Resting in the Aftermath of Storms

HSPs require rest to recuperate, even if we resist the process

One of the things I tell my highly sensitive therapy clients all the time is that resting after stressors is a vital part of the recuperation process. Regardless of what kind of stressors we experience, we need to make space in our lives for deep, holistic rest. Without it, our HSP nervous systems stay activated, and we remain on the edge of overstimulation, overwhelm, and burnout.

My clients struggle to accept this lesson, and so do I.

We want to jump ahead to getting back to “normal” and feeling better.

But restoration? It literally contains the word rest. We cannot cheat the process.

This week, I’m resting.

We are slowly emerging from severe thunderstorms last Tuesday that caused deaths, injuries, significant property damage, and widespread power outages that are still ongoing for some neighborhoods a week later. Our schools reopened for the first time today. The communal suffering, chaos, and uncertainty have been extreme.

I am extremely grateful that my family has only experienced relatively mild disruptions. However, I have felt the burdens of my neighbors, relatives, and friends throughout the area. That energy weighs heavily on me as a sensitive person. It has the quality of a survivor’s guilt: we only lost power for a day. We only had minor property damage. No one we know was killed, only injured.

I’m giving myself the reminder I sometimes give my therapy clients, which is that suffering is suffering. There’s no need to compare or keep score. We can empathize with one another because pain is pain.

The twisted remains of a tree that crashed down the hillside, pulling down several smaller trees and doing minor damage to our next door neighbor's house (shown here after the crown of the tree was cut back from his door). All of us feel fortunate that the tree was high enough up the hill to miss his roof and "just" damage his gutters and exterior wall.

So, in light of all that I’m feeling with my community, I’m focusing on my own restoration, too.

I’m keeping this article brief (at least by my wordy standards), and I’ve been on Substack less than usual. I’m trying to sleep more, spend time with people in ways that nurture our bonds, use distractions, move my body gently, and spend time in the places where downed power lines and broken trees have been cleared and it’s been safe to be outside.

Intellectually I know that rest is vital. I’m naming the parts of me that resist resting, those parts that are conditioned to be a productive capitalist cog. And I’m resting anyway, even when I do it imperfectly.

I know there’s no way to recuperate except to do it.

Do you need to join me in recuperating from some stressor in your life? Are you giving yourself the time, space, and attention to get to a point of restoration? Are you honoring your high sensitivity, even when resting is not convenient or familiar?

Let me know in the comments. I may not respond instantly, but I’ll be back when I’m rested and ready to reengage again.

Wishing you all the restoration your sensitivity calls for!