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You are balancing all of the world's weight on your shoulders until one small thing on a random day makes you just stop. You’re not giving up; you’re not even sure how to rest, but what you are sure of is that you’re mentally exhausted. You may also notice that your mental exhaustion impacts your physical health or work life. It isn’t an easy place to arrive, but everyone can relate to being there at one point or another.
The factors that lead someone to mental exhaustion are also incredibly personal; maybe it’s work, your fertility journey, a recent miscarriage, or just the day-to-day stress of trying to conceive. No matter what makes you feel exhausted, the important thing to remember is that you deserve to rest, self-care, and recharge.
Here are 13 quotes to help encourage you no matter where you are on your journey.
Quotes encouraging rest
Sometimes, we all need the extra push to rest and take time for ourselves. These quotes are a gentle reminder that self-care is not selfish.
"If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit." —Banksy
"And I felt like my heart had been so thoroughly and irreparably broken that there could be no real joy again, that at best there might eventually be a little contentment. Everyone wanted me to get help and rejoin life, pick up the pieces and move on, and I tried to, I wanted to, but I just had to lie in the mud with my arms wrapped around myself, eyes closed, grieving, until I didn’t have to anymore." - Anne Lamott
"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." — Audre Lorde
"Just when you feel you have no time to relax, know that this is the moment you most need to make time to relax." — Matt Haig
“People who are hurting don't need Avoiders, Protectors, or Fixers. What we need are patient, loving witness. People to sit quietly and hold space for us. People to stand in helpful vigil to our pain.” — Glennon Doyle Melton
"Self-care is how you take your power back." — Lalah Delia
Quotes to reflect on while you rebuild
If you set your mindset on rebuilding after recharging, we want you to feel empowered and encouraged to do so. Below are a few quotes that can help you keep the momentum going as you pick back up after feeling mentally exhausted.
“You have survived everything you have been through, and you will survive this too.” - Matt Haig
"There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn't." - John Green
“At our lowest we find the solid ground of our foundation. And we can build ourselves anew." - Matt Haig
"It’s never overreacting to ask for what you want and need." - Amy Poehler
"When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower." — Alexander Den Heijer
“I'm not a mess but a deeply feeling person in a messy world. I explain that now, when someone asks me why I cry so often, I say, 'For the same reason I laugh so often--because I'm paying attention.' I tell them that we can choose to be perfect and admired or to be real and loved. We must decide.” — Glennon Doyle Melton
"If you drop the weight you are carrying, it is okay. You can build yourself back up out of the pieces."— K. Ancrum
Vivian Nunez is a writer, content creator, and host of Happy To Be Here podcast. Her award-winning Instagram community has created pathways for speaking on traditionally taboo topics, like mental health and grief. You can find Vivian @vivnunez on Instagram/TikTok and her writing on both Medium and her blog, vivnunez.com.