Rest Without Guilt: Why It’s Harder Than It Looks

Rest isn’t a luxury. For neurodivergent minds and bodies, it’s essential — but guilt makes it harder to claim.

Unmasking Wellness EP 3

We live in a culture that treats rest like a prize. Finish your to-do list, hit your goals, survive the week — then you’re allowed to collapse. But the truth is, rest isn’t a luxury. It’s foundational.

For neurodivergent people, the stakes are even higher. Our rhythms are different — bursts of energy, deep crashes, sensitivity to sensory overwhelm. Sometimes our bodies demand more downtime than the world says is “normal.” For decades, I believed that made me lazy or weak. When I couldn’t thrive inside the nine-to-five hamster wheel, I thought I was failing.

But rest isn’t failure. It’s biology. It’s resistance. And it’s a kind of unlearning.

Capitalism and patriarchy want us to believe that our worth is measured in productivity. That message runs so deep, it’s hard to take a nap without shame whispering in the back of your mind. But when we recognize that these systems profit from our exhaustion, rest starts to look different. It becomes not just recovery, but rebellion.

One thing I remind myself — and my students — is that people don’t know what they don’t know. That doesn’t mean they get to dismiss our needs, but it does mean we can advocate for ourselves without carrying their guilt. Our bodies aren’t broken. Our rhythms aren’t wrong.

So here’s your reminder: you don’t have to earn your rest. You don’t have to apologize for it. Every pause, every nap, every moment of stillness is part of healing at human speed.

Categories: : Podcast Reflections