The Burnout Nobody Talks About (Until You’re in It)

Let’s just talk, person to person. No “rise and grind” energy here, I promise. Actually, this is a safe space for anyone who’s tired of all that hustle nonsense.

You ever notice how “How are you?” has turned into this weird contest? 

People practically compete to see who’s the busiest, like if you admit to getting eight hours of sleep, you’ll get side-eyed for slacking. 

If you tell someone, “Actually, I’m doing good, I’m rested, I took a walk,” they look at you like you’ve got three heads!

Honestly, somewhere along the way, we started wearing burnout like a cool accessory. Like, “Look how many meetings I survived today!” or, “I only drank four cups of coffee, so I’m basically on vacation.” 

It’s kind of ridiculous. That’s not being a go-getter, that’s just running yourself ragged.

And burnout? It’s not just being tired. It’s when your brain feels full of fog, your body’s dropping hints that it’s over it (hello, weird headaches and grumpy moods), and even normal stuff like hanging out with friends starts to feel like work. The things you actually like doing? Suddenly, you can’t even remember the last time you did them.

But here’s the sneaky part nobody warns you about: burnout isn’t always dramatic. 

It’s not always some big breakdown or dramatic quitting moment. 

Sometimes it’s just a whole lot of nothing - you feel numb, you sorta check out, but you’re still showing up and pretending everything’s fine. You look like you’re thriving online, but inside, you’re just trying to make it through the day.

And, you know, we make it worse by acting like being exhausted is something to brag about. People post those “living my best #hustlelife” coffee pics and pretend it’s glamorous. 

But honestly? If you’re always tired, your body’s waving a big old red flag.

If anyone tells you, “That’s just how life is,” you don’t have to believe them. You’re allowed to set limits. You can rest - that’s not laziness. You can say “no” without writing a whole essay about it.

So if you need someone to say it’s okay to take a break, here it is: you’re allowed to stop before you hit the wall. You’re human, not some kind of work robot. And trust me, your value isn’t about how much you get done before you collapse.

Burnout isn’t just something that has to happen. If we stop pretending it’s cool, maybe we can actually avoid it. And let’s be real, nobody’s Instagram feed is worth more than your peace.