The Quiet Gift of Social Hibernation

Key points

Social hibernation restores energy and keeps you within your window of tolerance.

Intentional rest strengthens authentic connection rather than performative engagement.

Knowing your limits is psychological wisdom that supports emotional well-being.

The faces told the story long before anyone spoke. In my evening art therapy class, the room glowed with the dim amber light of a winter sunset, but the students looked washed in grey. Eyes heavy. Bodies slumped. Expressions drifting somewhere between weary and defeated. These are graduate students who usually enter class buzzing with creative energy, swapping stories from their practicum sites, passing around charcoal sticks and water pens like candy. But that night, the spark was gone. When I asked them how they were feeling,