Rest Isn't a Reward. It's a Right

There's an idea so deeply embedded in our culture that it barely raises an eyebrow anymore: the idea that rest is something you earn after you've been productive enough. It shows up in seemingly harmless phrases like "Get some rest, you've earned it." But beneath those words lies a specific belief, one that suggests our bodies are only allowed to stop after meeting a certain quota of effort.

The age of mass productivity drugs

“It's worth remembering that the mad person does not express only their madness. They also expose the insanity of the society in which they live.”
Eliane Brum, in Listen to the Mad

The Productivity Trap

I used to wake up at 5:30 every morning. The first thing I did was make coffee. I drank so much of it that I started calling it "a bucket", and then caught the bus to the hospital where I worked. I arrived already restless, mentally running through every problem that had come up overnight.

The Underground City of the Forgotten

Buenos Aires has two famous cemeteries: Recoleta, a well-known tourist spot with guided tours and paid entrance, and Chacarita, which is less well-known and still in use for burials, funerals, and cremations.

Toxic Positivity: A Very Old Problem With a Brand New Name

Many years ago, when I was around 12, my mother gave me a book she had loved as a child: Pollyanna. The story follows a poor girl who plays what she calls "The Glad Game," the goal being to find something good in every situation. At one point, she receives a pair of crutches as a charity gift. She doesn't need crutches, but instead of feeling disappointed, she celebrates the fact that she doesn't need them.