One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.

In a chapter on fatigue in his 1930 book about happiness and unhappiness, Russell argues that exhaustion can distort judgment and make people feel unable to stop working. He presents the belief that one’s work is crucial and that taking time off would cause catastrophe as a warning sign of an impending breakdown, and he adds that a doctor should prescribe a holiday to anyone who thinks their work is that important.

Russell is criticizing the self-importance and anxiety that can accompany overwork. When someone is worn down, they may exaggerate the stakes of their job and treat rest as dangerous; he suggests that this mindset is not dedication but a symptom that rest is urgently needed.

“The more tired a man becomes, the more impossible he finds it to stop. One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster. If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considered his work important.”