WORKFORCE
PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
Engaging with your spirituality helps maintain your mental health. U.S. Army Capt. Gabriel Marquez, left, a chaplain for the Michigan National Guard, performs a baptism ceremony for 2nd Lt. Evan Carrizales, 126th Infantry Regiment, Michigan Army National Guard, in Augusta, Michigan, Sept. 7, 2024. (Photo by Sgt. Elanor Adams, U.S. Army National Guard)
meditation and journaling. Social rest is knowing when you need to recharge and how; if you’re an introvert, alone time is best, while extroverts need social interaction. Tese three concepts are familiar to most of the workforce, but the other four types of rest are far less familiar:
• Sensory rest is the concept of intentional sensory depri- vation to avoid overstimulation, Skowron said. Taking designated social media or screen breaks, dimming the lights or taking 20 minutes in a quiet room away from rambunctious children or pets can all contribute to sensory rest.
• Emotional rest relies on the concept of authenticity— don’t suppress or avoid emotions. Work through them and release them. “Emotional rest also means surround- ing ourselves with others who help provide emotional peace,” Skowron said.
• Creative rest involves removing the pressure to do anything creative while surrounding yourself with inspi- ration—like engaging with art, nature or music.
• Spiritual rest means connecting with something greater than ourselves. “Tis can mean adding prayer, medita- tion or purpose to our lives,” Skowron said.
Incorporating all seven varieties of rest into your life may seem daunting. Scheduling rest should be a relaxing experience. If it’s having the opposite effect and stressing you out more, consider a different approach. One way to fit more rest into your day would be to set aside short chunks of time for each type—meditate for five minutes, turn off screens for an hour before bed and journal to get rid of looping-thought patterns, among other small-scale techniques.
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CONCLUSION Even if you’re unable to take all seven types of rest a day, taking as much rest as you can is still more helpful than none at all. Coupled with other, more widely known building blocks for improving mental health, getting the rest you need can improve your job performance and your quality of life outside of work.
Sometimes, self-care habits are not enough. If you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to reach out to a profes- sional. Terapists can assist in identifying sources of stress and finding ways to navigate them, as well as help you develop strat- egies for taking better care of yourself, according to Healthline.
Be well.
For more information about mental health, go to the National Insti- tute of Mental Health website at
https://www.nimh.nih.gov.
JACQUELINE M. HAMES is the senior editor at Army AL&T magazine. She holds a B.A. in creative writing from Christopher Newport University. She has more than 15 years of experience writing and editing news and feature articles for publication.
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