You’ll want to send this episode to your friends who are perpetually exhausted, overcommitted, or anyone whose version of "rest" is actually just deep scrolling on the couch while their mind continues to run at 100 miles an hour. Did you know that sleep doesn't automatically equal recovery? Or have you noticed that after a supposedly lazy weekend, you sometimes wake up on Monday morning feeling more depleted than you did on Friday night? In this episode of But Are You Happy?, host Ashani Dante sits down with clinical psychologist, speaker, and mental health consultant Shuktika Bose to explore why modern rest no longer feels restorative. We go beyond the superficial self-care trends to uncover the psychological gap between simply stopping your body and actually switching off your brain. Together, they discuss why your nervous system keeps draining your battery like 40 background apps running on a phone, even when you are physically lying still. They break down the seven distinct types of rest, revealing why sleeping won't fix your exhaustion if you're actually lacking sensory, mental, or emotional downtime. Shuktika exposes the "earned rest" trap, examining how our culture has conditioned us to view a break as a reward for good behavior rather than a basic biological requirement. Finally, they confront the uncomfortable nature of stillness itself, and why stopping our frantic schedules can feel deeply threatening by forcing us to face the messy emotions we've been running from. The conversation also explores the heavy mental load carried by women juggling unpaid labor, challenging the toxic assumptions of hustle culture and offering small, realistic micro-habits—like the 90-second transition ritual—to help your body safely complete the stress cycle and find genuine peace. Support independent women’s media and get our biggest offer of the year. Subscribe here for 30% off your annual Mamamia subscription. Code applied at the checkout. Offer ends June 30. Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here. Watch But Are You Happy on YouTube. Follow us on Instagram here. Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP. Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review. CREDITS: Guest: Shuktika Bose Host: Ashani Dante Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown Audio and Video Producer: Marlena Cacciotti Social Media Producer: Olivia Colman If you want to support independent women's media, become a Mamamia subscriber. Get an all-access pass to everything we make, including exclusive podcasts, articles, videos and our exercise app, MOVE. Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we have recorded this podcast. Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
