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How did you climb out of burnout without quitting your job entirely?
I'm at the point where I dread Monday from Saturday afternoon already. Heart palpitations,…
274 views
Completely burnt out. Should I take no-pay leave or just quit?
I've been running on empty for months, dreading Mondays, snapping at everyone, not sleeping. I can't tell if I need a real break or a whole new job. Has anyone taken no-pay leave to recover, and did it actually help or just delay the inevitable?
Anonymous asker ·Asked on 19 days ago ·744 views ·4 answers
This page contains personal experience shared by users about Wellbeing, not professional advice. For important decisions, please consult a qualified professional or official channel.
Best Answer
Confinement Nanny Auntie Poh Beginner First-hand experience Confinement nanny 18 years, helped many new mums with breastfeeding, baby sleep and confinement food.
Took two months no-pay leave at the edge of a breakdown, and it probably saved my career, maybe more. Here's what I learned. First, see a doctor, burnout this deep can tip into clinical depression or anxiety and you shouldn't self-diagnose, a GP or the polyclinic can refer you. Second, no-pay leave helped ME because my job itself was fine, it was the sustained overload and a rough patch at home that broke me, the break let me reset and I came back clearer. But if the job is the disease, the toxic boss, the impossible workload baked into the role, then no-pay leave just delays the reckoning and you'll crash again in month three. Be brutally honest about the source. Use the break to rest first, not to job hunt frantically, and only decide about quitting once you've actually slept and can think straight. Don't make a life decision while drowning.
Anonymous contributor Beginner First-hand experience
Please talk to someone properly. I white-knuckled it for a year thinking I just needed to push through, and it got much worse. There are affordable options here, your company EAP if it exists, or the national helplines and community counselling. Snapping at everyone and not sleeping are real warning signs, not weakness. You don't have to figure this out alone.
Physio Coach Marcus Beginner First-hand experience Physiotherapist and part-time run coach, can advise on IPPT prep, knee pain and not injuring yourself gym-ing.
If you can afford it financially, don't quit into a void with no plan, that anxiety of no income can make burnout worse. No-pay leave keeps your safety net and health insurance while you recover and think. But do the sums, can you survive the unpaid months? If not, negotiate reduced hours or a genuine holiday first. There are middle options between grinding and quitting.
Anonymous contributor Beginner First-hand experience
Whatever you choose, the first week of rest should be actual rest, sleep, sun, walks, no productivity guilt. So many people take a break and immediately fill it with self-improvement projects and stay burnt out. Your nervous system needs boredom to recover. Give yourself permission to do nothing for a bit, it's not lazy, it's medicine.
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