Why Taking a Break is Key to Mental Wellness

Quote Box Wisdom

My stepfather has a handmade wooden box that is filled with quotes he's collected during his life written on index cards.

I just pulled one out and this is the gem I received:

"Whenever he thought about it, he felt terrible. And so, at last, he came to a fateful decision. He decided not to think about it." Life 101

Oh my. Can I relate to this one.

Sometimes, choosing not to think about something is the way to go.

When you cut yourself, it's not wise to start poking on it before a scab forms. It's going to delay healing and further damage the skin.

Let the body's intelligence work on it first. If it's too raw and open to deal with, wait until it isn't.

You're Pressing Pause, not Delete.

I believe our minds are similar.

When we have an experience where there is mental pain and anguish, maybe we need to retreat for a while, and put our mind's insatiable thirst to think onto something else.

That's a step towards healing, too.

A pause can give the unconscious mind some time to work on the problem before we consciously give it some attention.

Where the wisdom lies is understanding the difference between a pause and just avoiding something to continue getting some relief. The relief is only temporary, and that pain will just jump somewhere else in your life, like numbness, angry outbursts or stress.

I take a beat all of the time in my creative life. If I'm working on a design, and I can't figure out logically how to do something, I'll walk away and do something else. I sort of know how much time to devote to something and if I can't process it now, I wait until I can.

And usually the answer to the problem comes when I'm doing something totally unrelated.

Honestly, I believe I've been on a pause for some deeper issues in my life that I feel like I'm just now strong enough to process.

I'm still learning the difference between outright avoidance because of fear, and taking a pause to allow some healing to take place first so that I'm strong enough to deal with the real problem for my deeper, emotionally-based problems.

So, yeah. Giving something time first, is a smart move in many instances.

The hard stuff I have to process only loses its power when I'm ready to meet it...physically, mentally, or spiritually.

But I can't just refuse to look. I'm finding that if I give myself time, I'll eventually get the grit to give it attention.

I thought I was going to end this post on the last sentence, but I read this post to my step-father and he said this:

"God made time so everything doesn't happen at once, because we can't handle it." My step-father, B.

Random fact about me: I had a fried catfish and hushpuppy buffet at my wedding.