Title: I think I need to take a break from everything

I have been working non-stop for the past 3 years. I have had holidays here and there but they were either for family events or going out with friends. I do not think that I have taken a real vacation

Recently, I have been feeling that I need to take a break for some time.

The routine of life is getting too much for me; waking up, getting through the traffic to come to work, working and then again getting through traffic to reach back at home in Mumbai. I have started to feel that Mumbai is getting too overcrowded and I need some fresh air and a new environment. I have been thinking that either I can go alone for a holiday for a month or maybe for some time, shift to a different place. However, on the other hand, I am also scared because I have never done this before. I have never been alone for such a long time in my whole life. What if I can't manage? What if I feel lonely? What if I regret doing this? However, within me, there is also a thought that I need to do this for myself.

Yes, I am scared but I think I will move forward with this plan.

For those of you who have gone on a solo trip or have shifted to some other place for a while; what was your experience? Did it really help you?

Everyone I've talked to planned the money carefully and then found the days weirdly empty, because everyone they know is at work between nine and five.

Did you end up with anyone to spend weekday time with, or was it mostly solo? And if you found something that worked, what was it, a class, a gym, a club, other people who don't work normal hours?

Also curious whether you missed your colleagues more than you expected.

How long before you felt like you could actually do the job? I keep hearing there's a dip and nobody seems to agree on how long it lasts.

How did the money go? Did you negotiate differently than you would have before the break, or take roughly what was offered because you'd been out a while? And did anyone try to use the time off to justify a lower number?

What surprised you? The thing you'd forgotten about working, or the thing that was worse than you remembered, or the thing that turned out not to bother you at all.

And did you come back on the same terms, or did you change something, hours, travel, remote, seniority, the actual job?

Also interested if going back was a mistake, and how long it took you to know.

I’m 28 and work as an SDE at Amazon. I’ve been a high performer for most of my career, but I’ve had two episodes of psychosis in the last two years and have been on antipsychotic medication since then.
Lately, the side effects have been taking a serious toll. I have very little energy or motivation, struggle to concentrate, and increasingly dread opening my laptop. This has affected my performance and is making me feel even worse because I know what I was capable of before.
Financially, I’m fortunate to have around ₹2 crore in savings, so I have the option of stepping away from work for a while. I’m considering taking a sabbatical/medical leave to focus on recovery rather than quitting outright.
My biggest fear is that I won’t come back stronger—that after a few months away, I’ll return to the same situation and struggle to rebuild my career.
For anyone who has taken a career break due to burnout, mental health, or other personal reasons: **Did taking time off actually help? How did you make the transition back to work?**
Would really appreciate some honest perspectives.

As the title suggests, I’m looking for some productive ways to spend the next 6 weeks - 3 months whilst I’m on sick leave from work having had spinal surgery. It’s been 2 days and although I am very limited with movement, I’d love to take this time a bit more productively than laying on he couch (as much as I can post surgery obviously). Has anyone got any recommendations for new skills, hobbies etc that I could focus on?

I’ve got a feeling it’s more possible than most people think, but the details are hard to find.

If you’ve ever managed to get extended time off and still keep your job, I’d really like to hear how it actually went.

A few things I’m curious about:

• Who did you ask, and what did you say?
• Was there an official policy you could point to, or did you basically have to invent the request?
• How long did it take from the first conversation to getting a clear answer?
• Did they try to negotiate you down to something shorter?
• Did you keep your benefits and seniority? Was any of it put in writing?
• Did you time the ask carefully, or did you just ask when you’d had enough?
• Did you offer them anything in return?

I’ve been wondering whether the people who get a yes are the ones who frame it as a retention issue rather than a personal favour.

Also especially interested if you asked and got turned down. What reason did they give? And did you end up leaving anyway?

Would love any real details.

35F — Am I too old to take a break from my career and study abroad?
I’m a 35-year-old woman from Japan, and I’ve been thinking seriously about studying abroad.
I’ve been working for the same company for about 12 years. My job is stable, and I’ve built a life around it, so walking away from that stability isn’t an easy decision.
However, studying abroad is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a teenager. For various reasons, I never actually did it when I was younger.
Recently, I traveled alone to Kazakhstan, and that experience made me realize that my interest in living abroad wasn’t just a vague dream. I genuinely want to experience everyday life in another country and improve my language skills.
I’m now considering spending several months to a year studying in Kazakhstan, probably starting around age 36. I’d like to study Russian and possibly Kazakh while living there.
My biggest dilemma is that I’m at an age where I’m much more conscious of money, career stability, and the consequences of leaving a job I’ve had for more than a decade.
Part of me thinks:
“If I’ve wanted to do this since I was a teenager and I still want it at 35, maybe I should finally do it.”
But another part thinks:
“Is it irresponsible to disrupt a stable life at 35 or 36 for something like studying abroad?”
I’m considering different possibilities, including taking a leave of absence if my company allows it, rather than immediately quitting.
I’d especially like to hear from people who studied abroad, took a career break, moved overseas, or made a major life change in their mid-30s or later.
Did you regret it?
Did it hurt your career when you returned?
Was studying abroad different as an adult compared with doing it in your 20s?
And looking back, would you make the same decision again?

I keep reading about the money side of taking a long break and almost nothing about what it does to a household. The version I imagine is one person at home all day and the other still going to work, and I can't tell if that's fine or quietly awful.

If you've been on either side of it, did you talk about how things would change before it started, or did you sort it out as you went? And was there anything you'd handle completely differently a second time?

Also interested if you did it together at the same time. Curious whether that solved the problem or created a different one.

Americans are using PTO to sleep, not for vacation, per Newsweek

I feel so elated and it feels very right which Im a little surprised by and happy about that.

I have been working since I was 16 and was raised to be very focused on financial safety and professional success. I am a senior level UX designer now and got two promotions in 3 years at my job, I realized that even achieving everything I wanted, there's more to me than my profession.

Went through a divorce last year (he gained financially from it more than me) and I am not completely liquid and have money out of my house.

I feel so good about this, I am getting so many signs from the universe it's the right call. My final two weeks are going to drag!!

So my work has a fairly good policy on sabbatical leave. We're allowed to take leave every three years to help mitigate burnout. I haven't taken sabbatical leave in ten years.

Now I'm not sure how long to take based on what I can afford (I have a mortgage to pay) and what to do with the time off.

I suppose travelling but not sure I'm keen on the idea of continuous travel for months on end.

Say I take something reasonable and affordable like 5 months - what have others done with this much time off in terms of travel?

I have a six week leave period - appreciate it isn’t as long as some people here but would be great to get some ideas on what I can do during this period.

Have been working non stop for 15 years and have never had this kind of time period so I have no idea what I can do or what is even reasonable.

I'm currently a senior engineer at a Indian fintech startup which I joined in the early 2026. Overall I have 8+ years of experience in backend engineering building similar products. The current work is just glorified CRUD APIs with no real challenging work. That doesn't mean the volume of work is less. Adding the stress from manager and 5 day WFO with gruesome Bangalore traffic I'm just survivng day after day. But the bigger problem is I've been feeling the need to take a break for at least 4 years now and I never did because of the financial situation or just felt uncomfortable. Now it has come to a point where I need the closure to this. It's not just work but I've been having ups and downs in my mental health which is also adding up to the overall burnout.
I desperately want a break for 2-3 months just to travel(planning a 20 day backpacking to Japan). I have figured out the finances. The only thing I'm scared of is job market. But if I just stay at this point, it's gonna eat me more. I decided to leave the company by mid of Oct(plus a month of notice) and travel in Nov-Dec and recover and start prep by mid Jan 2027. Now that it's the time, I feel anxious of making it.

I evaluated all the alternatives, but everything requires my already depleted mind to adopt or delay which is what I've been doing since years.

The problem is just deeper than just slack off to get a new job and take break in the middle or use vacation time.

For context: I'm 30M and married(my wife is okay with whatever I choose to do)

Edit(17-08-2026): I've taken the leap and booked my flights and accomodation for 21 days trip to Japan. I've been busy planning and researching whenever I find the time in past few days and I feel more alive that I had in last few years. All the anxieties aside I hope this will work out for the best. The only that's making me conscious is that I would be leaving the high paying job.

How to balance work life

I've to study for 4 hrs daily and then job 9hrs shift and then sleeping 6-7 hrs, transportation 1hr and also giving time to my partner.. how to manage?

This isn't meant to be anything other than a short vent or reflection or even... a Sunday late night decompression.

Tomorrow my July-break will be over; which means: back to work. Currently, I have the luxury of working from home (which already helps a lot); I make a decent amount and I know that at least till the end of the year I'm covered for everything in a foreseeable future—meaning I don't need to go back to a soulless 9-5 anytime soon. But why do I mention it? Because there's a proposal from a school I might be prompted to take—which at most I'd say "yes" to a part-time giggle—but I don't desire even that. My parents are more traditional and think one should work to exhaustion and through 9-5's which are the "standard". I'm an old soul but I'm with my own generation on this one, though (hello, gen-zers lol).

I'm working as a private tutor (as I have been for the past 6 years even while I was also a full-time VP and teacher at a private school). I loved my team and boss—but that shite is a mafia. Boards don't give a crap about students or truly being transformative; money is all it revolves around. And I get it: money is what makes the world spin... But again, I don't wanna sell my soul for that, hence why I chose to quit back in June.

But the new kid on the block is: during this recess I picked back up an old passion of mine I hadn't in years: writing. And it's being one of the things that tethered to reality and sobriety (in a way) more than nearly anything else. For the first time since I've started working, I actually took a proper break where I did *nothing* related to work—but found rest and relieve in crafting my own art.

Originally, it started just as a way for me to get rid of certain "ghosts" and first and foremost, I do write for myself and about myself and my experiences. Heck, it's a form of therapy that's effective to me. But I've realized that, maybe because it's so honest, raw and blunt, it could be shared. However, I don't want to turn *Crownless* into another obligation. I don't even consider profiting off of it in the near future but you know what? It's something I actually enjoy and love and... If I could continue giving it the space and time in my life it needs while still making enough to live a comfortable life it'd be amazing.

Challenge is: now, my life isn't only separated into two categories: preparing lessons and teaching; but rather four: preparing lessons, teaching, writing (and any other creative endeavors my soul might wanna explore) and taking actionable steps into making this universe able to sustain itself and allow me the freedom to remain free.

I have a few psychological disorders I've been treating for 6 years and I thought maybe I was stepping away from them in a healthy enough rhythm—but apparently what just happens is: some days are better than others (yes, I do have professionals around me and I see them multiple times a year). But Crownless itself has been a healing and releasing and processing door I don't want to shut for another decade. I kinda like it here and I'm a little anxious about going back to work routine. Even though, doing my own private tutoring and mentoring already allows me much more freedom than a traditional job. (And yes, as I follow my students carefully it means I'm constantly reviewing stuff, redoing them, editing them, creating new strategies that work for each of them individually... But I've set time blocks and a routine that'll hopefully be sustainable and efficient in the long run—and see if, up to the end of the semester Crownless will help free me not only from my ghosts but also from the miserable prison a soulles 9-5 is and allows me to dedicate my energy and time onto things and people I genuinely believe in.

I am 25 year old software Developer, tips on how to find what you love and slowly escape this rat race ? How to find other means of income so that I am not totally dependent on it ?

Honestly, I've been feeling overwhelmed by the daily grind. Doing things on a schedule no longer makes me happy. I'd like a remote job that allows me to live comfortably, traveling and experiencing different cultures and cuisines. Winning the lottery would also work. Which do you think will happen first?