Welcome to this week's SUNDAY ROUND UP.

Today, I want to talk to you about rest.

I grew up in a family that emphasized productivity, and in a culture where idling was equated to crime.

Over the years,  I, of course,  internalized these ideas: productivity has become my king, my castle, and my go to for whatever life tended to throw at me.

Even though intellectually I understood the value of rest, viscerally, driven by these deep beliefs about activity and productivity, I kept going even if and when I was utterly exhausted.

I will write more about this in the up-coming Wednesday post - about how my productivity became tinged with disassociation and complete emotional numbness, and what it took to actually appreciate and internalize the value of rest. Please check it out on Wednesday if that topic resonates with you.

For today, though, I want to throw these few ideas your way - they can serve as this week's PCY mission, if you choose to accept it:

The wired and tired state - something that used to be my modus operandi for number of years - has a particularly damaging effect on someone with a sensitive nervous system.

Why do I mention a sensitive nervous system?

Most folk who live with persistent pain have a sensitive nervous system: on one hand, having a sensitive nervous system predisposes us for chronic pain (and insomnia, and digestive disorders, to name a few), on the other hand, having chronic pain further sensitizes the nervous system.

Sensitive nervous system folk are particularly - well, sensitive - to changes in our environment - be it weather fluctuation or time change. This is why I am writing about rest: I want to invite you to be especially soft, and tender, and kind to yourself this week, and to drive slowly over this time change speed bump.

For those of us who have been blessed with a sensitive nervous system (yes, it can be seen as a blessing - more on that later!) deep rest is both imperative and hard to access.

I find that whenever I am in a buzzed up state - when it feels like my entire nervous system is vibrating - it is right next to impossible to relax. In fact, I am drawn to quite the opposite - activity, and active wheel spinning. Interestingly enough, it took me a whole very long time to recognize that nothing productive happens in the "wheel spinning" state - but again, this is yet another story.

So here is what I find works - and if you have your own tips, tricks, tools I would so appreciate that you share. The bigger library of resources we have, the more we can support and nurture one another.

1. Awareness: recognizing deeply buried belief systems about rest, work, activity, and business.

2. A gradual slow down: if things are really spun out of control, I do a movie marathon - so there's still some screen stimulation, but at least my body is quiet. In pain care yoga terms this is an escape.

3. Hydration: I dehydrate easily when I am wheel-spinning, and dehydration contributes to both increased perception of pain and (for me - I don't have scientific data on this) buzzes up my nervous system.

4. Supplements: valerian is my go to for nervine support whenever I feel wired and tired. I take bacopa as on-going support for central nervous system function.

5. Diet: as much as I crave sweets when I am tired and stressed, I use these cravings as a yellow flag that I am spinning out of control. My diet is generally low in grains, starches and sugars; cravings for sweets are a signal to eliminate all of these temporarily out of my diet.

6. Mindfulness and meditation: I am unable to practice meditation whenever I am in the full throws of wired and tired - this is why it is #6 on the list. In a really dire scenario I need to take all the preliminary steps before I can sit for a meditation practice. When I am able to slow down enough, body scan is my practice of choice. On a regular day, if I am feeling unable to sit for meditation, I will revert to a body scan as well.

I do hope that today your Sunday round up serves as a gentle nudge to rest and be tender with yourself as we go through this time transition.

I do also hope that we will get rid of this time switch soon - one can hope, right?

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Love, hugs and gratitude,