Rest Is Resistance: Stress, Systemic Inequity, and Why Rest Is a Radical Act.

STRESS IS NOT JUST PERSONAL—IT’S STRUCTURAL

Every April, Stress Awareness Month reminds us to take inventory of our emotional well-being. We’re encouraged to drink more water, meditate, and breathe through our stress. But for many of us—especially those who exist at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities—these reminders feel incomplete. Because stress, in our experience, isn’t just internal. It’s not just a personal health issue. It’s systemic.

Black communities, Indigenous peoples, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ folks, and disabled individuals face chronic stress that is rooted not just in circumstance, but in structures of oppression. These stressors go far beyond tight deadlines or daily obligations—they’re baked into how we navigate healthcare, education, housing, and employment. They’re built into unequal pay, racial profiling, and generational trauma. They live in being unseen, underestimated, and overextended.

Research has shown how this kind of persistent inequality takes a toll on the body. Chronic stress contributes to real, measurable health disparities—higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, depression, and maternal mortality. And yet, many of the solutions we’re given focus only on individual behavior without addressing the environments and systems that create such unrelenting pressure.

This is where Tricia Hersey’s work becomes essential. As the founder of The Nap Ministry and author of Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto, Hersey reminds us that rest is not just self-care—it’s a political act. Her message is simple but profound: “Rest is resistance.” In a world that was built on the exploitation of labor—especially Black labor—reclaiming rest is a refusal to be complicit in systems that view us only through the lens of productivity.

By centering rest as resistance, Hersey calls out capitalism, white supremacy, and grind culture for what they are: systems that commodify the human spirit. In her view, we aren’t meant to grind ourselves into the ground. We are meant to live, breathe, create, imagine, and—importantly—rest.

UNLEARNING PERFECTIONISM AND RECLAIMING REST

For those of us conditioned to believe that success means constant achievement, rest can feel deeply uncomfortable. We grew up with messages like “practice makes perfect,” internalized the pressure to always outperform, and learned to equate our worth with how much we do. But that mindset is not only unsustainable—it’s harmful.

Letting go of perfectionism is one of the most powerful steps we can take in reclaiming our well-being. Personally, I’ve been on a journey of unlearning the idea that practice makes perfect and embracing the belief that practice makes progress. Progress gives us room to grow, stumble, learn, and evolve. It leaves space for rest.

Perfection, on the other hand, is a moving target. It demands all of our energy and still offers no guarantee of acceptance, belonging, or peace. It convinces us that we must earn our rest, that we don’t deserve breaks until the to-do list is complete or the outcome is flawless. But that’s a lie many of us have inherited—and one we can choose to release.

In my own life and work, I’ve had to practice relinquishing the feeling that I need to perfect everything. I now understand that holding myself to unrealistic standards doesn’t make me stronger—it makes me tired. And tired doesn’t equal fulfilled.

What rest has taught me is this: I can be in motion without racing. I can be committed without being consumed. I can care deeply and still step away. And when I do, I show myself a kind of love that’s not conditional on performance.

Choosing rest isn’t about doing less because you’re lazy. It’s about doing enough because you’re human. It’s a quiet but radical act of saying: I matter, even when I’m not producing. I deserve care, even when I’m 

IMAGINING A CULTURE WHERE REST AND PROGRESS COEXIST

So how do we begin to practice rest as resistance in real life, especially when the world continues to celebrate burnout and perfection?

The truth is, it takes courage to rest when you’ve been taught that stopping is weakness. But rest isn’t weakness—it’s wisdom. It’s remembering that your energy is sacred. That your value isn’t negotiable. That your ancestors, who were denied rest, paved the way for you to choose a different path.

Rest can look like many things. A 10-minute moment of stillness in your car. A full weekend off without checking email. Saying “no” to a request that drains you. Or simply sitting with your thoughts and doing absolutely nothing—without guilt.

To truly integrate rest into our lives, we need to:

• Redefine productivity as something that includes reflection, creativity, and stillness—not just output.

• Reject urgency culture, where everything feels like a fire drill and speed is prized over sustainability.

• Normalize boundaries that protect our energy and create space for rest, even in high-performance environments.

• Celebrate progress over perfection, recognizing that every small act of care moves us forward.

And on a larger scale, we need to build systems—at work, in education, in healthcare, in policy—that prioritize human well-being over bottom lines. We need leaders who model rest, organizations that allow it, and communities that support it.

Tricia Hersey’s vision is one of collective rest culture. A world where everyone, not just the privileged few, has access to deep, restorative rest. A world where healing is centered. Where our nervous systems are not constantly in survival mode. Where we no longer feel like we must earn rest through pain, exhaustion, or perfection.

Rest isn’t the opposite of ambition—it’s the foundation of sustainability. When we embrace rest, we reclaim our imagination. We tap into creativity, joy, vision, and purpose. We build the capacity to resist injustice, nurture relationships, and rise with intention.

FINAL REFLECTION

What would it mean for you to stop chasing perfection and start trusting your progress?

What would it feel like to rest—not because you’re exhausted—but because you’re worthy?

This April and beyond, let’s honor our bodies, our stories, and our wholeness by remembering:

Rest is resistance. Progress is powerful. Perfection is not required.

You deserve to rest.