What it Means to Rest #3: [Organizing Your Life] Creating a Comfortable Daily Routine

Hello, this is Hibiki✨️
This time, we will look at the third of the four stages of "rest":
"Organizing your daily life in order to rest."

Click here for the second part, "Knowing your state of mind"👇

Your room is filled with the "you" of the past

A while after I became bedridden, I realized something.

I was bothered by the magazines piled up in the corner of my room.

They were magazines about an artist I had supported since I was in elementary school.

After I went to graduate school, my room's bookshelves were taken over by specialized books, which eventually encroached onto the floor.
Most of my manga, having nowhere else to go, were taken to Book-Off. When I picked up the magazines to see if I should dispose of them too, memories of my youth came flooding back, and I couldn't bring myself to throw them away. They ended up sitting in the corner of my room for years, gathering dust.

It had been a long time since I had even kept up with their new songs.

When I finally decided to list them on Mercari, they sold in an instant. I even received messages saying, "Thank you for these precious items!" and "I will treasure them!"

Ah, things that belong elsewhere have finally found their proper place, I thought.

As for me, with the pile of magazines gone,
the dust bunnies that had accumulated around them were gone too,
and I felt like my room had become a little more spacious.

From "a place to return to sleep" to "a place to live"

Until now, my home was just a place to return to sleep.
Even if it was a bit messy or if I accumulated unnecessary things, it was fine as long as I could sleep.
But by living a "semi-bedridden" life, my room transformed from a mere "box" into a "living space."

That is why I think the "old pile of magazines," which felt out of place in a "living space," started to catch my eye.

Discarding discomfort, increasing peace of mind

Since then, I have started to discard "things that feel out of place" and replace them with "things that bring peace of mind" and "things that are comfortable."

• Curtains: Replaced with high-performance ones, and with automatic opening/closing, I wake up feeling refreshed.

• Bedding: Switched from T-shirts and shorts to long-sleeved double-gauze pajamas. To combat the cold, I put a hot water bottle at my feet when I sleep😊

• Storage: Bought two racks to increase floor space and cleanliness.

• Air: Had the air conditioner professionally cleaned to keep the air clean as well.

I thought I had made a 'great discovery' that simply organizing my food, clothing, and shelter would dramatically improve my QOL (quality of life), but then a certain book surprised me.
That was when I realized I was wrong.

Wisdom on 'How to Rest' That Has Remained Unchanged Since Long Ago

It was about two years after I took a leave of absence that I picked up Nightingale's 'Notes on Nursing'.

The 'tips for recuperation' that I had been organizing through trial and error
had been articulated
over 160 years ago.
And apparently, it is still required reading for nurses today.

When you hear 'hot water bottle,' what do you think?
If it were the old me,
I probably would have laughed it off, thinking, 'Yeah, yeah, I know. That thing people used in the old days.'

Not knowing that it would become a
miracle item in my recuperation life.

Things that were trivial when I was healthy
become 'life wisdom' when you are recuperating.

I felt the way I saw the world changing.

People are also part of the living environment

When you get sick, the way you 'interact with people' also changes.

First of all, the number of situations where I had to rely on someone increased.
Not just in terms of daily life, but also mentally.
I would become weak-willed or even self-destructive.

At times like that,

Who do I rely on?
Whose words do I listen to?
Who do I keep at a distance?

That became just as much a part of my life as what I wear, what I eat, and where I sleep.
In other words, it became part of my daily life, just like food, clothing, and shelter.

Sometimes, I would worry about
'how I should get along with this person.'

Surprisingly, 'Notes on Nursing' also
depicted many patients struggling with 'people' and 'society' just like I did.

It seems that the distance between people is also
part of the 'living environment' that needs to be organized.

Increase the number of people you can rely on to avoid the 'unexpected'

The most familiar people are the family you live with. They are often the first people you turn to when you are in trouble.

On the other hand, even if they are family, they are separate individuals.
I cannot simply say, 'Walk through life as my caregiver.'

Even so, when you are recuperating,
you find yourself making 'requests' on a daily basis.
The fact that I 'could not read the reaction' to those requests was a major source of stress for me.

Will they make a disgusted face?
Will this lead to an argument?
I'd rather just do it myself.

This state of mind in patients
is also pointed out in 'Notes on Nursing'.

So, in order not to push yourself too hard,
what can a patient do?

That is,not to limit who you rely on.

The people you can rely on are not limited to just your family.
It might be friends, visiting services, or frozen meal delivery services (which also lightens the burden on your family).

For example, in my case.
I used to ask my father
to drive me to the station for my hospital visits,
but things were always somehow out of sync (laughs).

I realized that was more stressful than the hospital visit itself,
so I decided to take the plunge and rely on my aunt,
or use a taxi instead.

And then, my monthly hospital visits became surprisingly comfortable...!

Gathering the courage to rely on various people.
By doing so, my life became a little easier.

Not being swayed by words of 'goodwill'

If you have ever battled an illness, you have likely experienced this. People who lecture the sick about 'relying on others' and offer 'advice'.

Regarding those who offer meddlesome advice and encouragement 'without knowing if it is safe or realistically possible' for the patient, Nightingale says this:

I know, right? (laughs)
I was actually told these things too.

'Isn't it just PMS?'
'Aren't you worrying too much?'
'It's because you don't build up your physical strength. Why don't you exercise?'
'I don't think that treatment is effective, though.'

Whether it is advice or encouragement, if it makes you feel uneasy,
gently distance yourself from those voices.
If you are concerned, you can simply consult your doctor.

Follow the 'voice of your body' rather than the 'voice of society'

A little while before I went on medical leave,
when I was discussing working from home with my boss,
there were words I heard from those around me.

“You seem perfectly fine, though.”

Does he know?
That I would lie down on the office sofa for two hours as soon as I arrived, and do the same to rest my body before leaving. That without doing so, I couldn't even stand up due to the overwhelming fatigue and the pain that felt like it was piercing my entire body.

However, it is also true that I tried to work harder than anyone else in front of others to make up for the time I was resting. Looking back now, I realize that was merely borrowing energy from the future, and I think it actually made the situation worse.

Combined with that personal experience,
these words from Florence Nightingale struck me.

The true state of a patient cannot be understood by looking at just one point.

Even so, there are times when one is judged only by how they appear in that moment.
If you look healthy, people ask, “Are you really sick?” and if you look even a little bit happy, they might say, “But you’re on medical leave.”

However, I do not think it is a healthy relationship to worry about such voices and put on a face that looks like a sick person.

What is important is whether that 'effort' or 'luxury' is truly good for your body. I believe we should listen to the voice of our body, not the voice of society.

Creating a comfortable daily routine

Throwing away magazines that have piled up.
Wearing pajamas with high breathability and moisture-wicking properties.
Relying on various people and distancing yourself from those who hurt you.

Creating an 'environment for resting' during recuperation
was nothing more than a few tips
for anyone to lead a healthy life.

When you become ill,
both your mind and body can no longer tolerate 'unnecessary things',
so perhaps that is why I was able to realize its importance.

Even at my age,
I had never thought deeply
about the environment for living.

That is surely because, if I looked outward,
there were so many attractive things.

Traveling, reading books,
hanging out with friends, or taking on challenges for the future.

Organizing your life is somewhat plain and often gets put on the back burner.

It's like wearing worn-out underwear beneath fancy clothes.
We tend to cut corners on the things that aren't visible.
We tend to cut corners on the things that aren't visible.

First, let's praise ourselves for having lived so hard out in the world until now.
lived so hard out in the world until now.

But from now on, I want to explore within myself what it is that truly feels comfortable to me.
What are the things that feel comfortable to me?
I think I will try to search for the answer to that within myself.

Creating such a new daily routine might also become an important form of 'rest time'.
important form of 'rest time'.

Next time, the topic is 'Ask your body about your body'.