Too Busy to Heal? The Transformative Power of Slowing Down

 

Have you ever whispered to yourself, "I just don’t have time for this"?
Maybe you've felt the urgency of a to-do list pulling you away from what's really going on inside. But what if that very feeling—the one you're too busy to feel—is the key to your healing?

Welcome to a culture that glorifies busyness. Where slowing down feels radical, and tending to your inner world is too often postponed.

 

A Personal Moment of Awakening


For me, the turning point came when I could no longer ignore the quiet messages from my body. I had had this message many times before, literal falls on my back.  Once dropped by 10 people during a trust fall gone south at age 10, once with a vacuum cleaner in my arms falling down a set of stairs, once with my daughter coming out of a bus, and 18 years ago, taken out at the knees on the ice and finding I need brain surgery. I used to wear “busy” like a badge of honor—until my body intervened. It didn’t whisper; it shouted. Only then did I begin to learn the art of pausing. One breath at a time.

One of my daily mindfulness anchors is a simple yet powerful practice. When I sense overwhelm creeping in, I pause and tell myself, “Life is full.” Not chaotic. Not too much. Just full. It shifts everything.

Reframing the Narrative of “Too Busy”

When we say “I’m too busy,” what are we really communicating? That there's no space for rest, reflection, or feeling? The body hears it all. Language shapes experience, and when we label life as “full” rather than “too much,” we make room for curiosity, compassion, and connection.

The Cost of Not Feeling

Emotions don’t vanish just because we ignore them. Instead, they wait—often in the body. Unprocessed feelings can manifest as chronic tension, fatigue, illness, or emotional burnout. This is the wisdom of the soma, the body’s internal intelligence, calling us home to ourselves.

Too busy to feel eventually becomes too tired to function.

Redefining Strength: The Courage to Feel

From childhood, many of us were conditioned to suppress emotions. “Don’t cry.” “Be strong.” But feeling isn’t weakness—it’s strength in its purest form. As Gita Bellin so beautifully put it, “The fastest way to freedom is to feel your feelings.”

Feeling invites healing. And healing begins with slowing down.

 

We're excited to offer exclusive integrative healing sessions designed for individuals navigating high-functioning overwhelm and emotional fatigue.

Sign up for our private list to receive early access and resources curated for your healing journey.

[Sign up here]

Jennifer Degen
June 24, 2025

Categories


Featured Blogs

Next
Next

Tuning In: My Somatic Unfolding at the Berkshire Yoga Festival