To think “burnout” is the new humblebrag?

Burnout is real.

After 25 years in a high-pressure career, with a number of insanely difficult managers and clients in that time, I finally cracked at the end of last year. I was having nightmares and couldn’t gather my own thoughts. I worked brilliantly I’m sure but I was hounded at work. Like a PP, a situation arose one day and I just walked out of work and never went back. If not even taken my coat off or put my bag down that morning and I just walked out and left my job and in fact my career behind. I then had to go through a gruelling settlement process, because actually I was in the right. I couldn’t afford not to work. I wasn’t trained to do anything else. And I hardly even had to make a decision about leaving that day. It was like I was on autopilot, it was a split second decision the likes of which I’d never made before.

6-7 months later I have another job paying about a third of what I was on and I’m scraping by. I can’t even think of working in that sort of environment ever again. I look at those sorts of jobs and it just feels like a massive head wreck.

I think I probably have/had burnout.

I want to thank you op for highlighting a taboo. Burn out is a taboo, not a humble brag. It’s a source of shame usually it happens to the most committed and hardworking in society, and viewed by them as some kind of weakness or failure. The very last thing they would ever brag about. It is easier to talk about cancer or anything else quite frankly.

I see what you mean - I don't think I've ever heard it from anyone though. I think most people who have really experienced it find it very difficult to talk about, because it feels like you failed to cope.

She's not. She mocking people who've appropriated a phrase describing a serious condition to mean they've got a lot on. See also 'I was traumatised by...(insert every day mishap of choice)'

The brag is that they are so incredibly hard working, important and necessary that they have to push themselves beyond their endurance to meet their extensive and vital commitments. With the extra brag being that they're so incredibly hard working important and necessary that they only get to ' be on the verge' of burnout before summoning just that bit more. Because they couldn't afford to give in on account of being so vital.

Same here, I would mumble long covid, I felt weak.

Same here, dry heaving in the morning, tachycardia, night terrors, panic attacks. Was fucking awful. Had a flippant manager like op who made it worse by taking the piss.

This. Real burnout is horrible. Why are you mocking it op, is it a specific person?

I cannot explain burnout, especially in my case where taking time off work to deal with it wasn’t possible, so I had no choice but to work through it and not tell a soul.

The months where it was the most acute have left me with a large grey streak in my hair, white lines across each of my nails which I am still growing out, and a speech impediment which may or may not be permanent. It brought me to my knees literally and I have very little memory of the hardest times for days or weeks at a time. I know I functioned as I have no choice but to do so but the marks it has left are horrendous and have put me in the hospital more than once.

I’ve had burnout for 25 years. It’s debilitating. It’s ruined my life

The Japanese have word for this:

karōshi (過労死)

working yourself into an early grave for your employer and it being an honour to do so.

their work / life culture over there is shocking. 😟

I think what OP means is that some people would rather say "I'm suffering from burnout" than "I'm tired" or "I'm overworked", because the latter two are boring everyday conditions, whereas the first sounds more special and might elicit more sympathy.

Not throwing any shade on people who genuinely get burnout - it sounds horrendous. But the term is definitely entering the lexicon of therapy-speak that has crossed into ordinary language, and is being used because it sounds impressive.

Im not sure brag is the right word. But if op means what I think she does. There is this weird culture where you're not doing enough if you are not exhausted. There was this thread about adults having lazy days and people saying they feel guilty if they watch tv. To me this sounds like a "butnout" culture. Don't get me started on how early people need to wake up.

You forgot the sitting olympics.

How many hours someone has sat at their desk on zooms without having a wee or getting a biscuit.

"I didn't MOVE for seven hours yesterday!"

"oh my gosh well I didn't move for nine!!"

🙄🙄🙄

always people that you'd think would have no problem saying "been back to back, can we start in five minutes? Just need to nip to the loo and make a tea"

edit - not saying this is burnout. This is annoying stuff said by people who would claim to be burned out but actually aren't (yet..?)

Of course it is totally different. That's why I said "claim to be burned out when they are not".

In what way is it a brag though? Even if they don’t mean burn out in the true sense they are surely saying they couldn’t cope with their commitments or demands so it’s not really a brag is it?

Burnout almost finished me. The physical manifestations of burnout are unbelievable. I hadn’t had a day off sick for 12 years and one day I shut my laptop and never went back. That was in January and I’ve only just started telling people that I suffered with burnout, now that I am starting to feel myself again.
Burnout really is no joke.

This is very very very different to actual burnout. Burn out is not play acting or competitive in the work place. People are hospitalised with burnout.

Iv had the worst 22 moths of my life.
Im a strong character a doer who would always power on and take on any challenge.
I feel like im a shell of my old sepf.
I no longer laugh or sleep or read or enjoy life!!
I’m stumbling along trying to right myself whilst navigating kids, business, special needs kiddo, chronic pain, and money problems 😭 I hate that Iv let this happen I’m not weak or to be pitied I just want to feel normal again.
so respectfully 🤫🤫

Burn out gave me a chronic illness that I’ll never recover from. Did I mention it? No, I was too embarrassed. I take more care of myself these days. Solidarity with anyone suffering this outcome. I can’t get over this thread..or the op…

It’s the opposite for me, I’ve been ashamed to admit to anyone about my burnout.

Real burnout is one thing, people using it as a throwaway term to mean "I'm a bit tired" like people use OCD to mean "I bleach the toilet and hoover everyday" is another.

My advice for recovery:

sleep. Eat. Do very little else.

I went to the beach a lot and just sat on it. (January)

Well, I’ve just quit my high paid job due to burnout. I’ve not told a single person that’s why I’ve quit, not even my husband. So, no, definitely not a humble brag.

I’m sure some people have guessed that’s the reason given that I’ve quit in the middle of a high stress project without another job to go to, and have told people (whilst crying) that I’m taking a 3 month break. But still have never uttered the words out loud.

I’ve just re-checked the symptoms online, and unfortunately I have basically every symptom outlined. I don’t even know how to start recovering from this let alone how to prevent it happening again. I also don’t really think that I will be ready to work again in 3 months time.