When Calm Feels Dangerous: Understanding Rest Resistance with Annie Wright

Why does slowing down feel so uncomfortable for some of us? In this powerful episode, Dr. Amelia Kelley speaks with licensed psychotherapist and relational trauma recovery specialist Annie Wright about rest resistance, the anxiety, guilt, and discomfort that can arise when we try to pause.

Annie explains how early life experiences, relational trauma, and high-achieving personalities can wire us to equate rest with danger and productivity with safety. They explore how to tell the difference between healthy drive and a compulsion to keep going, and how cultural pressures can reinforce burnout. Annie also offers practical, compassionate tools for making rest feel safe again, starting small, reframing guilt, and learning to “go slow to go fast.”

Whether you’re a high achiever, a highly sensitive person, or someone who struggles to stop, this conversation offers the insight and strategies you need to create a sustainable, balanced life.

Key Takeaways:

• Rest can feel unsafe when trauma has linked achievement to love or safety.
• The key difference between drive and compulsion is having true choice in when to stop.
• Burnout often starts with self-doubt, apathy, and resentment toward what you once loved.
• High sensitivity and sensation seeking can complicate rest needs.
• Small, consistent rest practices help your nervous system adapt to stillness.
• Guilt over rest can be reduced by understanding where it began.
• Relationships can either support or undermine healthy rest.
• “Go slow to go fast” ensures long-term energy and passion.

Connect with Annie Wright:

Visit her website here
Follow her on Instagram

EPISODE LINKS

Dr. Amelia Kelley: About | Dr. Kelley's Books | Instagram