In at least two of my previous jobs, I have experienced burnout. Everybody knows the reason for why a burnout happens: work overload, bad boss, and here’s my favourite “You just don’t know how to handle a bit of stress”. Yes, we all have stressful moments in life, but a burnout isn’t a bad day. It’s a series of bad days. A couple of months. A year. Two years. Three…
If you think burnout is just another “fad”, or those who burnout are just too sensitive, then I would like you to hear me out for a moment.
Nobody chooses to be burned out. It’s not a delightful experience, you see.
It’s waking up every day with anxiety only to go through the same stress level over and over again.
It’s being unable to focus, or to remember what you had for lunch.
It’s being irritated and exhausted all the time.
It’s getting off at the train station near your office only to call your sister to come rescue you because you’re having a full-blown panic attack, your lungs forgot how to breathe, your hands tremble, and the creepy tingling sensation all over your face doesn’t seem to leave you alone.
It’s being coaxed into looking at your achievements and how valuable you are.
It’s losing your humanity because you’re unconsciously being trained to make others lose theirs.
It’s having your debilitating physical, emotional and mental health whitewashed into “she gives her 110 percent”. But I don’t think after a train wreck, anybody points at the train and says “well, at least that thing was fast!”
If you’ve chosen to break out of this cycle, then know that I’m cheering for you. It takes immense courage and self-love to quit what once seemed like an indispensable part of your life.
You are brave for having quit that boss, that office culture, that company or even that industry. Take a moment and know that you rescued yourself.
But the recovery from burnout is painfully slow. So give yourself the time you deserve to heal. And remember, the only thing office pizza parties ever fixed is the evening hunger pang.
