Rest is Radical: Why Nurses Must Learn to Switch Off
Jul 06, 2025
I just got back from vacation.
It took me two full days to stop scanning for problems.
Two days before I stopped mentally checking in on everything I’d left behind at home.
This time, it wasn’t patients I was worried about — I haven’t worked clinically for years.
But I’d left my 18-year-old son at home in charge of the dog… and my husband’s parting words to him were:
“Don’t burn the house down.” 😅
Even poolside, with a book in hand and nothing pressing on my calendar, my brain didn’t get the message to relax.
It was still problem-solving, anticipating, planning — just like it was trained to do for decades.
That’s the thing:
As nurses, we’re conditioned to stay on high alert. Always.
From our earliest training, we learned to scan for what could go wrong.
To notice what others don’t.
To be ten steps ahead — just in case.
And that mindset doesn’t disappear when we step away from the bedside.
It follows us into our personal lives.
Even into our vacations.
Even into our rest.
What I realized during this trip is:
Rest is not just about physical recovery. It’s about giving ourselves mental permission to stop.
To stop fixing.
To stop anticipating.
To stop holding it all.
Because underneath all that “doing” is a part of us that simply wants to be.
If you’ve forgotten what rest feels like — or if stillness makes you restless — you’re not alone.
But let me remind you:
You don’t need to earn your rest.
You don’t need a reason.
You’re allowed to stop.
Not because it’ll make you more productive.
But because you are human — and you matter too.
What helps you switch off and truly rest?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
