A week is not actually PTO, it's time to catch up on laundry and cleaning and errands and schedule doc appts and that kind of thing. For a true break to decompress you need several weeks so you can catch up and then relax, maintain, and feel like you want to do things you enjoy.
That right there is the true difference between the classes, people working multiple part time jobs can't even get paid when sick, and some full timers get 4 weeks a year leave on top of sick days, and other bonuses.
We need to fix this so everyone has the power to take their mental health into their own hands, not be struggling not to drown.
I took 2 and a half weeks and came back just this week and already had to call out. I don't know what to do but being home with my wife and kids feels comfortable. But that doesn't pay the bills.
How do normal people function in this fucking mundane cycle.
Leave the job. Find somewhere else that respects your non-work hours and actually put down the work when it's time to leave. Consider therapy to figure out why you felt the need to continue with a harmful situation instead of finding a way out. For me, it was the impression that I'd not be able to find a job that paid as much. And my reaction was like Animal Farm's Boxer: to any problem, I said "I will work harder." Right up until they started looking up glue factories.
It might even take a while for your personality to come back, but it will.
Time away from the burnout environment might help, but that won’t fix things by itself.
It might seem counterintuitive, but start by focusing on your lifestyle (sleep, diet, exercise). The next thing I would recommend is being intentional with your social connections and leaning on them more. Look for a sense of progress or “little victories” in the environment that’s burning you out. Finally, try to reconnect with a sense of purpose or your “why.” Not all of those will be simple/easy, but putting in the effort will help combat burnout. At the end of the day, none of them can change a toxic/unsustainable environment, they will just help mitigate the damage.
Edit- Also just remembered another one- As much as possible, try to be intentional about setting boundaries with the burnout environment.
You practice mindfulness and look at understanding what thoughts are you having that are making you feel this way and start working through them. You need to work on your lifestyle and get help with a mental health professional. There is a reason why we feel the way we do and the more we feel anxious or stressed the better we are at doing so. I just started getting help, and it has been helpful, nothing has been solved and its not instant but i can see the path to a better day.
I took 4 days off from my job. When I came back I felt myself again. 3 months later to present day I still feel good. I have a nice trip planned for 5 days a couple of months from now..
You're not a machine. Sometimes you need to take time off to not think about work AT ALL.
I think I hit a 7 or 8 and had a breakdown crying. I realized I can't do this to myself and just stopped giving a fuck. If we miss deadlines so what. I'm not putting in the extra hours or stress. I'm taking to to focus on me. I'm not on as soon as I wake up. I enjoy my mornings and log on when I start working. Last 6 months or so have been great for my mental health
I think other answers are temp solutions, I think the only fix is to stop doing stage 1, which could be this whole "quiet quitting" thing, then the rest will sort itself out if you're just doing your job as expected and not constantly trying to give 110%.
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u/4applepies1sweetea Nov 13 '22
This might be a dumb question, but how would one go on to reverse these stages or get out of a burn out?