Imagine your daughter is standing before you, red face and tears. Her sniffling nose and tired eyes are speaking to you louder than her words.
“Yep. Bedtime,” you think to yourself while grabbing a kleenex from the box next to you.
You can see the signs all over her that she needs a break and some hours of sleep will make this conversation so much easier in the morning.
But what happens when YOU are in a pile of tears and there is no one to tell you to go to bed or take a break?
What happens when your signs are saying, “I need a break!”
How do you know when you need some time away?
Actually, rather than seeing the signs in ourselves, we tend to say things like, “If I can just get through this week.” and “I just need to push through a few more days.” and “There isn’t time to take a break.” and “I feel like I just had a break… I can’t possibly need another one!” and “I just need to tough it out.” and on and on our sayings go.
I’m not saying perseverance isn’t important or that there are not times to just push through.
We all know that pushing through is a life skill and an important one at that.
I think the hashtag for it is #adulting.
The problem is that too often we push through for weeks on end and just try to get through one day after another without really letting ourselves take a break.
We don’t put ourselves in time out or make ourselves take a nap.
But we need to sometimes.
We need to get better at seeing the need for a break in ourselves and get as good at recognizing our need for rest as we do for our kids.
But how? What are the signs?
I Need A Break
1} You feel the stress before you even get out of bed. That is too much stress. Too much worry. Too much to carry before you even start your day is a clue that you need a time away.
2} You went to bed the night before feeling bad for how you acted or reacted to your spouse, your kids, your friends, your coworkers and so on… that guilt? That is a huge sign that you aren’t responding well because you need a break.
3} You can’t sit still. This is a big one. If there is so much on your mind that you can’t take a break even if you have time because your brain is spinning wildly with the next thing… that is a big sign.
4} You can’t stay on top of the to do list. You are always one step behind, a little bit late and completely stressed about it all. That means the to do list needs a break too.
5} You don’t ever have uninterrupted time alone with Jesus. That alone speaks for itself. And, not in a “you should feel guilty about this” kind of way… that uninterrupted time with Jesus is what refreshes your soul. If you do not have time for it, you need time away to refocus and figure out how to make it happen.
6} You worry all day about everything. As if all that worry will really, actually help at all. But you do it anyway. All that worry is screaming for a break.
My Journey with Stress and Anxiety by SarahMae
7} You feel like situations are bigger than they really are. Everything just seems huge and overwhelming. Too big, too hard, too much, too frustrating… yeah, you need time away from all those big things.
8} You feel like things will fail if you don’t do them. The truth is, some things MIGHT fail. But, life won’t stop. The world won’t cease to spin. The sun won’t fail to rise. And you need a break to remember those things.
9} You aren’t even finished with the current project and there are 10 more waiting on your desk. You will plan them all much better if you plan in some time to get away from it all and rest.
10} Your emotions take over before you realize what happened. Big, red flag. Nothing good happens when we make decisions, parent, interact with our spouse, go to work… all on emotions that are running amuck. The chicken with it’s head cut off phrase? Yeah… that applies here. You see it effecting your marriage and your parenting. Not good.
11} You just want to run away. I’ve SO been there. Sadly… many times. That is a big personal red flag. Read this.
12} You feel bad for taking a break… and you haven’t even taken a break yet.
So, if any of those are true, you need time away.
What simple things can you do right now?
1} Before your day begins, spend time with Jesus. This is a game changer, life transformer, real way to bring peace to your days. One verse. A prayer. Find a new worship song. Start your day with Jesus.
2} Take Vitamin D – This ONE vitamin will change your life. Especially if your D levels are low.
3} Read – I LOVE Kindle Unlimited because I can quickly grab new books. What books do I read? Click here and here.
4} Brain Dump – Seriously. This is a thing. And it helps more than you can imagine! Get a good journal and dump out all the words in your head right now. Quickly put it all on paper. It is an amazing practice. Especially before bed! Then, think on these things.
5} Organize your day-to-day life – Sometimes in our techy world, we forget the wonderful feeling writing things down. Dates, appointments, to-do lists. Get organized.
6} Go on vacation – Big or small!! A book in a coffee shop. A break at a park. An afternoon nap. A staycation. Maybe even a real deal VACATION. Plan it. Make it happen. Talk to your spouse. Talk to your boss. Find someone to take care of what is absolutely necessary and let the rest GO. Research a few low key places to relax. Find out where you can just chill for an afternoon. Gather up a journal, a good book, a chamomile tea, and do something relaxing.
7} Go to church – YES. Church. Find a place where you can worship, learn and grow. You’ll be amazed at how much a church community can help.
8} TAKE CARE OF YOU! Read this. AND Try Essential Oils – I’m in love with peppermint and lavender. Daily.
9} Talk with a friend. Let someone in to your struggle and ask for help.
See the signs. Recognize them for what they are and do something about it.
Remember how much easier it is to parent when your kids are rested, healthy and happy?
Your life will be much easier when YOU are rested, healthy and happy.
And in the time away, talk to Jesus. Let Jesus speak to you. Let him speak to your doubts, your fears, your busyness, your schedule, your to-do list, your heart cries. Let Him minister and help you better utilize your time to include periods of rest. Let Him orchestrate your days.
Grab another great resource “10 Days of Joy Journal” by joining my email list {short, quick, helpful emails!} by signing up below:
Now, let go. Do nothing. Forget the world. Put the weight down. Breathe.
Read this: Learn how to let go
Life is busy and stressful for all of us. There is no doubt about that.
But time away can really help lift your soul and keep you running the race put before you in healthy, rested, happy ways. Don’t get to the point of screaming, “I need a break!”
Do you need time away? Do you need rest? Maybe a nap? What sign stood out to you as you were reading this?
Time out anyone?
Learning to Let Your Heart Rest
I really needed this article. I searched in Google re neededing a break. Many results popped up. As I scrolled down the list I was drawn to yours. The introduction was describing me. Thank you!
I just started school two weeks ago, I feel unbelievably stressed for no reason! I didn’t start school until five weeks in, and everyone else knows what they’re doing. I have POTS which makes me easily exhausted, but I don’t know if I’m being wimp or if it’s a real problem. I mean yeah I was diagnosed with it officially, I just don’t feel like it’s a big deal. It’s gonna take another week for me to be able to even have a meeting discussing the 504 program. I apparently need it, but I feel as if I’m just overreacting all my symptoms. My major depression, or am I just overly sensitive and need to toughen up? Anxiety disorder, I get anxiety attacks almost everyday at school. I try to ignore it but they just happen, I can control them by now; showing no outward reaction to them. I can barely focus on work, I get brain fogs and everything is just really hard to understand. I get asked a question, I try to think about it but I come to find out my head is empty of any thoughts relating to the question. I ask for them to repeat it, just so I can cement the subject in my mind, to actually think about what was said. Since I was late coming to school, I have all this work to catch up on. And half of it I don’t understand, today I had mentoring all school day. I only managed to get 2 subjects done out of 8, I had 6 hours to complete these! I failed that, so now I’m just disappointed in myself. I don’t know if I’m being too hard on myself or not. Everything I do feels so hard, but I try I really do my best. I kinda feel my best isn’t enough, and I don’t know what to do. (Sorry for ranting, I don’t have any friends and I only see my therapist once a month. My family has better things to do than listen to me complain about everything.)
I hope this post can be helpful! Praying for you!
Love is out there somewhere