Doing Absolutely Nothing Has Mental Health Benefits

Doing Absolutely Nothing Has Mental Health Benefits

I’ve been saying this for quite a while now … if you want to be “on” then you need to allow yourself to be “off”.

No one can perform ALL the time; we all need rest and recuperation.

But so many people discount relaxation time as a waste of time, as something with no worth.

That couldn’t be further from the truth as this Psychology Today article by Francine Toder illustrates …

KEY POINTS

  • Letting go of everything and doing nothing, even briefly, has mental and physical health benefits.
  • Embracing the practice of doing nothing may create some discomfort because it’s such an anathema to our usual ways.
  • When attempting the counter-intuitive task of doing nothing, stay with your plan and intention but breathe slowly to calm any distress.
Alexandre Chambon/Unsplash

Gazing at nothing in particularSource: Alexandre Chambon/Unsplash

When I retired for good about 10 years ago, the very idea of doing nothing was terrifying and intolerable, a situation to be avoided at all cost.

As a professional woman, I’d been striving all of my life. Back in the day, accomplishing my goals required herculean effort—or sneaking in a back door entrance.

But 10 years post-retirement, I found myself extolling the virtues of doing absolutely nothing, or close to it—at least a little every day. Though it sounds counter-intuitive, I learned that letting go of everything has mental health benefits, even for a short time. As the lengthy pandemic finally recedes, it’s tempting to jump back into all kinds of activities long beyond reach. But you might want to consider some moments of doing absolutely nothing.

Why Doing Nothing Makes Us So Anxious

If that idea makes your heart skip a beat, you’re not alone. Some of us don’t want such an intensely uncomfortable experience or can’t push through and are paralyzed or incapacitated by discomfort.

Let’s pause so I can define anxiety and explain some down-to-earth ways to address the subject, at least from this psychologist’s point of view. Addressing your anxiety will help you attempt the practice of doing nothing.

Simply stated, anxiety is an emotion characterized by fear which has some predictable effects on our physiology. If you are a worrier, you know that your thoughts can go down dark alleys that make your heart beat too fast. Or you may feel the tension in your body before you even realize that you are imagining a catastrophic outcome to some person or an event soon to take place.

When your worries precede an experience, it is known as anticipatory anxiety. It is likely to cause some physiological effects like dry mouth, sweating, or forgetting, which is actually quite common when you need to perform, like on a test, while giving a talk, or engaging in a sports competition.

Some of us are more prone to calamitous thinking, but we all worry from time to time. This is quite normal, but when nervousness or apprehension interferes with your daily life, work, or relationships, it’s more serious and may need professional attention

… keep reading the full & original article HERE