Winter is nature’s way of reminding us to slow down. In the fall the trees shed their leaves, allowing them to shift their energy reserves inward so that they can hunker down during the colder months. Likewise, it’s important for us to have seasons in our lives where we can rest and restore ourselves and turn our attention inwards.

I’ve had a lot of reminders lately about the value of slowing down. Going into the holidays, I was craving down time. There are always things on my to-do list, and I was getting them done, but I wasn’t prioritizing down time. I needed time to rest and recuperate.

Physically Slow Down

Slowing down helps to heal anxiety. When my anxiety was at its worst, I remember that I was always moving fast, literally. My kids were young, and we were moving every two to three years for my husband’s military career. My husband was also gone a lot for work. By moving quickly, I could get everything done. In hindsight, I can also see how always moving fast was activating my sympathetic nervous system, thinking I was always in fight or flight mode.

By moving through my days at a fast pace to get everything done, I was creating more anxiety. I was moving at a pace that signaled my body to produce adrenaline. My blog, Anxiety and the Adrenaline Cycle, goes into more depth about how adrenaline affects anxiety.

To heal anxiety, I didn’t intentionally set out to slow down but the exhaustion I felt from having anxiety demanded that I incorporate more rest. As I started to prioritize rest, I adjusted my expectations about how much I could get done each day. As a result, I felt less rushed and was able to move slower throughout my days.

Because I was so tired, I even took a break from running. I just didn’t have the energy for it. Listening to the cues from my body and resting when I felt tired helped me to slow down. I now understand how much my body was craving rest and restoration. Anxiety takes a toll on our bodies and drains our energy. Anxiety also depletes our adrenal glands when there is an excess production of adrenaline.

In my latest Freedom from Anxiety podcast episode, I talk about how we’re programmed to manipulate our minds and bodies to keep going and to keep pushing ourselves. We’re taught that we should always be achieving or at least striving to achieve. Rest and restoration have not been part of the conversation.

In fact, I used to evaluate my days based on how much I got done. The more I got done, the better my day was, and the happier I was with myself. The less I got done, the more frustrated I was with myself. This approach to my days, my worth, and my overall life was not healthy.

We must slow down to heal anxiety. We need to allow our bodies and minds to feel safe and secure so that deep healing can transpire. Our nervous system needs to heal and repair so that we can be free from anxiety and part of that means literally slowing down.

Now that my nervous system has reset, my body and mind are OK if I occasionally have to pick up my pace in order to get to an appointment on time. However, if I feel myself shifting into a more frantic pace more consistently, I can feel anxiety on the periphery. That’s my cue that I need to take a step back and slow down. Getting more done in my day is not worth it if it creates anxiety.

Furthermore, I don’t really think I was really getting more done during my fast-paced days. I sometimes missed important details. There are times now when I am busy, but I’m careful to not allow myself to get caught up moving at a fast pace. I now feel more productive overall by moving slower and with focused intention.

Mentally Slow Down

The holistic support practitioner I talk with has beautifully coined the term “technology-induced ADD,” suggesting that people are increasingly more distracted due to technology. People are becoming more impatient and unable to handle boredom, imperfections, or mishaps because of the addictive qualities of video games, social media, email, and just having access to massive amounts of information literally in our back pockets.

While there are some positive attributes to technology, there are also a lot of harmful side effects that we’re just now beginning to grasp but many effects that we don’t yet understand. One of the side effects of technology is the fast pace at which information is thrown at us. It’s too much for our minds, and we need time to process it all. Our minds need a break from the constant feed from our phones and computers. We need to mentally slow down.

Feeling mentally distracted or overstimulated definitely feeds anxiety. Anxiety arises when we are not fully embodied within ourselves – mind, body, and soul. Feeling like your mind is on a never-ending treadmill creates anxiety because your mind isn’t anchored in your body. Anxiety is our minds screaming at us to get off that treadmill. Our minds want us to slow down or perhaps just sit still for a while so that we can process our life experiences, traumas, or maybe even just the day’s events.

How to Slow Down

Just having some awareness of how we move physically and mentally throughout our day is enough to help us begin to slow down. Below are some additional tips to help us start applying the brakes.

1.      Adjust our expectations.

Let’s give ourselves permission to not get everything done. In fact, know that not everything will get done when we start to slow down. Do what we can, when we can, and then rest. Know that our best is always good enough and that our worth is not determined by how much we do. It’s not worth feeling anxiety just so that more is accomplished.

2.     Daydream.

I remember being incredibly bored on road trips when I was younger, which I’m now grateful for. We didn’t have any of the technology that kids have today to keep themselves entertained. Boredom has value because it creates space for us to daydream. So that’s what I did all those hours in the car as a kid and its what I do as an adult today. On mornings when I don’t have anywhere to go, I let my mind wander because not only do I receive helpful information that I may have missed, but daydreaming also allows my mind and body to process events and information I’ve received.

3.     Observe nature.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

This quote speaks about sustainability and nature. Spending time in nature allows us to feel the quietude and slower pace around us. Immersing ourselves in nature and her natural rhythms helps us to become in sync with our own rhythms and sustainability. Even in the fall as nature and wildlife are preparing for the upcoming winter, there is no rush. Everything is done at a sustainable pace.  

4.     Limit screen time.

Limiting our time watching TV, on our phones, or scrolling social media helps us to slow down our minds. The blue light from screens already overstimulates us and affects our sleep. Instead grab a book, do a puzzle, go for a walk, or spend some time doing other creative activities.

Give Yourself Time to Slow Down

Cory Allen, whose newsletter, Clarity with Cory, I read on Substack gave a good example of this fast pace of always doing and achieving. He said this back-breaking pace is like a train moving fast. At top speed it’s hard to slow because of all the momentum that got you going fast in the first place, unless something like an illness or any other major life event throws you off track. While it’s best to not get to top speed to begin with, you can implement changes to start slowing down.

By adopting a slower, more sustainable pace of life, we become more grounded in ourselves. We also get some much-needed relief from anxiety as we give our nervous system a break. It’s time to slow down so that we can rest, relax, breathe, and reset.

My book Bold Trust – 6 Steps to Unravel the Long-Term Effects of Gaslighting, Unapologetically Trust Yourself, and Heal Anxiety is now available for purchase here.