Category: Burnout
-
When I Couldn’t Remember the Last Time I Laughed for Real
It wasn’t that I never smiled or made jokes. I still did. But there came a moment where I realized I couldn’t remember the last time laughter felt unforced — the kind that rises…
-
When My Days Off Didn’t Feel Like Mine
Days off once felt like something to look forward to — space where I could exist outside the rhythm of work. Over time, however, even that time felt tethered to the job: checked schedules,…
-
When I Felt Relief When My Shift Was Canceled
I didn’t expect to feel relief when I saw my schedule update. But that moment — brief, unexpected, and oddly quiet — revealed something I hadn’t fully acknowledged: the tension I carried wasn’t just…
-
When I Realized I Wasn’t Fully Breathing
I don’t know when it started — but somewhere along the way, my breath shortened. It wasn’t panic, it wasn’t fear. It was something quieter: a body that had forgotten how to fully let…
-
When I Felt Grief Over the Patients I Couldn’t Help
Some losses don’t knock you off your feet — they settle quietly in the background of your thoughts. Over time, I began noticing a gentle ache for the patients whose outcomes I couldn’t change,…
-
When I Didn’t Know How to Answer “How Are You?”
Every shift someone asked, “How are you?” at the start or end of a conversation. At first, I knew exactly how to respond. Later, I barely knew what to say. The question became a…
-
When I Noticed My Body Was Always Bracing
It wasn’t just during hard shifts. It was during quiet moments, too — my shoulders tense, my jaw set, my breath shallow. At some point, I realized my body had learned to brace as…
-
When I Started Planning Bathroom Breaks Like Procedures
At some point I began to schedule even the smallest needs into my shifts as if they required strategic timing. A bathroom break didn’t feel casual anymore — it became another moment to calculate,…
-
When I Cried in My Car and Called It Normal
It wasn’t a breakdown in front of someone else. It was a quiet release in the driver’s seat, after a long day, when the weight of everything I’d carried just slipped out. And afterward,…
-
When I Knew I Wasn’t Just Tired
Tired used to mean needing sleep, a nap, a weekend to recharge. But then it changed. What I felt wasn’t fixed by rest — it was deeper, heavier, more woven into how I was…