We live in an overstimulating world. Toxic busyness is rampant. The pressure to keep up and do it all is overwhelming. Social media perpetuates this. There are so many responsibilities, duties, pressures, goals, expectations, and needs weighing on most people; and this is one root cause of being stuck in threat physiology.
Toxic busyness has a profound impact on our biology as the body gets stuck in the stress response, which is ultimately trauma (too much too fast, or too little for too long). When you're caught in this, your body spends excessive time in your sympathetic nervous system, "fight-or-flight", and your stress “bucket” fills up then eventually explodes.
We are designed to be active, productive and engaged, but there must also be time for rest, recovery, reflection and processing. Without any or enough time spent in our “rest-digest-connect” state, our system gets over-loaded and the chronic rushing and over-functioning will take its toll. It often forces a wake-up call. It will show up in a variety of ways in the body and/or mind; gut issues, chronic pain, inflammatory conditions, heart problems, anxiety/depression, hormonal imbalance, poor sleep, lowered immunity, altered memory/decision making/attention/emotional control.
How to ease out of toxic busyness, striving and constant overstimulation:
Slow down, make space and practice presence: schedule in time for somatic exercises (see other posts) to step out of tendencies of rushing and urgency.
Set boundaries: with others and yourself. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Prioritize the things that truly matter.
Examine the roots of your behavior patterns, beliefs and thoughts driving the need to always be busy, and distracted, aka your nervous system state, and start to educate yourself.
Evaluate what you are consuming and re-adjust; lower input from social media, news, TV, even music. Or find new sources of input that support slowing down like soft, gentle music, nature sounds or listening to an audio book. Try going for walks or driving without listening to anything
Find your worth and value in the Lord, not the world and its toxic expectations and ways of living trying to prove yourself. Rely on God, not yourself. Seek His will not your own.
Rest and Recovery: Don’t underestimate the importance of true rest. Schedule in relaxation and downtime
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