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If you have enough saved up. Take 1 year of work, disconnect from the rat's race, go to parties, go dancing, chill at a park, let people look down on you for b

If you have enough saved up. Take 1 year of work, disconnect from the rat's race, go to parties, go dancing, chill at a park, let people look down on you for being unemployed. Hang in there, buy only the things you need. Slowly you'll realize what's important, you'll find yourself. And you'll come back stronger than ever, with a different attitude towards careers, jobs and you'll learn to be human and just BE. EDIT: YMMV, Not advocating for social isolation and complacency

dezeiner 4y ago
Appreciate your advice, but this is generally what I've done in the past year, save for a few gigs, and it has only worsened my mental health due to the lack of structure, stimulation, and engagement that having work and colleagues usually brought.
jonfromsf 4y ago
This is risky advice. Many (most?) people need social context to create meaning and will get depressed if they don't have a job to do and people relying on them. Look at what happens to people when they retire.
- the_gastropod 4y ago
  What happens to people when they retire?
- nvarsj 4y ago
  Yes this is what I discovered. Being on your own for extended periods without anything to do can be terrifying and even worse for mental health.
- kbrannigan 4y ago
  Not advocating for social isolation! Maybe work is where you find meaning socially. But there are : church, gym buddies, so many other social outlets. I'm saying it's okay to not WORK for a living. You can work on hobbies, things that bring you joy, volunteer, but just not be on a 9-5 schedule and just chill for a while, to recover.
- wnolens 4y ago
  I agree. I did exactly as the above comment suggested, and ended up much more depressed after the fun time ran out. Definitely take time off, but impose a limit on how long you are completely aimless for, or without feedback that you're growing in some way.
shortcake27 4y ago
I’m in the exact position as the OP. In fact this feels like a description of myself. I could barely achieve the simplest of tasks, so I quit my job. I just did nothing at home for a bit, now I’m backpacking. It’s been 2 months and so far my mental health hasn’t improved one bit. I still feel like my brain is trapped in mud; anything that requires minimum mental effort takes an insurmountable amount of energy. I’m not any happier. I might even be less happy. The only good thing is that I’m no longer letting people down. I’m not convinced I’ll feel any better in a year.
- TylerLives 4y ago
  Imo, that's perfectly normal and to be expected. If you're part of a bad system, leaving that system will often be worse at first, but hopefully better in the long run.
- kbrannigan 4y ago
  If today you only had 20% to give, and you gave it. You gave 100%. If today all you could do was: Brush your teeth then go back to bed. You've accomplished. We are not PRODUCTIVITY MACHINES. We are humans, just like birds are birding, squirrels are squirreling, bees are beeing? I'm not saying to stay complacent, but we humans in this current society have set ourselves for failures. OMG! I'm not making 250k a year, i'm a failure, I don't have a TRILLION dollar startup, I'm a failure (not saying you feel this way) but you get my point.
  - hirvi74 4y ago
    > OMG! I'm not making 250k a year, i'm a failure, I don't have a TRILLION dollar startup, I'm a failure (not saying you feel this way) but you get my point. I struggle with this thinking. My job is nothing glorious -- boring, plain SWE state government work. I feel unvalued and unchallenged, but I also do not feel confident enough in my abilities to make any meaningful changes. What if I leave and/or and can't find anything? What if I find something and cannot perform well enough to keep it? I feel like I am not "ready" to leave because I need to gain more valuable skills and knowledge, and I won't get it at my current position (Gov isn't really known for being up to date or using highly valuable tech stacks). I know I could probably accomplish more if I buckled down and put in the work, but I just don't have the mental energy or drive to do so for some reason. But what if I do land some killer gig? Will I finally be happy? Probably not, and I never want work to be my entire life -- just a means to fund other areas of my life. So, I often flip-flop on if this whole "career game" is even worth playing. . .
scott-smith_us 4y ago
I did this and then spent two (unplanned, additional) years trying to find another gig. I burned through maybe 2/3 of my savings doing this, and that made for a lot of stress and some dark days. A break from work is definitely a good thing, but I'd add the suggestion that you get as solid a promise/prospect of re-employment as possible to eliminate stress during your time off.

dezeiner 4y ago

Appreciate your advice, but this is generally what I've done in the past year, save for a few gigs, and it has only worsened my mental health due to the lack of structure, stimulation, and engagement that having work and colleagues usually brought.

jonfromsf 4y ago

This is risky advice. Many (most?) people need social context to create meaning and will get depressed if they don't have a job to do and people relying on them. Look at what happens to people when they retire.

the_gastropod 4y ago
What happens to people when they retire?
nvarsj 4y ago
Yes this is what I discovered. Being on your own for extended periods without anything to do can be terrifying and even worse for mental health.
kbrannigan 4y ago
Not advocating for social isolation! Maybe work is where you find meaning socially. But there are : church, gym buddies, so many other social outlets. I'm saying it's okay to not WORK for a living. You can work on hobbies, things that bring you joy, volunteer, but just not be on a 9-5 schedule and just chill for a while, to recover.
wnolens 4y ago
I agree. I did exactly as the above comment suggested, and ended up much more depressed after the fun time ran out. Definitely take time off, but impose a limit on how long you are completely aimless for, or without feedback that you're growing in some way.

shortcake27 4y ago

I’m in the exact position as the OP. In fact this feels like a description of myself. I could barely achieve the simplest of tasks, so I quit my job. I just did nothing at home for a bit, now I’m backpacking. It’s been 2 months and so far my mental health hasn’t improved one bit. I still feel like my brain is trapped in mud; anything that requires minimum mental effort takes an insurmountable amount of energy. I’m not any happier. I might even be less happy. The only good thing is that I’m no longer letting people down. I’m not convinced I’ll feel any better in a year.

TylerLives 4y ago
Imo, that's perfectly normal and to be expected. If you're part of a bad system, leaving that system will often be worse at first, but hopefully better in the long run.
kbrannigan 4y ago
If today you only had 20% to give, and you gave it. You gave 100%. If today all you could do was: Brush your teeth then go back to bed. You've accomplished. We are not PRODUCTIVITY MACHINES. We are humans, just like birds are birding, squirrels are squirreling, bees are beeing? I'm not saying to stay complacent, but we humans in this current society have set ourselves for failures. OMG! I'm not making 250k a year, i'm a failure, I don't have a TRILLION dollar startup, I'm a failure (not saying you feel this way) but you get my point.
- hirvi74 4y ago
  > OMG! I'm not making 250k a year, i'm a failure, I don't have a TRILLION dollar startup, I'm a failure (not saying you feel this way) but you get my point. I struggle with this thinking. My job is nothing glorious -- boring, plain SWE state government work. I feel unvalued and unchallenged, but I also do not feel confident enough in my abilities to make any meaningful changes. What if I leave and/or and can't find anything? What if I find something and cannot perform well enough to keep it? I feel like I am not "ready" to leave because I need to gain more valuable skills and knowledge, and I won't get it at my current position (Gov isn't really known for being up to date or using highly valuable tech stacks). I know I could probably accomplish more if I buckled down and put in the work, but I just don't have the mental energy or drive to do so for some reason. But what if I do land some killer gig? Will I finally be happy? Probably not, and I never want work to be my entire life -- just a means to fund other areas of my life. So, I often flip-flop on if this whole "career game" is even worth playing. . .

scott-smith_us 4y ago

I did this and then spent two (unplanned, additional) years trying to find another gig. I burned through maybe 2/3 of my savings doing this, and that made for a lot of stress and some dark days. A break from work is definitely a good thing, but I'd add the suggestion that you get as solid a promise/prospect of re-employment as possible to eliminate stress during your time off.