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One week ago, I walked into my local pharmacy and got my COVID-19 booster shot.

According to the pharmacist, the side effects (if I felt any) would be equal to or less than what I experienced after the second shot, which was pretty rough. But I left the pharmacy feeling nothing but a little pain at my injection site and mentally preparing to work a slightly shorter shift at work the following day.

The next morning, I woke up in unbearable pain.

Pain any time I lifted or moved my left arm in any direction.

Pain when I breathed in too deeply.

Pain in every muscle and joint and fiber of my body.

Pain at my temples, behind my eyes, shooting down my neck.

But life doesn’t stop for pain, so I carefully got out of bed, took my dog out for a walk, and silently prayed the whole time that my body would stop feeling like utter sh*t as soon as possible so I could be a person again.

I logged on to work at 8 a.m. And at 8:15 a.m. it hit me—I can’t do this. 

I couldn’t be a functional person. I couldn’t take care of my dog. I couldn’t sit upright in front of a computer for the next eight hours and pretend to be capable and efficient. I couldn’t do anything but lay down and wait for the pain to ease up.

Because while it’s true that life doesn’t stop for pain, that didn’t mean I couldn’t.

So, I gave myself permission to rest.

Permission to crawl under the covers and close my aching eyes.

Permission to watch silly Christmas movies that always end with the girl getting the guy on Christmas Day.

Permission to not be a helpful employee or a dog mom or a girlfriend or anything but a person who feels awful.

Permission to say no.

But we don’t have to wait until we’re teetering on the edge of exhaustion or burnout to give ourselves permission to lie down—in fact, if we wait until then, it might be too late.

Here are nine types of rest we all need and deserve to give ourselves, courtesy of author Sylvester McNutt:

 

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Which one do you need most?

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