When you're completely worn out

The alarm goes off, and your body refuses to move. By the time you get to work, squeezed onto a crowded train, it feels like you've already used up a whole day's worth of energy. And still, the emails keep coming in, and the work never seems to end.

You get home late after working overtime, and the chores are waiting for you. You don't even have the energy to cook. You eat something from the convenience store in front of a screen, and when you look up, it's already past midnight. The weekend goes by in sleep, and then Monday comes back.

Even the things you used to love don't move you anymore. Invitations from friends, your hobbies, everything feels like too much. Maybe you blame yourself for becoming lazy. But this isn't laziness. It's a signal that your body and mind have reached their limit.

Saying you need rest might make you feel guilty. Everyone around you is working hard, so you don't want to be the only one who falls apart. So you keep going a little longer, and then a little longer again, pushing past what you can really handle.

Many people, just like you, get through each day completely worn out, gritting their teeth. You are not the only one on the edge of burnout. Before anything else, take a moment to recognize how far you've come and how hard you've worked to get here.