Calm the nerves!

Something I learned on my semi-sabbatical last year was the process of nervous system regulation. Before September, I thought that taking a short break or a day off would help me to reset, and I’d be refreshed and ready to go again. This was clearly not the case. Short vacations and breaks helped, but it didn’t get to the CORE of my nervous system woes. I took the sabbatical because I realised I needed a longer time to recover.

I started the semi-sabbatical in August/September, and it was not until around November that I felt a true shift that let me know everything I was doing had been working. I was no longer in fight or flight mode. It wasn’t 100%, but I felt that I had much better control over my ability to regulate, and things like my digestive system and my sleep habits were slowly improving. This took WORK, but it taught me the importance of paying attention to your nervous system every single day. It’s still a constant work in progress, but at least now I am aware that in order for me to function well, I need to manage my nervous system. (I’m also not sure if this is a neurodivergent thing, but I assume this will be helpful for every single person, because how can it not be?!)

To anyone reading this, I would encourage you to take a few minutes every single day to do something that resets your nervous system. It can be mediation, prayer, reading a book, sitting in silence, movement or exercise, listening to music, and the list goes on. These aren’t luxuries, they’re necessities. Self-regulation isn’t something that should happen “when I get the chance”. You shouldn’t have to wait on a long weekend, a holiday or a day off to feel like a human again. Incorporating something regulating every single day may not change what happens in your life, but it can definitely change your responses to them.

Things that helped me include:

• Reducing my to-do list to one or two main things for the day (anything else that wasn't priority could move to another day if needed)

• Being VERY consistent with making a weekly task list (and things got shifted around as needed based on how the days went)

• Focusing on nutrition (since even my safe foods were becoming more problematic), with a push to eating more natural foods (a real struggle for a picky eater like me!)

• Trying to sleep (neither here nor there, sleep issues are longstanding for me)

• Screen time controls

• Being VERY consistent with my triathlon training, both for the physical and mental benefits. This included setting a race goal for myself in December, which kept me motivated and focused.)

Mostly, my main take away is that I had to learn that these things I was doing cannot be temporary! These changes I implemented could not only be for the few months of my sabbatical; they needed to become the way I live my life. It's a process for sure because I tend to overwhelm myself without realising then don't know how to undo (good ole executive skills for ya!), but it's coming along. It helps when you have people around you who understand you and can reel you back in.

There’s nothing wrong with a soft life. There is nothing wrong with liking to be busy. There is also nothing wrong with being in survival mode. Either way, you still need to make time for YOU, because as they say on planes, you have to put your oxygen mask on first.