5 Healthy Ways to Immediately Slow Down Your Life

The pandemic may have disrupted daily life but it sped up our brains. Here’s how to reset your pace.

Lydia Smith
Forge

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Woman leaning her head back, eyes closed, with a peaceful look.
Photo: David Sacks/Getty Images

Is it any wonder the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown our sense of time out of whack? We’ve been forced to “slow down” whether we wanted to our not — barely leaving our homes, canceling social engagements — but at the same time, our minds are moving faster than ever. We’re processing huge amounts of information and dealing with enormous upheaval, flicking between health and politics and work and relationships at a phenomenal rate. Life has gone into overdrive even as it has ground to a halt.

“We need to be clear about what we mean by ‘slow’ and ‘fast’,” says Noel Bell, a psychotherapist and spokesperson for the U.K. Council for Psychotherapy. “Fast is a synonym for intensity and overworking. Similarly, ‘slow’ does not necessarily have to mean working at a slow pace but rather at a pace that is more comfortable and which can mirror a healthy work/life balance.”

It means living at a pace that won’t lead to burnout, which causes overwhelming and prolonged exhaustion, feelings of detachment from your job, and even physical issues like headaches and stomach problems. It’s a growing problem, too: Last year, the World Health Organization classified…

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