How to Actually Disconnect After Work Hours
I used to think disconnecting after work meant closing my laptop. Logging off. Turning notifications to silent. And jumping into the next duty of parenthood and partnership. But…my body didn’t get the memo. I’d be physically home, but mentally replaying emails. Emotionally bracing for tomorrow. Sometimes I’d find myself tense for no obvious reason and snapping at the people I loved most. If you’re anything like me, you may relate to the feeling that your workday has ended, but your nervous system is still bracing like it hasn’t. And that’s a very different problem. If this sounds familiar, I understand, and here are a few tools that can support your nervous system out of work mode. Why You Still Feel Stressed After Work Ends From a somatic, and body-based perspective, it’s not that you don’t know how to relax. Your nervous system simply hasn’t shifted out of work mode yet. Throughout the day, your body is responding to things like: The steady stream of ema...