Importantly, the rest Haig describes isn’t necessarily passive. It can mean boundaries, routine, and deliberate reduction—turning off notifications, attending fewer obligations, or building gentle structure around sleep and nourishment. These decisions require agency, especially for people who equate worth with motion.
Anecdotally, many recovering from burnout describe a difficult middle phase where doing less feels unbearable, as if identity is tied to productivity. Yet that interval often precedes clearer thinking and renewed capacity. In that way, rest becomes not a detour from healing but the method by which healing proceeds. [...]
