Case Study: What type of rest needs do you have?

The last two posts summarized Saundra Dalton-Smith’s ideas on the 7 types of rest. You can read the first one here and the second one here. I strongly recommend that you take time to focus on each type and examine yourself to see what you’re missing. Here is a case study.

Sarah has a full time job in healthcare as a nurse. The recent shortage of nurses means she works more than usual. She is also married and she has four young children. The oldest is 15 and the youngest is 3. Her two youngest children are ages 2 and 3. Recently, the 2 year old started to get clingy. The 3 year old started throwing tantrums. Her 12 year old is dealing with the emotional roller coaster of puberty. The 15 year old is dealing with school problems. On top of this, she and her husband have started having frequent misunderstandings and their conflicts are getting more difficult to resolve.

Let’s assess this: What types of rest(s) may Sarah need?

• Sarah needs emotional rest with regards to her relationship with her spouse.
• She needs physical and mental rest with regards to her work as a nurse.
• Perhaps she needs social rest away from her constant contact with people both at work and her children at home
• Creative rest may also be something that Sarah needs. It is not clear what she does for fun. She may not even have time for that.

This list is not exhaustive. But I hope this example helps you examine your situation and what types of rest you need.