Why We All Need Breaks from Our Healing
Healing Takes A Lot Of Work.
We may be in therapy, processing deep stuff, focusing on skills throughout each day, challenging unhelpful self-talk, watching out for and interrupting old patterns, having tough conversations… the list can go on and on.
It’s a lot!
And while it’s important and meaningful work, it’s work that we can feel burned out from if we don’t take breaks from time to time.
How Do You Know If You Need A Break?
Just like you might notice symptoms of burn out from work, you can try to notice symptoms of burn out from healing. This might look like feeling exhausted or resentful of your regular therapy sessions or skills that you’re practicing. It might look like a difficult time not ruminating on the healing that your focusing on. It might also just look like confusion around what seems to be working and what is not.
Taking a break from your healing can give your mind a needed pause from all the work it’s doing as well as give you some space to identify what feels best for you to connect to going forwards.
What Does A Break From Healing Mean?
It doesn’t mean throwing away all of the work that you’ve been doing and going back to habitual patterns. There may not be a way to fully take a break from the intentions you are working on- but it is giving yourself space from the work.
This can look like a lot of different things. It might mean taking a month or so off of therapy. It might mean having a regularly scheduled break to play video games each week to distract your mind from the work you’re doing. It might mean pausing on a self-care activity you’ve added into your routine.
It can be taking a break for a period of time or having mini breaks in your regular routine.
There is no “right” way to do it- just doing some trial and error to find what way works best for you!
How To Plan For A Break:
Here Are Some Questions That I Find Helpful When Trying To Bring A Break Into Your Healing Journey:
What let’s me know that I need a break from healing?
What parts of my healing do I need a break from?
What activities or focuses do I want to add in or remove to help me to take this break?
What time frame do I want to plan this break for? Is it a set period of time or mini breaks throughout the week?
How can I set a plan to check back in to assess if I am ready to return to my healing work as well as what would be most helpful for me to connect to?
What things do I want to look out for during my break that would indicate that I need to return to my healing work earlier than planned?
If you’re working with a therapist, they can be a great person to process these questions with!
Looking for more information like this?