Slow Living: An Antidote to Toning Down Depression

Slow Living: An Antidote to Toning Down Depression
We were never meant to be this busy; that’s why everyone is depressed and anxious.
Slowing down is important for both Physical and mental well-being. It promotes better focus, reduces stress, and enhances overall enjoyment. Occasionally, we are exposed to the idea of staying on our toes as a means to get things done the right way. Our minds are conditioned to think that slowing down is a trait of laziness, hence an unwanted vice. Slow living is not about doing less. It is about doing more, but with more focus and purpose. It is about engaging with activities more fully and finding enjoyment in the present moment.
Honey, wake up slowly,
Ditch that frantic alarm scroll.
Stretch in bed
Light a candle,
Play soft jazz…
Sip warm water while looking out of the window.
Baby, the world can wait for 10 minutes…it can always wait for you.
Slowmax…Bambi slowmax…We were created to sit back and observe. The next time you are faced with an issue that requires urgent handling and that seems too huge to settle, instead of immediately shooting up and rushing to figure it out, pause, then slowly and deeply take a deep breath while closing your eyes, and thereafter let out the air in the same capacity. Relax for up to 45 seconds; finally, start thinking about the presented issue. You will get to realize that your mind gets more open to ‘crystal’ brainstorming when not subjected to unnecessary rush-outs, as compared to when layered out under pressure.
I know we are all about time waiting for no one, but I am sure a few milliseconds spent resetting could never hurt. For what’s the need for rushed handlings with rumpled up results when there is an option of a chilled-out managerial approach with much finer fabric as a production?
Neuroscience-based research suggests that cognitive Reappraisal (the ability to process issues slowly) is crucial in regulating stress and emotions. On the other hand, research conducted in the Berkeley Well-Being institution has shown that pausing before responding to questions improves students’ use of language and logic.
We were structured to pause before getting out of bed.
Programmed to sip through that glass of wine steadily.
Created to slowly read through lines of huge books
Meant to make 48-hour chip cookies and spend hours watching TV series.
A recent study points to slow thinking as a recovery tactic to psychosis patients (a condition where victims lose touch with reality). Research by Phillip, dating back to 2015, suggests that helping people with psychosis slow down by being aware of their fast thoughts reduces their paranoia levels.
I want us to realize that it is okay to spend 30 minutes whipping up a cappuccino.
That it is okay to take hours lining out those lips and eyes…that it is not a crime snooping up that alarm in the morning and re-cuddling up your gorgeous self for five more minutes.
Dear gentle reader, I hope you relearn extending yourself, the one step at a time grace.
I hope you re-embrace yourself with the slowing down theory. I pray you re-cultivate the breathing in and out culture.