The Struggle To Relax

Recently I got married which is one of the most amazing things to have ever happened to me. The day was perfect and I married my best friend so it was a good time all-around. While, to some guests at the wedding, I seemed calm and relaxed, to my closest friends, they knew that I was stressing big time. Not about the person I was marrying, just about the tiny little details which at the end of the day don’t really matter.

You see, I’m a control freak. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s accurate. I like being in control. I like knowing what’s going to happen. I was a nervous and stressed out wreck the week of my wedding and it wasn’t until I got into my dress on the big day that I started to relax and ending up having one of the best days of my life.

My husband and I (ahh that still feels so weird to say) went to Koh Samui for our honeymoon. One of the main reasons we went there was because we wanted a relaxing holiday. We toyed with the idea of going to Europe or to New York but decided that we wanted to relax, so didn’t want to go somewhere where there was heaps to do.

Koh Samui is beautiful, an island paradise where the water is warm and the cocktails are cheap. We were only there for 7 nights and while I was initially worried that it would be too short a time, it ended up being the perfect length. Why? Because DG and I started to go a little stir crazy. We had purposefully booked a resort which was secluded and where we had our own private plunge pool so we could relax, recharge and spend some quality alone time together.

And we did that, for a few days, and then we started thinking about what to do next. We did a boat tour where we went kayaking and snorkeling and another tour where we rode elephants, visited an aqaurium and I got to hold a baby tiger. We went to night markets at a local village where we went a bit crazy buying things and eating food off street carts. Koh Samui is a laid back island and that’s pretty much all there is. DG and I both felt a bit restless and started talking about where our next holiday would be because, as it turns out, we like to be busy.

For months I was talking about how excited I was to go on our honeymoon and relax without realising that my control freak nature means I struggle to relax. I especially struggle when overseas because it seems like a waste to travel all that way and do what you could have done at home. Since we’ve been home, DG and I have been fairly busy setting up house, returning to work/uni and we’re both rather exhausted.

With no wedding or honeymoon to organise and the search for a rental no longer required, we’ve found ourselves with a lot of free time on our hands. While we’ve been relishing this, we’ve also found the lack of things to do unsettling. Who knew relaxing could be so hard?

Do you struggle to relax? How do you unwind?

Photos supplied by author

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