We often assume that if we’re coping, meeting deadlines, staying responsive, and getting results, then we must be doing fine. But mental health isn’t only about whether we’re functioning. It’s about how much space our minds have while we do.
We move quickly between tasks, conversations and decisions, often without a natural pause in between. Over time, this constant forward motion can become mentally expensive. Not because the work is overwhelming, but because the mind never fully settles.
Psychologists describe this as continuous cognitive activation. This is when the brain stays in a problem-solving, alert state for long periods of time. Even when nothing is “wrong”, this state quietly drains emotional energy. It can show up as restlessness, reduced patience, difficulty switching off, or feeling mentally flat rather than overtly stressed.
This is where mindfulness becomes relevant to mental health. Not as meditation. Not as a wellness trend. But as the ability to notice what’s happening in the mind before it runs away with us.
Neuroscientist Dr Amishi Jha, who studies attention and mental resilience, explains that attention is a limited resource. When it is constantly pulled forward to what’s next, what’s unresolved, or what might happen, our ability to regulate emotions and mentally recover is reduced. Slowing attention down, even briefly, helps restore that capacity.
In practice, this does not require major changes. It can be woven into your day in small, almost invisible ways.
It might look like taking a few slow breaths while deliberately noticing the sensation of breathing before joining the next meeting. Or going for a short walk and paying attention to physical sensations rather than mentally rehearsing what comes next. Or briefly scanning the body for tension and softening it, instead of pushing straight through.
Even pausing for a moment before responding or allowing one task to properly end before starting another, can help interrupt the mental autopilot that keeps stress quietly accumulating.
The American Psychological Association highlights that stress becomes harmful not only because of its intensity, but because of a lack of recovery. When there are no pauses and no moments of awareness, the nervous system never gets the signal that it is safe to stand down.
Slowing down is not about doing less. It is about protecting mental health by creating small pockets of recovery within the day. As work continues to evolve and accelerate, the ability to slow down intentionally and without guilt is becoming an important mental health skill. Not because we cannot handle the load, but because our minds were never designed to move at full speed all the time.
Taking care of your mental health doesn’t require a perfect routine or big changes. It begins with noticing when you are moving too quickly and giving yourself space, even briefly, to reset. In the end, the question isn’t how much you can get through in a day. It’s whether you allow yourself enough presence to notice what’s happening as it’s happening.
And sometimes, the quiet act of simply pausing is enough to remind us that our mind belongs to us, and not to the endless flow of thoughts and distractions.
Article written by Brenda Debattista, Senior HR Executive
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