Episode 43
Despite knowing this, many of us find it hard to rest in this hustle of the new year. Even though biologically we are wired to wind down in winter, culturally this is go time for new projects, behavior change, launches, personal development – all the things keep us from resting.
When we have trauma, achieving quality rest can be even more difficult. And I don’t just mean sleep.
Trauma AND hustle culture affect our ability to wind down, to modulate between sympathetic and parasympathetic states of the nervous system, so that we can digest food, repair tissue, integrate memories and so much more.
We don’t just need physical rest for this. We need emotional rest – the ability to come down out of intense emotional states and feel safe processing and discharging big emotional energy.
We need social rest – times where we can be around people who relax us, or spend time peacefully alone, especially after all the holiday social pressures.
We need rest for our sensory system, yet we live in a world where we are constantly inundated with stimuli– from cell phones, watches, screens, and artificial light.
We need rest for our minds–the ability to mentally relax out of racing thoughts, to be present, still and meditative.
We need a break from hypervigilance and constantly being aware of EVERYTHING that is happening around us.
Rest is a spectrum, and trauma and stress can influence our ability to relax on many levels.
Jennifer and I explore this topic in our own lives and from a neuro-somatic perspective on the latest episode of Trauma Rewired.
Topics discussed in this episode:
● How trauma affects our internal states
● Why rest is crucial to our health, but can also feel threatening
● Actions Elisabeth is taking to change her behaviors and let herself rest
● Reasons it’s difficult to rest and recover, and its effects
● The loop of trauma and inability to rest
● Trauma and Stress responses
● Experiences with insomnia
● Is rest a privilege?
● Rest vs. freeze/shut down
● The role of rest in the healing process
Listen to more episodes of Trauma Rewired HERE
