Member-only story
Burnout — when tiredness hurts
For the purpose of this story, let’s call her Sam.
Sam has been my friend since childhood. She is a happy optimist, she works hard and reaches her goals. She is an overachiever and she ticked all the boxes of a ‘good kid’ who grew up into an awesome woman. Until she broke down.
Sam was ordered a medical leave due to burnout. Three months, that’s how bad it is. But if you ask me — I’m not sure that will be enough. She is a shell of the woman she used to be.
In the last year, Sam was constantly busy and simultaneously didn’t have time for anything. Even if you would ‘score’ a lunch with her, it wouldn’t happen without her phone pinging at least fifteen times each half-hour.
“This company would fall apart without me,” she used to say.
What she didn’t realise is that she could also fall apart without herself.
Soon after that last lunch we had, Sam stopped returning my calls, and I wasn’t the only one. She worked from home all the time, morning to evening, with excuses like, “I’m so lucky to have flexible working hours.” One of the best modern lies.
When I asked her how did she decide to see a professional about the burnout, she said:
It started hurting, and I just wanted it to stop.
