How to rest?

[hellodreamymiku]

Hello Melonland!! I haven't been active for a long while and I missed talking to you! How are you guys doing?

I've been very exhausted this past week and got burnt out so now I got a doctors report for 2 days plus the weekend to myself but I still have a lot of deadlines until monday. I'm burnt out so I want to heal and rest these 2 days and get back to work. But genuinely, how do you rest?

I definitely need somebody to tell me how they rest, so some advice on what you do when you're burnt out/sick would be great! So far I've been staring at my computer screen, occasionally watching youtube videos. I don't like playing video games (very weird, I know) and I can't find any content/movie/blog post to enjoy. So do you guys have any sick rituals? Or things you enjoy to rest and heal when you're overwhelmed with too much homework/tasks? I would greatly appreciate any recommendations on, meal combos/recipies, books, movies & documentaries or reading material of whatever kind (I enjoy reading horror stories most!) Thanks 

[Melooon]

Hello! 

Here is my SUPER LEMON recipe! I make it if Im starting to feel down;
Requires:

• 2x Lemons
• Mint Leaves (Fresh if possible)
• Honey or Maple Syrup (as much as you enjoy)
• Boiling water (as much as you wanna drink)

Make:

• Wash the lemons!
• Grate the yellow lemon rinds onto a plate
• Put the grated lemon in a pot, add the honey and mint leaves
• Add boiling water to the pot - leave it to steep maybe 10 mins
• Juice the lemons and add them to the cooled pot
• Sieve the drink into a cup and drink!

After that - Having a restful space is really important; setup mood lighting; setup a cheap movie projector; listen to a record; have a hot water bottle; watch a movie that totally sucks you in (this one does it for me!). It should feel like a special occasion or a mini holiday away from normal life. You create an uninterrupted alternate reality that allows you to have one long 24 hour thought process where time stretches out and and unwinds.

On that note I find rest is less about literally resting and more about changing your mentality to one of rest; for me I find cleaning very restful because it resets my space and removes stress; cleaning feels like control and progress to me and thats very calming. 

[hellodreamymiku]

Thanks so much for the recipe melon! I'll definitely try it! You are so true about the clean space thing. I definitely think being a restful space leads to great rest, I'm gonna clean my room the moment I get the strength for it. Again thanks for the advice!! 

[Scootarooni]

Personally, I try to keep my eyes off a screen as much as possible when I'm feeling burnt out because I've noticed mine tends to stem from too much repetition and/or monotony.
 
I'll shake it up by going on walks or doing very simple yoga throughout the day. Instead of pulling up a youtube video for entertainment or background noise, I'll listen to a podcast while I clean, draw or really just while I lay down and rest my eyes. Here's a little list of podcasts under Maximum Fun! I personally recommend My Brother, My Brother and Me and Wonderful . The former is very funny and latter is very sweet!

non-exhaustive list of other things I do when I'm feeling burnt out and exhausted:
- make some ooey gooey oven baked mac and cheese
- or a yummy loaded baked potato!
- play with play-doh/arts and crafts clay (I like the texture, squish and that there's no pressure to make something *good* because its meant to be played with over and over again!)
- journal ...about anything really! writing down my thoughts or about something I enjoy helps me out
- I'll crochet a simple scarf or a simple amigurumi plush, simple enough that my fried brain can handle it but still engaging!

I hope something in there helps! Best of luck!!

[Kolo]

The power of turning your bed into an absolute Nest, piling on blankets/pillows/plushies, cannot be understated. If you like horror stories, this is my favorite NoSleep writer! It's NoSleep so of course mileage may vary but I really like their style and the stuff they write about :)

[MrsMoe]

Admittedly, I'm not very good at resting myself. I tend to follow routines and I find it very hard to do things spontaneously, so I often push myself to keep doing what I do every day even if I'm exhausted. With that said, if I'm going through a time where I'm too emotionally worn to do anything, I often lie in bed and watch movies I've already seen. Not exactly "comfort movies" or films I've seen a million times, but more like movies I watched once and enjoyed, but have a faded memory of them. I think there's a comfort that comes from watching a movie you know you loved, but getting the chance to fall in love with them all over again.

But besides all that, I'll probably take note of some of the advice y'all have given here~

[Memory]

Rituals, yes, lots of them. Tea helps, and I drink lots of it in a crisis. Usually I start playing like an alcoholic addicted to tea, just for fun. Cups up high and swallow the whole cup of tea in one. Certain teas have different effects than others (a whole science behind making teas!), but I don't know, having something warm to drink seems to be more relevant in helping my body.

As long as it isn't a vertigo, sitting on a bicycle and going mildly fast helped me to get the slime out of the nose and the throat. That might be more of a personal thing, but even as resting is important, activity is important as well to get the body system going.

Usually, when needing a rest in an phase of illness, I lay down and listen to audio plays. Light things, things for children for example. I prefer to be off screen rather.

[CableCat]

If I'm burnt out, I watch Kiki's Delivery Service because she experiences burnout in the movie. But it also reminds me to enjoy relationships and the little things in life. Kiki's trip to visit the painter in the woods reminds me of the joy of art.

Usually I get inspired to do some sort of art or drawing, or I will knit or crochet or sew. But I'm notorious for coming up with a grand idea in a stroke of inspiration and coming up with elaborate plans that are more work. So I usually have to pick something simple like mod podge and applique and tone myself down some so I can enjoy a low consequence activity. And then I'll do that until I decide I feel done or have enjoyed it enough.

I also know I feel best when I take care of my body. I'm a bit of a work horse, especially if I enjoy the work or take an intense interest in what I am doing. Things that are challenging and engaging are tricky, because I love a challenge and will work day and night to find and answer to a problem. And I have to be physically moving AND doing mentally challenging work in my career. I know now from experience that I will get so bored and depressed at a 9-5 desk job that I will go to a very unhealthy place. But the things I do now being more intense and with schedule changes heavily requires me to take care of my body and invest in it.

So I have to stop my brain from going a million miles a minute, and remind myself to take a bath.

I turn it into a whole self-pampering affair. I scrub all the grime off, and I whip out all my powders and perfumes. And I enjoy a soak in a hot bath with bath salts to relax my wore-out muscles. I do my nails. And I feel so good and beautiful afterward. It doesn't feel like work when I dedicate time exclusively to me and my health. It feels like work when I'm trying to do other things or thinking about a million other things, if that makes sense.

[Yaya]

Here is my SUPER LEMON recipe! I make it if Im starting to feel down

After that - Having a restful space is really important; setup mood lighting; setup a cheap movie projector; listen to a record; have a hot water bottle; watch a movie that totally sucks you in (this one does it for me!). It should feel like a special occasion or a mini holiday away from normal life. You create an uninterrupted alternate reality that allows you to have one long 24 hour thought process where time stretches out and and unwinds.

On that note I find rest is less about literally resting and more about changing your mentality to one of rest; for me I find cleaning very restful because it resets my space and removes stress; cleaning feels like control and progress to me and thats very calming. 

I really appreciate this as I'm kind of going through it and having some advice/steps to take while still reaffirming the importance of each person being different and doing what's best for them is a great support.

[Corrupted Unicorn]

Bringing this topic back to life because I also need to re-learn how to rest properly 

I'd love to hear more of course but I really want to try the lemon recipe 

I'll pitch in my two cents:

- Laying flat on the floor is good for your back, but get back up carefully, please! Roll to the side and get up on your hands and knees. If you're just starting, try just 10 minutes, later on you can extend it to 20 or more. My teacher likes to read while she does this.

- Overall doing things with "lower stakes". Children's games, shows, etc. Things that are super easy so you can give your mind a break from learning and problem-solving. My personal favourites are edutainment games. 

- For the creative spirit, try an art program like KidPix or TuxPaint: one of those that focus on fun features over functionality. Don't force yourself to make good art with them (this is not what it is about right now), just play with the brushes and the effects 

[haumeaGeth]

- For the creative spirit, try an art program like KidPix or TuxPaint: one of those that focus on fun features over functionality. Don't force yourself to make good art with them (this is not what it is about right now), just play with the brushes and the effects 

Did not expect to see a KidPix mention, let alone a suggestion to use KidPix as art therapy. Absolutely goated idea, I'm gonna try it.

For me, every crash, burn, or flare takes a bit of experimentation to figure out the exact things my brain and body want.

• Tasty beverages are always a must. Hot coffee or tea, warm milk with honey and aniseed, cold milk tea or Thai tea in the summer, etcetera.
• For emotional and cognitive crashes, I like to play Calico. I don't even do much, I just walk around or find somewhere to sit while I doodle irl. I find that game really soothing. Calm walking sims are a great low-stimulation activity.
• For physical crashes or chronic illness flareups, I have to stay in bed. This is when I'll honestly just forgive myself for doom scrolling, because reading or writing can be too much for my body to handle. Don't forget to put a tasty beverage on the night table, and periodic naps are really helpful.
• This one is tricky because I can't really tell when my body is asking for this, but for any type of crash, after a certain point I need to get up and move around. Going for a walk or doing some "micro yogas" is good enough. After my brain and body reboot, I have to push the juices around to restore power to everything. If I don't, resting too much can start to have the opposite effect, and I either get super understimulated and/or stiff and achy.