Rest Should Be an Action Verb
Why scrolling socials on the couch isn't actually resting.
Hi there, friend.
There is a massive misconception that resting just means doing nothing. But when you are lying on the couch for three hours rapidly scrolling through YouTube shorts or worrying about your to-do list, your body is still tense and your brain is still firing. That’s not rest but closer to paralysis.
True rest is an active process. It is intentional, a choice.
For me, active rest looks like sitting on my porch in Dunlap with an ice-cold lemonade, watching the breeze move through the oak trees. It looks like pulling out my watercolor paints and just pushing color around the paper without caring what it looks like. It’s doing something that deliberately soothes the nervous system.
When you schedule your rest this weekend, don’t just default to the couch and the screen. Choose an activity that actually refuels your battery. Let your mind wander. Let your body be soft. Actively choose to be at peace.
Journal Prompt
List 3 things that qualify as active rest for you (activities that leave you feeling more energized, not more drained). Plan to do one of them this weekend.
Until next time, keep fighting.
Scott Ninneman
This week’s theme post:
Scott Ninneman is the author of Speaking Bipolar’s 30 Days of Positivity, Anchored in the Storm (Guided Journal), and the writer behind SpeakingBipolar.com. Living in the mountains of southeast Tennessee, he spends his days crunching numbers as a tax preparer and his nights caring for his mother and writing stories about bipolar life. (And he loves pandas.)
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