Even when you know the negative effects of working too hard for too long without a break, it can be difficult to break a cycle of overworking and learn to make space to rest. Sometimes this can be related to just trying to do too much, but if your lack of rest is related to something like trying to cope with trauma by over-”doing” to the point of burnout, a bigger mindset shift may be needed.
Whether or not you’re healing something on a deeper level, a lack of recovery time can make it harder for the mind and body to recharge, leading to disruptions in your physical and mental functioning.
Here, experts talk about how to spot the signs the body sends us and what to do to promote healing now and build long-term resilience.
How the mind and body work together
Holocaust survivor, New York Times bestselling author, National Jewish Book Award winner, and psychologist who specializes in trauma, Edith Eva Eger, Ph, is the author of The Ballerina of Auschwitz, a young adult memoir in which she shares her experience of surviving in the camp and then coming home wracked with grief and guilt but realizing she can choose to live and experience joy again.
“I realized my limitations,” says Dr. Eger. “I only have so much power outside of me, but [the Nazis] could never touch my spirit. And I think that helped me a great deal.”
Jennifer Mann is a mind-body practitioner, yoga instructor, and functional movement therapist, and has battled severe chronic fatigue. Co-author of In THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF THE BODY, she now supports others healing their nervous system using trauma-informed, mind-body healing modalities, which were a huge part of her own recovery journey.
“When you take the mind thoughts, emotions, memory, trauma of the brain and separate it from the experience of the body and you look at the body as a robot of parts and the mind as its own machine, it’s really hard to heal those processes that are so interconnected,” Mann explains.
Calming the body can help calm the mind — and vice versa, she adds. “The mind and body are one through the mind body connection and the mind body connection is the brain and the nervous system. And our brain and body are constantly speaking to one another. We are alive because we have a nervous system.The element of connecting the mind, our thoughts and the body really allows us to go deep into the root of what is causing these more complex mind body disorders and to really go at the root of some of the unresolved trauma responses that are showing up in the body.”
Ashley Neese, author, mother, publisher of The Deeper Call, says, “When we neglect to prioritize rest, it can lead to burnout, affecting our decision-making, health, and creativity in professional life. Personally, it strains relationships, diminishes emotional resilience, and harms overall well-being.”
Don’t miss the signs
A few indicators that you’re in need of rest may include (but are not limited to):
- You’re always exhausted. Persistent fatigue, even when you’re slept “enough” is a big red flag.
- Trouble focusing. If you feel like you just can’t focus on tasks or conversations or find that you just don’t retain information as well as you normally do, this could be a sign that you need a break.
- Your immune system is shot. If you’re getting sick all the time or don’t heal as quickly as you used to if you get a cut or injury it can also indicate you’re burnt out.
- Your mood is all over the place. Though mood swings can be related to a number of things, when if you’re noticing that mood swings are starting to feel like the norm, your body may be trying to get your attention via your emotions.
You officially need a rest. Now what?
Identifying that you need to rest is one thing, but actually doing something with that information is another.
Awareness is an important first step, says Mann. “It helps you dive into learning the messages that language of the body, meaning learning to listen and tune into sensations, emotions and heart, heartbeat, your breath feelings, and really learning what these mean and how they translate to a pattern that might be comfortable or not.”
From there, she says, you can start to interrupt those patterns when they emerge and then redesign new patterns that are more supportive of mind-body wellness.
“Calm begins, really begins in the body,” says Mann, “when there’s a sense of safety felt in the body. And then when the felt sense of safety is reached through various techniques through either awareness, interruption, redesign, or the support of a therapist or doing more of what you love or putting the job that you know that isn’t good for you or saying no more often when you’ve been saying yes and you’re so tired or slowing down doing the things that are good for you, and you start to feel the safety in your body, then you are truly calm on a physiological level.”
To start building more calming practices into your day, Neese recommends, “Begin by incorporating small moments of awareness, like deep breathing or short breaks from your screen, throughout the day to reset. Establish a consistent rest practice, like a weekly walk in nature and set boundaries around work to create space to unwind and rest.”
If it feels a little weird at first, she adds, you’re not alone. “Resting often feels uncomfortable at first, especially if you’re used to a fast-paced lifestyle or constant productivity. However, the benefits of emotional regulation, deeper connection to nature and community, and overall well-being make it a rewarding practice worth cultivating.”
Building long-term resilience
While it would be great if doing the work to heal and rejuvenate once did the trick, the reality is that life and work come with challenges, and it’s essential to focus on how we can build long term resilience.
Dr. Eger reflects on her time in the camp and how it impacted her experience when she later came to the United States. “The Nazis would not really be cruel to us and sometimes our own people were more cruel than the Nazis were. We worked in a factory and we had to cut thread and it was actually the thing that I did when I came to America. I worked in a factory cutting threads of little shirts. So I was experienced from the camp. I think everything was an opportunity to discover trades we never thought we were going to have. I think it was very important for us not to get into this ‘us and them’ and not to be idealistic, but to be more good people who live in the present day while hoping for the best to come. For me that actually included a lot of praying for the enemies.”
She adds, “They controlled many, many things, but they could never take away my dreams, my hopes and the way I provide that hope to myself.” She shares that in the future, when challenges emerged, she reminded herself, “This is temporary and I can survive it.”
While the basics like sunlight, time in nature, sleep, and setting boundaries are important, says Mann, it’s also incredibly powerful to do more of what we love. “When we know what those things are, just making sure we’re implementing those throughout our day and that we really are taking the time to give our body that goodness so it has the time and space to be in harmony and help us on our journey.”