Speaker 1: 0:06

Welcome to the Sweet Spot where science meets soul. Today is Slow Down Sunday on the Sweet Spot, and I'm Dr Derek Sweet, your host. I'm a board-certified psychiatrist. I specialize in sports psychiatry and in high performance. So today is Slow Down Sunday.

Speaker 1: 0:28

It's a time when we explore the art of slowing down in a world that never stops spinning. Let's delve into why we resist rest, why we resist the transformative power of stillness, and let's figure out how we can learn to embrace calm and how embracing calm can rejuvenate our minds and our bodies. It's interesting. Why do we struggle so much with slowing down? Well, there are three reasons that I'd like to discuss with you today, and one of them is the illusion of time scarcity, that there's never enough time. Do you ever feel that way?

Speaker 1: 1:17

Cognitive psychology tells us that we often perceive time as a scarce resource, which leads us to constantly rushing to do more and more. This time scarcity mindset convinces us that pausing it's like falling behind. You slow, you blow. You can't slow down, you will be lost. You will lose the race. What's the solution to this? Cognitive psychology says this that you have to shift your perspective and recognize that taking the time to rest can enhance your productivity and your creativity. That's the key. As the astrophysicist Carl Sagan reminded us, the cosmos is all that is and ever was and ever will be. Ultimately, in the grand timeline of the universe, a moment of stillness is both insignificant and profoundly valuable. We have to take that time back. We have to recognize that we have bought in to some unconscious communication or subconscious feeling that there just isn't enough time. Well, here's the good news you can make the time. Here's the good news, you can make the time.

Speaker 1: 2:41

What's the second reason, other than time scarcity, that people don't take the moment to slow down? It's called FOMO, the fear of missing out. Everyone else is doing something that I need to be doing and all of them are ahead of me. Social psychologists say that in our very interconnected world, we are constantly bombarded with the updates of other people and what they're doing and their achievements, and all of this is doing nothing but fueling anxiety in us that we are not doing the same thing or we're not keeping up. The solution for this, the solution for this fear of missing out thing, is to begin to embrace more mindfulness, staying in the present moment, practicing that rather than looking around and comparing. Comparison steals joy. It steals time as well, because when we're out there comparing, we're not even aware of the time that's passing. So an answer is to take a moment, put down the phone, put away the distractions and spend time in the moment with yourself and see what comes up. You'd be amazed. As a writer once observed in an age of speed, nothing can feel more luxurious than going slow. So keep focusing on your present moment rather than external comparisons, because when you slow down, it allows you to savor your own journey Without the distraction of what other people are doing or what other people are thinking. How refreshing is that. I can't wait to practice it in a few minutes.

Speaker 1: 4:35

So we looked at two reasons that people don't slow down. One was this whole idea of time scarcity there's not enough time, the illusion of that. And then this fear of missing out. If I slow down, well, maybe I'll miss out on something. And what's the third reason?

Speaker 1: 4:53

Well, we're just not comfortable with stillness, and silence is very scary to many people. So stillness and silence, they're like two things that frighten people sometimes, and behavioral psychologists say that many people find silence and solitude uncomfortable because it forces them to have to look at themselves and deal with what's going on with them. So guess what? The best way to do this because we've been conditioned not to be silent and not to be still is to gradually incorporate it into our routine. Start with just a few minutes of quiet reflection daily it could be just two minutes and just notice what's in the room. And if you can't sit still, just okay, think of two things you can see in the room, two things you can hear in the room, two things that maybe you can smell in the room, or two things that you're feeling in the room, just to get you back into the present and get you into the habit of practicing stillness, listening. You will be surprised at how refreshed you will feel by doing that.

Speaker 1: 6:06

Because, my friend and I'll end with this, when you embrace stillness, it isn't just a mental exercise. It has tangible benefits for your physical health. Practicing slow, deep breathing and stillness for just a few minutes every day can reduce your systolic blood pressure. Yes, it can really drop your blood pressure. It can lower your heart rate and it can improve your breathing, your respiratory function. So, in the vastness of the cosmos, our lives are but a fleeting moment. If you embrace stillness today, you will allow yourself to connect to the universe and you will be still and you will know the divinity, the mystery that is called God, who created you. Take time, slow down, catch up with yourself, find inner peace and come back ready to face making moves Monday, tomorrow. All right now. This is Dr Sweet. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the serenity of this moment until we meet again. If you'd like more, please join me on Instagram, on X. You can also join me on YouTube and on threads. Take care, thank you.