You're Not Lazy, You're Tired: Why Rest is the Real Resistance
You finally get a break — and instead of feeling relief, you feel guilt. The laundry’s still piling up, your inbox is still full, and your brain whispers, “You should be doing more.”
So you push through. Again.
Because somewhere along the way, you learned that rest must be earned — that slowing down makes you lazy, unmotivated, or weak.
But what if your exhaustion isn’t laziness at all?
What if it’s your nervous system begging for a reset?
In my work providing somatic therapy in Massachusetts, I see this every day: high-achieving clients who feel stuck in cycles of burnout, anxiety, and self-doubt — not because they’re doing too little, but because they’ve been doing too much for too long.
Hustle Culture Has You Gaslighting Your Nervous System
We live in a culture that rewards over-functioning. We idolize being “booked and busy,” romanticize the grind, and shame rest as laziness.
If you’re someone who’s used to being the responsible one, the fixer, the one who always shows up — chances are, you’ve internalized this belief system. And when your body finally forces a pause, it doesn’t feel like permission. It feels like failure.
This is where somatic therapy can change everything. It helps you stop blaming yourself for symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, or procrastination — and start understanding them as signals from your nervous system.
What Looks Like Laziness Is Often a Survival Response
When you’re burned out, your nervous system isn’t functioning in a regulated way. You might be stuck in fight-or-flight, or the opposite: freeze or collapse mode.
That drained, disconnected fog that makes everything feel overwhelming?
That’s not laziness. That’s your nervous system’s way of protecting you.
Through somatic therapy, we learn that burnout isn’t just mental — it’s physical. It’s your body saying, “I can’t keep going like this.” And if you struggle with anxiety, perfectionism, or people-pleasing, this cycle can hit even harder.
In fact, many of my clients who seek out anxiety therapy don’t realize how exhausted they really are — because they’ve been powering through with sheer willpower for years.
Rest Is Radical (and Necessary)
Here’s the truth no one tells you: real rest is uncomfortable when you’re used to chronic stress. It can feel aimless. Unproductive. Even scary.
But rest is also where healing begins.
Not just sleep — but intentional, nervous-system-calming, soul-level restoration.
That’s why somatic therapy is such a powerful tool for healing burnout and anxiety. It helps you come back into connection with your body, so rest no longer feels like a threat — it feels like relief.
Rest is not weakness. It’s resistance.
It’s you saying: I don’t have to earn my worth through exhaustion.
If Rest Feels Impossible, Start Here
If you're used to measuring your value by how much you get done, rest can feel like a risk. But small, body-based shifts can help:
Try a 10-minute pause with no screens, no goals, and no multitasking.
Give 80% effort instead of 110% — and notice what happens.
Let rest be messy: watch TV, take a nap, lie on the floor — no justification needed.
Tune into your body: is it asking to move, to stretch, or to simply be?
Say no once this week — and honor the space that creates.
Journal prompt:
What does my body need right now — and what permission do I need to give myself to honor that?
You’re Not Lazy. You’re Tired. And You Deserve Support.
If this resonated, know you’re not alone.
Many of the clients I support through somatic therapy in Massachusetts come to me thinking they’re lazy — when really, they’re exhausted, dysregulated, and unsure how to come down from survival mode.
If you’re navigating burnout, perfectionism, or chronic anxiety, somatic therapy can help you reconnect with your body, set better boundaries, and rest without guilt.
And if you’re looking for anxiety therapy that doesn’t just treat symptoms but gets to the root — through body-based, evidence-informed care — I’d love to support you. Reach out today to see if therapy with me is a good fit.
You don’t have to earn rest.
You just have to remember that you’re human.