Burnout that feels different from finals week.
BURNOUT THAT FEELS DIFFERENT FROM FINALS WEEK.
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We walked out of our ivy-clad gates, diplomas clutched tight, convinced we were ready. Years of late nights, relentless deadlines, and intense competition had forged us into high-achieving machines. We mastered the academic sprint, pushing through finals week exhaustion with the promise of a break on the horizon. But then came the professional world, and a transition nobody truly warned us about.
This isn't just about adapting to new office politics or learning industry jargon. It's about a deeper, more insidious kind of pressure. The mental health landscape in the working world is uniquely challenging. The finish line is no longer a semester's end or graduation day. It's a continuous, often ambiguous marathon where the demands never fully cease.
That familiar burnout from finals week? This is different. That was an acute, intense burst of exhaustion, typically followed by a tangible rest. This new burnout is chronic, a low hum of depletion that permeates everything. It’s the feeling of never quite catching up, of an endless to-do list, of constantly performing without the clear benchmarks or built-in support systems campus life provided. It can feel isolating, like you’re the only one struggling when everyone else seems to be effortlessly thriving. It’s okay to acknowledge this. You are not alone in finding this transition weird, demanding, and unexpectedly heavy.
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