what is your opinion on pausing in the middle of playing a map (whether to take a break or for something else)?
I hearing that it's seen as bad/cheating to pause during a map, and then continuing to play the map from where you paused to set a new score.

it depends. personally id say that its ok to pause if the following criteria are met:
its not a hard song stamina wise. like if pausing will only ruin acc because of the pause rather than help from a break then its not cheating bro

This question can apply to basically every rhythm game. Personally, I find it lame. I would call it cheating depending on the context, though it realistically is not and is just an option. That's just how distasteful I tend to find it.

If it's a tough and arduous map that takes up much, if not all, of your stamina and you pause, that's when I have problems with it. Did you run out of stamina in the middle of the song? Yes. Do I believe that should be the reason you failed the song or gotten a worst score? Also yes.
Did you pause to recollect yourself and calm your nerves? That is so incredibly lame, though that mainly comes from my RoBeats experience where pausing is not an option.
I just don't like the idea of stopping a song while it is in the middle of playing, or a chart mid-play to gain an advantage. Yes, it's an advantage everyone has access to, but I feel like it destroys the whole difficulty of maps if you memorize a spot where you can pause then can go "give me 5 seconds to readjust, rest my fingers, and figure out this pattern and the next few sections in my head" when you have like a 400ms reaction window or less or more, then have that be a top play even locally.

I'm fine with it if you feel pain mid-song and can't ignore it, though I would hope you quit out instead of endure it. As well, I am fine if it's some marathon and there are either very obvious break sections or you have sat there for like 15 minutes and want to get up or readjust yourself before your legs detach from your hips or your back caves in. Basically, reasonable IRL interference, though that is very subjective.

Its okay but only if you're saragi bc he's cool as hell

If you feel the need to do it the do it, else do not. Simple. Losing a play due to a pause unmade is worse than actually having a paused score.

It's fine, just don't make a habit of doing it.

Honestly, I don't see the big deal. As long as you're not constantly pausing or doing it right before every hard part just so you could regain stamina, it really doesn't matter that much. Pausing isn't cheating unless you're abusing it.

Thanks guys for all your perspectives!

I'm gonna be honest, pausing in the middle of a map to recollect myself was a bad habit I developed back when I first started getting back into mania again in December/January. But I've started trying to unlearn that now, since I ed what I heard about it giving an unfair advantage.
I do find myself still having to pause the song relatively often though, because I have to play on the floor and the positions I end up settling into aren't comfortable/healthy for my body, especially my back. It can take me a good while sometimes to find a position that I'm comfortable in and able to play well, and then I usually start to get uncomfortable again after like 15-20 minutes at most.
My fingers also sweat a lot sometimes, to the point where I struggle to play the map cause my fingers keep slipping off my sayo device and making me miss, so I pause the map to wipe it down quickly and continue playing. But I think that is another problem in itself. (I tried playing with gloves once but I felt I had less grip on the keys than I did with my sweaty fingers)