Yes it is your body warning you about the degree of longterm burnout that you are being forced to normalize by life that it cannot.
this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2026
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Not thinking about work for a couple of weeks has been soo relaxing. I'm starting to think I should just take a week off every once in a while just to help offset capitalism's constant demands. 40 hours my ass. I only work like 10 of those each week.
An option I found quite relaxing was, rather than taking a week off, take Wednesdays off for 5 weeks. Now you only have 2 day work weeks, and a day off when everything else is open and relatively quiet.
It's prooven multiple times that the brain doesnt relax after just 1 week.
I believe the relaxing actually starts after 2 weeks and after 3 weeks you actually benefit from the vacation.
Wednesdays off is a game changer. Highly recommend. Kids are at school, spouse is at work, the time is for you.
Mon or Fri days off almost always turn into travel, where you lose 50-100% of your 'vacation' to transportation.
The mid-week break lets you have two mini-work-weeks without feeling like you're abandoning your team and you are able to stay aware of the work situation.
A month of Wednesdays is like a solid week off, except you don't have to cram a week into that last Friday and then figure out what happened on the Monday after.
Great description. I especially didn’t think about Mon/Fri turning into “travel days.” You really sold me on this!
That sounds amazing. I'm definitely going to look into this!
I worked 4 10 hour days with Wednesdays off for an entire year at a previous job.
It was the happiest I've ever been while working.
Never working longer than two days in a row does something good to the mind and body.
I miss the 4 10's I worked at a prior job. That extra day off each week made a huge difference in my well being. Had time to both decompress and get personal stuff done. Hated the job though, management was demanding and unethical, so eventually quit.
There is quite a bit of scientific evidence that doing so also just makes you more productive at work, which might be the most infuriating part for me.
Yes, things tend to become "too much" after a while, including work. Could be related to autism or ADHD, or neither.
Part of it is the environment and sensory overload, like grocery shopping. It might also be the wild thoughts shooting around in my head, of things to do, what could go wrong with them, what would happen then, what I know and don't know. It's hard for me to get into a new things that I didn't choose, and that's what many jobs are all about. Thus even finding a new job would add to the problem, not solve it.
My solution was, for a long time, to take advantage of the good IT pay of the 2000s and 2010s, then long periods of time off. But I missed out on the opportunity to save up for retirement at 50, and now it'll be work until 70. My current job is 100 % remote, couldn't sustain anything else.
I can't take vacations because if I do I'll quit my job.
I don't come back refreshed and relaxed. I come back pissed that I have to continue slaving away just to barely survive.
Facts, Nothing like making somebody else rich
I think of this Onion article every time I come back from vacation
https://theonion.com/man-returns-to-work-after-vacation-with-fresh-reenergi-1819574342/
I've been off since 18th December and have no wish to return. I want to continue to eat cheese, chutney, and crackers at home whilst playing Atomfall. Wage-paying Bastards.
I've been dreading returning to work for the past week during break. Even more so now that RTO is mandatory for the the whole company. I'm desperately looking for remote work elsewhere but it's been fruitless so far. Why can't upper management just let its office workers do their jobs the best way they see fit? The announcement from a few months ago already worsened the attrition rate to at least one engineer every week.
Because they only know how to manage by walking around.
The problem is that the talent walks out.
I'm getting off a two week break. I wouldn't say I'm overwhelmed just... Exhausted by the thought.
Also think I should try week long breaks more often....
I want to quit every time my vacation is ending. I used to get so stressed out I'd stay up all night with an aching stomach the night before. I hate it here.
Anytime I have more than like, 4 days off, I always have a worry in the back of my head that I'll forget how to do my job lol. Its never happened, but I still always worry.
I get this ever time I switch jobs. Like “did I just forget a core skill I’ve spent my life so far mastering? I think I did. Or worse, I’ve been doing easy mode and now it’s gonna get too hard and I can’t do it”
But I always do fine 🤷♂️
I'm a freelancer but can't really shoulder the financial ups and downs. So I worry I can't find a stable job but I also worry I will find a stable job.
Amen.
I think a lot of people feel this way when they come back from break.
Especially if you hate your job, it makes sense that it adds to your feelings of being overwhelmed. The ADHD certainly doesn't help either. I'm sorry you're dealing with this pressure, my friend.
I'm not officially diagnosed, but I do get that feeling too when I have been on break. The transition from being on break to going back to work or vice versa is difficult for me.
I like routine. If I could choose, I think I would like for every single day to have the same structure with no breaks except for the ones I choose willingly. Christmas time is one of the worst for me because it is a holiday I don't have any control over. I can't postpone it or change it. It comes every years and if I'm not ready for it, it will disrupt my routine completely for two weeks (in my country Christmas break lasts two weeks).
I have accepted that breaks are necessary and that the world doesn't spin to the tune of my needs, so I try to deal with it as best I can.
My Christmas break ended a few days ago and since Monday, I have barely slept. I have racing thoughts, restless limbs and I feel stressed about work. I love my job and I'm really good at it, but the transition from one state to another is always difficult. It just is. Sometimes I hate it because I'm in a really good workflow and I don't want it disrupted. Other times I'm so exhausted that the thought of having to get back in the treadmill causes me endless stress.
It's rare that the transitions are easy. My spouse is not struggling with a hyperactive mind like I am, so he doesn't lie awake at night with racing thoughts and all that, but he does feel tired and exhausted after a break and it always take him a few weeks to get back into flow. I think it's a universal human experience to go through this, but if you have a disorder like ADHD or like in my case, ADHD-like symptoms, then it feels extra difficult to get back on track, because being on track is so hard in the first place.
Big hugs to you! I wish you the best, my friend.
I took today and tomorrow off, because my daughter's school starts Wednesday. It's good to start off with a short week. Friday will be a short day as always and then I'm fucking Off into the weekend. I fucking hate my job at the moment, because I was so stupid to become one of the most important people in my division. This is not bragging. It's a fucking curse. I hate every fucking second of work nowadays.
Edit: please excuse ye inflationary use of the word "fucking". I'll leave it as it is, because those convey my emotions on this topic.
I was laid off at the end of summer, and am just starting a new job this week. The level of anxiety is real, even knowing the new job is less responsibility (and money) than my previous one.
Good luck with your new "first day of school!" Hope it goes well!
It can be crushing.
Not looking forward to having to remember what I was doing before the break and getting back up to speed, which always takes a couple of days.
That said, I generally look forward to returning to a regular schedule. The rhythm of the working week helps keep me grounded and I miss it when it gets disrupted.
I am right there with you on this one.
I also feel this
I on the other hand am ready for my kids to go back to school where they have instructors who are trained, and staff to cook, feed and clean up after them, as well as friends to converse with that they can get their energy out with as opposed to constantly being all up in my face. I LOVE my kids so much but the office is gonna seem like a vacation. Note that I’m COMMISSION ONLY so it’s not like I’m not in a somewhat stressful spot there either….
I go back to the workplace after being off since 12/20. I am low-key fretting as I have 3-4 new staff starting tomorrow to prep tech for, and said tech came in barely two days prior to vacay; aka no time to prep them beyond getting them into our management system. And the above isn't even factoring in my day-to-day tickets.
Don't get me wrong, I like my job, but I like being off and lazy way more.
Oh yeah. I burned a personal day for Monday, so it'll hit me tomorrow.
Back to school in the morning after 2 weeks.
Halp.
I definitely feel this. It was worse before I was medicated too. One thing that's helped me, is getting on a schedule I like at work. It won't be possible for everyone, but I work 4 ten hour shifts, 9-8, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It means I never end up tied up in the same thing too long, and gives me more breaks, and an easier first day of the week.
It's going to be three weeks for me. While very relaxing, and I haven't found a new project, not looking forward to the day after tomorrow.
I'm bored, looking forward to going back to work.