Lead With Love by letting yourself pause.
Day 10: Rest Is Not a Reward
We live in a world that often treats rest like something you earn—
After the inbox is cleared,
After the work is done,
After you’ve proven yourself useful.
But your nervous system doesn’t wait for your to-do list to end.
It needs care in the middle of the noise, not after it ends.
Rest isn’t laziness. It’s regulation.
It’s how your body recovers, your brain processes, your emotions settle.
🧠 What the Science Says:
🧠 Chronic stress without rest contributes to inflammation, fatigue, poor memory, and mood instability.
McEwen & Gianaros, 2011. Annual Review of Psychology.
🛌 Even short rest breaks can improve cognitive function, reduce cortisol, and reset emotional balance.
Dinges et al., 1997. Sleep Research Online.
💡 Rest is especially vital for trauma recovery—the body must learn that safety doesn’t depend on constant vigilance.
van der Kolk, 2014. The Body Keeps the Score.
🧠 Psychoanalytic Insight:
Rest may feel unfamiliar—especially if you learned that love had to be earned.
In psychoanalysis, resistance to rest can reflect internalised messages of worthlessness, over-responsibility, or shame around being seen as “unproductive.”
But you are not a machine.
You are a human. A system. A psyche.
You don’t need to crash to be allowed to pause.
You can rest before you burn out.
“Permission to rest is permission to be human.”
💭 Today’s Practice:
✨ Let your nervous system stop “doing” for 5 minutes.
✨ No phone. No fixing. Just space.
✨ Whisper to yourself: I do not need to earn this pause.
This is how we begin to lead with love—by no longer asking for permission to be gentle with ourselves.
get in touch
If you would like to discuss how we can help you further your development, please send us a message and we will be in touch: info@idmind.health
April is “Stress Awareness Month” – 30 day guide
Stress Awareness Month 2025: Lead With Love This April, iDMind.health invites you to pause. To reflect. To reconnect with your inner world. Stress is something we all carry – but we don’t always recognise how deeply it…
day 01: body check-in
Stress lives in your body…not just in your head. We often treat stress as ‘just mental’, but it shows up in our: Shoulders and jaw Gut and breath Sleep, skin, immune response Chronic stress reshapes how our…
day 02: breathe to regulate
Lead With Love through your breath. Your breath is the only part of your nervous system you can consciously control. And it just might be your most powerful tool for calming the mind and body. When stress…
day 03: Thought Tracker
Some thoughts aren’t random. They’re rehearsals. Your mind returns to them again and again because something unfinished, unprocessed, or unmet is asking for attention. These aren’t just mental noise—they’re emotional signals.According to psychoanalysis, recurring thoughts often represent…
day 04: Self-Talk Audit
Some thoughts aren’t random. They’re rehearsals. Lead With Love in the way you speak to yourself. Would you speak to yourself the way you speak to a friend? Who’s Talking in There?Your internal dialogue shapes your emotional…
day 05: Move Your Body (Gently, Briefly, Lovingly)
Some thoughts aren’t random. They’re rehearsals. Lead With Love through micro-movements. You Don’t Need to “Work Out Intensely” to Move Through It When we hear “move your body,” many of us think of workouts, discipline, or pressure.…
day 06: feel the stress
Where Is Stress Hiding Today?Stress doesn’t always show up as “I’m stressed.” It can look like: Irritability Restlessness Detachment Guilt “I’m fine,” but your body says otherwise That’s because stress often hides behind other emotions—or behind defences…
day 07: focus – one thing at a time
multitasking is a myth (and sometimes, a mask) Lead With Love by giving your full attention. What Are You Really Doing?We like to believe we can do it all—emails, messages, parenting, thinking, feeling—all at once. But neuroscience…
day 08: nourish the soul
Super-Food, Super-Mood What Feeds Your Mood?Food does more than fuel your body.It communicates with your brain.It regulates your nervous system.It shapes your emotional state. And the nutrients you take in today can become your emotional and psychological…
day 09: your inner critic
Lead With Love by changing how you speak to yourself. Whose Voice Is That?Most of us have an inner voice that speaks when we’re tired, behind, or not “enough.”Sometimes it sounds like us.But often, it’s an echo…
day 10: permission to rest
Lead With Love by letting yourself pause. Day 10: Rest Is Not a RewardWe live in a world that often treats rest like something you earn—After the inbox is cleared,After the work is done,After you’ve proven yourself…
day 24 – let go of the outcome
Lead With Love by releasing control and returning to the moment you’re in. What if the outcome isn’t yours to hold? You were taught to plan.To prepare.To hold it all together—just in case. But control is a…
day 25 – declutter your space
Lead With Love by noticing what shifts inside when you clear space outside. Day 25: What Does the Clutter Protect? Sometimes, clutter isn’t about mess.It’s about memory.Or avoidance.Or overstimulation.Or comfort. We keep things we don’t need. Not…
day 26: say no
Lead With Love by protecting the space your healing needs. Day 26 – Say No Theme: Lead With Love by protecting the space your healing needs. Day 26: No Is a Complete Sentence. Saying no is hard.Especially if…
day 27: family compassion
Lead With Love by honouring how your care for yourself shapes how you care for others. Family healing is complicated.It’s easy to carry one story:“They did the best they could.”Or“They hurt me.” Both can be true. Compassion…
Day 28 – Self-Care Exploration
Lead With Love by honouring how your care for yourself shapes how you care for others. How Is Your Self-Care Changing? Self-care changes as we change.It’s not just about soothing.It’s about evolving. As we heal, self-care becomes…
day 29: Who Am I?
Lead With Love by exploring identity as something living, layered, and evolving. Who Am I Becoming When I’m Not Performing? Identity isn’t just one thing.It’s not only a title.It’s not only a role.It’s not only a diagnosis…
day 30: closure and continuity: returning to ourselves
Lead With Love by remembering that healing is a homecoming, not a finish line. You Return to Yourself Again and Again Healing isn’t linear.It doesn’t finish neatly.It doesn’t mean you never wobble or fall or question again.…