Closed For Mental Vacations

Many people eagerly wait for a few days off in their schedule so that they can finally relax and get rid of accumulated stress. At the same time, they leave certain matters pending for these vacation days in order to resolve them “with complete peace of mind”, they also postpone decisions about their futures to these magical days or simply express their desire to do what they like on these journeys.

We don’t realize that real vacations aren’t just about having days with nothing to do or changing the routine. The real vacations are the mental ones, the rest are non-working days permeated with another type of “stress”. Also, as if that were not enough, some people don’t even plan a break and see it as a form of “stress calmer”.

The true way to rest cannot only happen on vacation days, but it is also possible and recommended that we have it in our daily lives. This way, we avoid accumulating a great tiredness, especially if we understand well how our mind works. Stress leaves us “on alert” for irrelevant issues, without much solution and that only make us reflect endlessly.

For this reason, we are going to give you some guidelines so that you can get that dream mental vacation and so that you don’t end up turning your free time into a vacation with anxiety. Likewise, we will try to integrate this form of rest into our usual routine.

Mental vacations: what are they and how do they get it?

You don’t have to ask your boss for free days, or your parents’ permission, or your friends or partner’s opinion. Mental vacations arise of their own free will at any time or place. The most important thing is to establish cognitive and behavioral habits: cognitive ones help us so that our minds regulate the frequency and discomfort with which we live some thoughts, and behavioral ones make what was said before much easier.

Therefore, we are going to list several strategies so that you can ensure greater control of your thoughts. Keep in mind that this is not only possible to achieve, but it is possible to improve our relationship with them.

meditate at some point of the day

Meditating is not just an ancient technique for achieving calm. Different studies have demonstrated its effectiveness as a valuable tool that facilitates therapeutic action against anxiety. Therefore, its effect goes beyond a mere placebo and meditating actually generates a mental discharge through targeted physical calm.

The purpose of meditation is not to blank the mind, but to  become an observer in full awareness of our breath, our thoughts, and our emotions. Training this practice and performing it at least once a day will significantly reduce our discomfort.

Write down thoughts that have no solution.

They say that the recipe for being happy is to make decisions. They guide our present and discreetly guide our future. On the other hand, running away from them or letting other people make their own decisions is usually not the best option. However, like everything else, decisions have a time and a place.

Clearly, you cannot change your mind each time you arrive at work, at home, or on your daily walk. Our wonderful processor accompanies us wherever we go. However, we can educate the mind so that it knows how to postpone the deliberations that can only hinder  our performance at that particular moment.

In the same way that there is an attention to observe certain objects, sounds or tastes, there is also a mental attention that can be directed to one place or another. Taking control of this attention is not easy: no one has taught us and we are often so inattentive that we have not been able to experience the benefits of this practice.

Nor are we in the habit of classifying our decisions. There are some that have already been taken, but which we keep wandering around, others that there simply never was such a dilemma (they are based on a mere hypothesis), others need the help of an expert and finally others that, whether easy or difficult, we have to take. Depending on the type of decision, our mental way of acting must be different.

For example, if you can’t afford to move elsewhere, don’t be deliberating about that option until you have the means to fulfill that desire. Cut down on the time devoted to thinking, do it when the decision is really feasible. Write down these elements to begin to realize the control you can have over them, before they take control of your mind because of the uncertainty involved.

On the other hand, if you’re sure about something, don’t analyze it from a thousand different perspectives: everything has its pros and cons, make a list of them, and if the positive weighs more in the balance, decide as soon as possible. It is not necessary to be impulsive, but it is necessary not to postpone a decision for too long.

start walking

Walking is an energetic and anarchic activity, your thoughts flow and seem to do so at the same pace as your mind. It’s as if running produces a mental beat, a rhythm through your movements that your mind finds quite pleasant. The movement can also be accompanied by a good conversation with a friend, or by painting, or by generating a form of individual expression, such as handicrafts.

Remember the relationship between the body and the mind. Make good use of both, don’t just think of your body when you feel pain. Don’t forget that it is a great tool that is in direct communication with the mind.

Establish stimulus control

It’s as if you spend the whole day in streets full of people, like on a Carnival Saturday. You don’t walk at ease, you go looking everywhere and at everyone and you end up receiving a lot of messages that make you tired. Most likely, your mind will be on this street for days and days. Furthermore, it is also very likely that when she tries to escape, you will end up withholding her because you have the feeling that you are wasting time away from there.

Whether out of obligation or because it is socially accepted, your mind goes back and forth chased by this noise that cannot be silenced. Stop and jump, lie down and close your eyes. Get used to running away from time to time: choose your moments and don’t let needs throw you in disarray wherever you want.