Are You Stressed or Overstimulated?
Nervous System & Rest
Maybe you don't need another technique. Maybe you simply need less input.
You finally sit down and think, I just need to relax.
So you reach for your phone.
A message.
Instagram.
An email.
A Reel.
The news.
Maybe a little online shopping.
Then Netflix goes on in the background while you're still holding your phone.
Your body has stopped moving… but has your mind actually rested?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
We talk so much about stress and about all the things we should be doing to manage it.
Meditate. Exercise. Journal. Do breathwork. Have a morning routine. Take supplements. Walk more. Sleep better.
And while many of these things can absolutely support our wellbeing, sometimes I wonder:
Have we turned relaxation into another thing we need to do well?
What if sometimes we don't need another technique?
What if we simply need less input?
We are consuming all day long
Think about how much information enters your mind in an ordinary day.
Messages. Emails. Conversations. Notifications. Podcasts. Music. News. Social media. Other people's opinions. Other people's lives.
Even when we have a spare minute waiting for coffee, sitting in the car before an appointment, standing in a queue, how quickly do we reach for something?
We have become incredibly good at filling the spaces.
And perhaps that's part of the problem.
Because those little spaces where nothing is happening may actually be important.
They are moments when we don't have to respond.
Consume.
Learn.
Compare.
Make decisions.
Or take in somebody else's world.
We can simply be where we are.
Rest and distraction aren't necessarily the same thing
There is nothing wrong with watching a beautiful series, listening to music or scrolling through something you enjoy.
Sometimes that genuinely feels good.
But I think it's worth becoming curious about the difference between resting and distracting ourselves.
Because distraction can make us forget that we're tired.
Rest allows us to actually feel that we're tired and respond to it.
Distraction says:
Give me something else to think about.
Rest says:
I don't need to think about anything for a moment.
And perhaps we need both sometimes.
The important thing is recognising the difference.
When did silence become uncomfortable?
Here's an interesting experiment.
Sit somewhere for five minutes without your phone.
No music.
No podcast.
No television.
Don't meditate.
Don't try to breathe in a particular way.
Don't even try to relax.
Just sit.
What happens?
For many of us, within moments the mind starts looking for something.
Should I check my phone?
Maybe I'll make a coffee.
I need to remember to send that email.
What am I doing after this?
And suddenly five minutes feels surprisingly long.
I find that fascinating.
Because perhaps the discomfort isn't always that we don't know how to slow down.
Sometimes we've simply become unfamiliar with not being stimulated.
Your breath doesn't always need to be a technique
As a breathwork facilitator, I love teaching people how powerful the breath can be.
There are beautiful breathing techniques that can support us in different moments.
But I also believe there are times when we don't need to do anything with the breath.
We can simply notice it.
No counting.
No holding.
No trying to take the perfect deep breath.
Just:
I am breathing in.
I am breathing out.
That's it.
There is something powerful about allowing the breath to be exactly as it is while we practise being present enough to notice it.
Because not every moment needs to become another exercise in self-improvement.
Sometimes awareness itself is the practice.
Are you stressed — or do you need less stimulation?
Of course, stress is real.
Work pressures are real.
Family responsibilities are real.
Financial worries, relationships, uncertainty and difficult periods of life don't disappear because we put our phones away.
And sometimes persistent stress needs much more support than a quiet ten minutes.
But alongside all of that, I think there is another question worth asking:
How much stimulation am I asking my mind to process every day?
And perhaps even more importantly:
When am I giving it absolutely nothing to process?
We don't necessarily need to remove everything from our lives.
Maybe we just need to create small pockets where nothing is asking for our attention.
Try this tonight
Give yourself 10 minutes with no input.
Not as another challenge to complete.
Not something to tick off your wellness list.
Just an experiment.
Put your phone somewhere else.
Turn off the television.
No music.
No podcast.
No scrolling.
You could make a cup of tea.
Sit outside.
Look through the window.
Lie on the floor.
Stretch gently.
Walk around the block.
Or simply sit somewhere comfortable.
Let your breath breathe itself.
And notice.
At first, you might feel restless.
You might feel bored.
You might immediately think of ten things you should be doing.
That's okay.
Don't try to make the experience peaceful.
Just stay curious.
And ask yourself:
What do I notice when there is nothing competing for my attention?
Maybe we don't always need more
There is so much available to us now.
More information.
More entertainment.
More advice.
More ways to improve ourselves.
More ways to stay connected.
And yet perhaps part of taking care of ourselves is remembering that we don't need to consume something every moment we're awake.
We don't need to fill every silence.
We don't need to respond immediately to everything that asks for our attention.
And we certainly don't need to turn rest into another thing we have to get right.
Maybe tonight you don't need another technique.
Maybe you don't need another answer.
Maybe you simply need a little less.
Less noise.
Less input.
Less responding.
And a little more space to notice yourself again.
Put the phone down.
Let the breath be natural.
Give yourself ten minutes where nothing needs your attention.
And see what you find in the quiet.
🤍
Mari
Shala Collective
A space to come home to yourself.
