show up as mood swings, irritability, anxiety and depression. Living with a high level of stress for a long time also increase the risk of hypertension, heart disease, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease etc.

To recover from chronic stress and burnout can take several months and even years. Some people witness that they never fully recover, and have to change their routines and daily habits in order to manage their lives. ​However, humans are pretty amazing, and with regular rest and space in our schedule we can recover. How to find stress relive varies a lot from person to person, and the biggest and most important thing you can do for yourself is to give yourself time to feel what you actually need at that moment. Some things that are usually recommended for stress relive and stress management is: 

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• deep breathing, meditation or yoga 
• connecting with people who boost your mood
• doing hobbies that bring you joy
• exercising
• eating healthy food
• laughing
• listening to music
• reading
• spending time in nature
• cancelling all appointments and events that are not absolutely necessary

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If you’re not used to resting a lot, to give yourself time and space to not do anything, and to be bored, it can often feel stressful (the very much opposite of what the purpose is, right), because we’re so used to the idea that our worth and our purpose in life is completely entangled with being productive, making things happen, and just being busy (sometimes even without knowing really what the business is all about, as long as you’re doing something). It can be hard to change this feeling, but then even more important to do so. So to get into a good routine of resting, it can be easier to divide rest into different categories, and start with experimenting with one or two in the beginning. Often rest can be divided into these different types: 

• Physical rest; it can be both active and passive, where passive rest is getting enough sleep, extra nap during the day, and active rest can look like gentle yoga, stretching your body, going for a slow walk etc. Harder training like strength or running becomes an extra stress for the body.
• Mental rest; organize your thoughts by making to do lists, checklists, and a weekly planning, create shutdown routine between work and personal life, take enough breaks during the day, meditate. 
• Social rest; evaluate your relationships, spend more time with high energy people and spend less time with people that drain your energy. Make sure to take some time to be alone.
• Spiritual rest; create routines and ceremonies that is aligned with yourself, find a purpose-driven job or hobby, volunteer.
• Sensory rest; take a break from social media, turn off notifications, limit video calls, listen to calm music etc.
• Emotional rest; spend time with people you can be real with, try speaking with a therapist, find situations and environments where you feel emotionally safe.
• Creative rest; watch sunrise/sunset, take a walk in nature, visit museums or art galleries, read books, listen to music, watch inspiring documentaries etc.

​What kind of rest are you in need of today, rest for your body, rest for your mind?