Why is it so hard to 'switch off' from work?

An injury put the writer on bed rest for weeks, and it forced her to relearn the true meaning of rest.

- Lianne Chia

It had been a busy few weeks at work, and it was about to get worse. I was covering for a colleague on leave and was set to work two consecutive Sundays on top of my usual weekday duties. I had steeled myself for a long, hard slog — and I was constantly on edge.

Then, the day before I started my work week, it happened. I bent over to pick up some clothes on the floor — and felt a pop in my back, followed by sudden, excruciating pain.

As a young (or so I thought) thirty-something, I optimistically assumed it was a muscle strain that would go away with a few hours of rest. But hours later, I still couldn't straighten my back much less walk. I was forced to accept reality: This wasn't ordinary.

I reluctantly headed to the hospital, where I discovered a spinal disc injury. And as the doctor bluntly told me, I wasn't going anywhere, least of all to work. It was a hospital stay, followed by bed rest for at least the next few weeks.

Some part of me probably knew this. But my mind was in overdrive. I had to work the next day — a Sunday — and the rest of the week. Who was going to cover for me? Perhaps I could work from my hospital bed? Could I get my laptop sent over?

In short, I was in denial. Big time.

WHY COULDN'T I SWITCH OFF?

Going from a state of all-out frenzied activity to total rest might seem fairly extreme. But how many of us are having the same trouble on a smaller scale, on a regular basis?

With technology and work-from-home arrangements increasingly blurring the boundaries between our work and home lives, we may think nothing of quickly shooting off an e-mail or work-related message after hours or while we're on leave.

It won't take us long, we reason, to respond to something — and we won't be greeted by an overflowing inbox when we return.