"A few years ago, I caught myself doing something that made no sense. It was late evening, my kids were asleep, the house finally quiet. I'd been counting down to this moment all day-dreaming of sinking into the couch, wrapping myself in a blanket, maybe even reading a book without distractions. But when I lay down and closed my eyes, something inside me lurched."
"Maybe you've felt this too. You plan a quiet evening-maybe a bath, a book, or just lying down in silence-but your mind buzzes with things you should be doing instead. Did I reply to that message? Should I wipe down the counters? Maybe I should check my notifications-just in case. It's so easy to blame ourselves: I have no discipline."
"Sometimes our bodies and minds have learned that stillness isn't safe. Why Does Rest Feel So Uncomfortable? I used to think I was just bad at relaxing-like I'd missed a class everyone else had taken. But over time, I realized there were reasons why lying still felt so wrong. Here's what I've learned-and maybe you'll see yourself here too. 1. We equate stillness with danger."
A parent intends to relax but immediately reaches for a phone and begins chores, unable to remain still. Planned quiet moments trigger checking messages, tidying, or other tasks instead of rest. Restlessness often stems from deeper nervous-system learning rather than moral failure or mere device addiction. Growing up in environments that required constant alertness conditions people to equate stillness with vulnerability. The nervous system can treat inactivity as danger, prompting movement or distraction to feel safe. Recognizing rest as an embodied safety issue reframes the challenge and opens pathways toward retraining responses to stillness.
Read at Tiny Buddha
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]