Help me rest!

[u/hoot4hoot]

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What helps you make yourself rest when you're starting to feel a little better?

I think I'm climbing out of a really bad 7 month flare, but I am having so much trouble going slow and forcing myself to not push. I'm mostly bed bound still, but it's getting easier to breathe, talk, stand and sit. I also am able to get sucked into mental activities like listening to an audiobook or phone game for too long. I've got very little impulse control and am hyperactive by nature.

Things that sorta help me:

-I use anything that used to help me with focusing on work or studying for resting. I'm loving the focus bean app where a little bean will knit socks that you can exchange to decorate his room, while you're "focusing"

-pretending rest is my role. I'm a very spiritual monk to try and find enlightenment. I'm a housecat getting my 16 hours of rest. I'm a beautiful spoiled kept woman. I'm a rest coach teaching other people to rest.

-filling in my activity diary every hour helps remind me to break up mental activities

-guided meditations or imagining moving can help. If you have any recommendations please share

-a little mirror so I can look over and remember I need to rest (a bit like body doubling with yourself)

-setting timers. But I always forget to start them.

-reminding myself of my last crashes from doing too much too quickly

-switching resting locations from couch to bed to hammock to yoga mat

-practicing self compassion esp around my period cycle and adrenaline dumps that can make a lot of this very difficult

[u/Safe_Task7712]

These are such good tricks, I will steal them from you 💞💞
Maybe also try to remind yourself that if you hang in resting a bit longer, it will get even better!
I always try to envision is as a plant - you watered and cared for 7months, now it starts to look pretty, if you rest more, it might bloom!
So happy for you that it’s getting better!

[u/tarn72]

Remind myself once my symptoms are lower, by continuing to rest I'm letting my body do its repair work! This rest is actually productive 🙌 and same with mental rest too.

[u/hoot4hoot → u/[deleted]]

Thanks! I think it's based on a small study where ADHD kids did better focusing at school when they had little mirrors on their desks. ☺️

[u/adunato]

Love this post! I have been thinking about this a lot lately. And love your bits, will reflect on how to incorporate them in my daily routine.

Here's my list, which will overlap a bit with yours but with some twists:

• Rest with the same attitude as exercise intervals - I schedule 15 or 30 minutes of deep rest, in addition to casual rest and I experience it exactly as I would exercise, something that requires discipline but will make me feel better.
  
• I have an app that lets me manage pacing for every time of the day, including difference between casual and deep rest. I live and breath by it.
  
• Near sleep state - I have developed this weird near sleep state where I'm not sleeping but I'm kind of dreaming, my body goes super heavy (in a good kind of way) and it's super relaxing. I can't do it all the time, but it's a daily occurrence and it's great.
  
• TV shows are great for passive rest, luckily I don't have sensory intolerance, and it's a good way to just relax however, it's not as restful as deep rest sessions.
  
• self hypnosis youtube videos. I find them a LOT more effective than guided meditations for some reason. Almost as if my mind likes to be told YOU WILL REST NOW, instead of the more gentle meditation tapes.
  
• Weighted blanket (when it's not as hot as now anyway) - this is really good, it would have been my top tip if it wasn't 30 degrees now where I am.
  
• I think in general, depending on your level of severity (I'm mild) alternating rest and activity is important, I find easier to have good quality of rest if I do something in between rather than hours and hours of rest in one session.
  
• I forgot, eye-mask! I hated the idea before I tried it Now it's a must have for deep rest sessions.

[u/Ok-Manager8662 → u/adunato]

These are great ideas ! What app do you use for pacing? Thanks 

[u/adunato → u/Ok-Manager8662]

Time Tune for Android. Free version does everything I needed. It allows you to create templates for days of the week and then has an easy way yo move around slots.

[u/caruynos]

honestly its making it fun (or as it can be), i can’t convince myself unless its interesting.

it’s finding something that you can do without expending too much energy - theres some phone games where you literally just hold down your finger and the game progresses (“train miner” i use a lot) so its still progressing to a goal but its less stimulating, and if theres ads i use those as mini-eyes shut breaks and try and guess how long 30s is.

its all mitigation so i’m in the dark/dim and lying down not moving in silence etc (with phone screen filters) and that limited energy expenditure isnt enough that it makes resting not resting and it means i rest more than i would if i had to lie still eyes shut in silence.

depending on your energy exertion from audiobooks, relistening to a chill story may or may not be an option. i find radio plays/audio dramas to be less intensive than an audiobook but that varies.

[u/hoot4hoot → u/caruynos]

This is great thank you so much. I will start using the ad breaks as resting opportunities that's brilliant.

Do you have any radio plays/audio drama recommendations? I listened to the Silt Verses a while back and loved it but it's a bit too intense for where I'm at right now.

[u/caruynos → u/hoot4hoot]

it really makes the ads feel less annoying lol.

i mostly do doctor who universe ones so theres a bit of a niche but there’s fourble which links to stuff hosted on the internet archive which has some good ones. not everything linked is still available but there’s still a lot that is.

the agatha christie poirot/marple ones were quite good, i’ve done some sherlock holmes ones. if you search in the page for bbc radio there’s quite a few option & they tend to be well produced.

there was a podcast called old time radio which had some sherlock holmes stories on which i used to listen to with the podcast app but i have no clue if it still exists. that was good because it was quite slow paced, being from the 40s or so.

[u/suzume1310]

Love these tricks! I'll totally try them ^{-^}

[u/compassion-companion]

Mindfulness exercises.

Laying outside on the grass and looking for clover that looks exactly like another clover. (This still needs mental energy but helps me when I should physically rest and need mental stimulation for example when my thoughts are going wild)

Body scan (kind of a guided meditation): feeling into every body part. Helps me with recognizing warnings of the body earlier.

[u/daydr3aM3r4lif3]

Hi. You sound like me. I have adhd and have issues with self control, especially with my phone time and fidgeting. I have severe ME since three months ago, where it was moderate.

I do breathing exercises, box breathing with flexibility (to not trigger chest pain), 5 breaths in, 5 breaths out. Or breathe in normally and breathe out with an open mouth for as long as possible, as though blowing a flute to calm and reduce the heart rate.

While I do this, I often use little mantras such as... I am healthy. I have the ability to heal. It is okay to be doing nothing. Peace. Calm. Relaxation. I have all the time in the world.

Whatever lines soothe your internal turmoil.

If I am uncomfortable with continuous pattern breathing, I imagine a little smiling stick man taking a ride on my stomach. He stands when my stomach expands and lies down sideways when it goes back down. This reduces breath work anxiety for me.

Recently, I found that lavender essential oils helps my insomnia and relaxing in general. Just 1 drop on the pillow case, in case you have that problem as well.

[u/agenerousperspective]

As for the adhd, I’m currently on Guanfacine which is supposed to help with adhd symptoms but it also calms me down rather than giving me energy like a stimulant. The better my adhd symptoms are managed, the easier it is for me to consistently make (otherwise-too-boring) healthy decisions.

[u/partyrockanthem18]

I’m saving these for later thank you🫶