Not because I was being dramatic.
Not because I “couldn’t cope”.
But because my body finally reached the point where it simply refused to keep going.
Recently, my employer let go of around 30% of the workforce. My entire team was cut down in the process. Overnight, I went from a manageable workload to effectively doing three roles at once, while also being absorbed into a completely new team structure.
Like most people would, I told myself I just needed to push through the first few weeks. I thought if I kept my head down long enough, things would settle and the chaos would calm down.
At the same time, I was still running Earthy Crunch UK after work. So my days became:
Full time job by day.
ECUK by night.
Repeat.
Sleep started disappearing first.
Then meals.
Then any real downtime.
I was basically running on stress hormones and stubbornness.
And because I am used to being productive, I did not even fully realise how bad things had become. I kept convincing myself that once I packed the next orders, answered the next message, got through the next meeting, then I could rest.
But burnout does not work like that.
Your body keeps score, even when your brain insists everything is fine.
Eventually I started getting warning signs that I ignored completely. Constant headaches. Shakiness. Brain fog. Chest tightness. Feeling emotional over the smallest things. Waking up exhausted no matter how little I had slept.
And still, I carried on.
Because that is what so many of us do.
We normalise overworking. We praise people for running on empty. We treat exhaustion like a badge of honour instead of what it actually is, a warning sign.
Until your body forces the issue.
Mine did.
And sitting in hospital, completely drained and feeling like a shell of myself, I realised something very simple.
None of it was worth getting to that point.
Not the unread emails.
Not the deadlines.
Not the orders waiting to be packed.
Not the pressure I was putting on myself to keep everything and everyone else moving while ignoring myself.
The clay is not going anywhere.
The orders can wait.
A 9 to 5 is just that, a job.
And no business, employer, side hustle or obligation is worth your health.
I am sharing this because I genuinely hope someone reads it before they reach their own breaking point.
Please listen to your body.
Rest when you need rest.
Eat properly.
Drink water.
Sleep.
Step away from the laptop.
Leave the dishes for tomorrow.
Answer the message later.
Take the sick day.
You are not helping anyone by burning yourself out completely.
One of the hardest things to accept is that the world keeps moving even when you pause for a moment. The orders still get packed. The work still gets done. Life continues.
But you only get one body.
Stress has a way of convincing you that everything is urgent. That everything depends on you. That stopping means failure.
It does not.
Sometimes stopping is the smartest thing you can do.
And if you are currently in that cycle of overworking, under eating, under sleeping, and telling yourself you will rest after the next thing, please take this as your sign not to wait until your body makes the decision for you.
Take care of yourself first.
Everything else can wait.
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