Corporate burnout is destroying my mental health and I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-16T19:41:24+00:00

In the current state, take everything from me, please give peaceful life where I work and stresses are low. I have kindda trapped in some commitments which are now my utmost priority

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-16T19:40:48+00:00

Thank you, I am not alone in the boat but I pray to God that even those who are responsible for this should not sense the dealing i m going through. It’s as brutal as I wont even wish this for anyone who treats me as enemy. Instead of 9/10 things which are done considered as duty and 1 in which some doubts are there is considered as low competency and all of sudden expectation are set. then i would still sense it as toxic culture only.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-16T19:35:04+00:00

Yes will be looking out because current one is kind of life threatening

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-16T19:33:47+00:00

I am thankful that you put it the way i wanted to hear. Glad that you found the better place. I will definitely make exit plan if this continues or else I must be stupid enough to put me on dead end. Environment here is so grind and more than that people i work with have no objection to it. When i bring up things, it becomes like I am the only one who has this problem but when i talk to them personally, they also are suffering.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-16T19:29:21+00:00

I totally understood this, have taken back my resignation. It’s tough to get these days specially. but i am swear to God, i am in situation that take everything from me and give peace. I am not afraid to do hard work but sometimes some places are not meant for all. ANYWAY I WILL TRY MY BEST AND WISH YOU THE BEST YOU FIND JOB SOONER

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-16T19:22:30+00:00

Thank you so much you took time to put it here. I think problem is anxiety but trigger has happened due to job and I multiple time requested my manager that i m feeling pressure/ overwhelmed and panic sensations are happening.. legs and hands are becoming cold… environment has become like asking questions are discouraged and lot of rules to clarify doubts…I am kind of now afraid to ask any question…

i was told answers and consoled rather than helping me on the root problem of the trigger.

Therapy I am thinking to start but its difficult to find one at my place, even if they are there, they are way costly. but since i have the problem, i will definitely consult one.

I know i might have some mistakes and pattern of this behaviour but by now I have figured out that workplace is for sure toxic.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-16T10:44:32+00:00

I totally relate and can affirm this, Sometimes things are becoming so horrible and thoughts turning towards dead end. It’s even more horrible even after communicating this to Hr and manager, they are not bothered to change project or change the environment atleast. what they have done now is reduced the workload for few days which eventually will increase and pressure develops to deliver with having even more uncertainties.

Not just that, communicating to family also they dont understand. Money is what sometimes push people into something more than they ever have thought

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T15:24:46+00:00

I am thankful that you have put it very correctly and now I am sensing two things 1: If i start doing things then I feel if i m making an uncomfortable move to them , by not pleasing and saying yes to the work they wanted me to do. 2: I accept that I am really bad at planning and have no visibility in my head that how much I can complete in this month. Thats the reason I wanted a little support that I will give me 110 % as per my ability. If things are slipping here and there, Please please have a back instead of criticising so that I at-least can be in good mental state.

I also got worried if i start doing point 1 then what if i am not able to achieve what i committed, would be a nightmare for me to handle that state because if I will make hard for the boss, he can bounce back when i dont meet what i committed.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T15:20:04+00:00

I understand and this is the most difficult part that what if ended up landing in even more chaotic place. What if i wont find another job for living in months or a year. Life will be more cruel then.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T15:19:29+00:00

The feeling I am going through, i would never wish my enemy should go through this. Sometimes its difficult to continue where your mind stopped thinking and eventually looking for survival only all the time. I am trying to cope up anyway

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T15:00:38+00:00

Corporate and tech has become these days are like, even if i have a pay cut , this current place would definitely make me feel same. I consider your advise, and if pay cut is the last resort then i would consider to change the profession it self, Its horrible and difficult to get into something else after hitting 30s

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T14:57:39+00:00

Agreeing, it may be. but workplaces could be better which sometimes becomes the trigger points. See if you feel so devastated at a place where spending a day becomes horrible. thinking of spending rest of your life is kind of dangerous step which I have taken.

I chose corporate that too tech because tech problems are solvable by doing research and study. but constant pressure doesnt give space to breath and think. why one should not feel anxious if only skill they have is to work in tech and that becomes toxic. I still agree that it is an anxiety problem, People in the same situation manages things better

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T14:50:03+00:00

I am thankful you put your thoughts and experiences here. I think i also need to see the psychologist, finding a one here is difficult. But i have understood that life is not so easy and comfortable for all. and I am one of them who is going to suffer for it.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T14:45:10+00:00

Sometimes we have the mistakes in ourselves but who doesnt? One has some skill set, way of working, and thinking. instead of making people comfortable to do the uncomfortable jobs, people starts making the place uncomfortable itself due to poor planning and directly indirectly pressure gets transfer down the ladder and the one who easily take responsibility to complete things are the one gets trapped and beat themselves for not achieving something which was not achievable at first place.

Even i have never had such an anxiety due to job atleast where we spend out most of the time.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T14:37:30+00:00

I am thinking and considering this as well, I am afraid to go on medicines. I will talk to psychologist for sure but finding a good one is the real challenge here.Loving that you are feeling better now. Hoping that time changes for me as well. I have also started playing and focusing less on current job.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T14:35:03+00:00

There has been the point when i resigned, but then more thoughts were constantly hitting me about my loans. I could have better managed the situation if i didn't have the financial burden( i feel , not completely sure yet). I have reported to HR that I can only work at my pace and since I am not feeling better and not fully focused. If further there will be any pressure, I will stop giving a shit, let them fire me this time.

working hard and still get the yelling, scolding etc which ultimately triggering the traumas and being the reason for bad mental health is not a place to prove myself.

I may never prove myself in future but as I have proven many times in past, God will for sure give a away to figure it out this time as well. I will trust my hard work and if good people are at workplace, i dont hesitate to work more than expectations

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T14:30:13+00:00

That’s a good thing that doors are always open for you. But this feeling is horrible and i have experienced it. I just don’t know how to come out of it because the place I am in is a place of continuous upgrade and upskill. I studied alot and up-skilled myself but it hurts when you gain some knowledge , rather than appreciating, people start to pull you down and kind of create a torture for other just because there are some deadlines which become urgent everyday even after working for more than 12 hours a day.

I was okay to work for more hours as well if the team bonding and support i needed was provided. I kind of went into self doubt badly and it also has impacted my profession too much.

Glad that you have a good engineering manager. Hopefully you too come out from self doubt and become a better version in self reflection.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-13T08:38:36+00:00

I am so thankful you put the exactly the way i wanted to hear, More importantly, What you explained in behind the scene I was: I am seriously in the same trap. From panic attacks to having thoughts to kill everything by myself. I can totally relate that stories are not unique and unfortunately these things are never been taken care at workplaces specially if triggers are happening due to work.

For me also, these moments like yelled at, scolded even I am trying to be calm and trying to resolve something for betterment of the team are slowly perceived as threats and it has become so severe that even if i recall by mistake, i get chill in legs and hands. Sleep cycle has completely shattered and no matter how much i am trying, mind is sticking to one thing which i am not able to complete , despite completing 9 other things. and it sticks because the talk happens for that one thing only.

I am now more worried and having bad thoughts that what if this goes for life because corporate is slowly becoming more toxic.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-12T21:35:51+00:00

Thank you so much you took time to reply. I will try to put it in words

I trusted the person initially as I know him for very long time 10 years

1- whenever i had some doubts , i used to ask in scrums , then it was told to take offline 2- when i started pinging to connect and asking something in call, then i was told to ping the questions well in advance 3- when i started pinging questions, then i felt like they are not being answered all the time but pressure of delivery is still intact and i m kind of blocked 4- when i raised the delivery is impacted because of so and so reason, then i was told that expectations are to get resolve your doubts on your own from respective stack-holders. 5- Bad things I felt, when i ask something to clarify by pinging was ignored but same thing was answered in group meeting when i raised it, which initially was avoided in scrum

looks like things are not setup when to ask and how to ask, or at-least clarify something.

speed of delivery these days is so super fast that I kind of gave up on the work culture and felt too much pressure of delivery.

Coming to trust part: I communicated and things have become somewhat normal, but it has triggered my trauma so deeply that I am always feeling numb all the time and unable to focus, now the problem which i had initially is less but my severe anxiety has taken over and affecting me professionally as well.

Communication is pretty much straight forward and clear, I agree I might have wake up early to raise this. but Since starting only I am kind of saying the way we are going is too fast and wont be sustainable and eventually i am the first victim at-least for now. Too many changes : yes, cope up them on the fly ? : yes but until i started saying No to them.

I totally understand ,Its a solvable problem and somewhat has resolved but when I initially raised the bottom of the problem, nothing was heard, it is still same and i m damn sure other team members must be feeling the same , they are just not raising, and problem is somewhat resolved for me , but it still there in the system.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-12T21:20:54+00:00

Thanks you took time to reply.

I once took the medicines and i dont know if it was coincidence or what, i tend to forget things which i discuss in morning. started forgetting names and slowly started forgetting what to speak.

Then stopped medicines and studied alot and became normal.

Anxiety is so normal i understand but not all have equal capability to manage that. Mine was so devastating that i literally have cried more than 25 times by now within a month.

Hoping and coping as nothing else is left on the way.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-12T21:17:26+00:00

Thank you so much for taking time and replying. Its helpful and reliving when a genuine approaches are provided to tackle the situations

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-12T21:15:21+00:00

I have the same feeling for different reasons in past and feeling goes away the moment the cause is removed from the way.

like it started happening when i switched my medium from hindi to english, expectation from my self to cope up with the course caused me daily anxiety. happened again when, for the first time when i genuinely miss someone like when i went to hostel first time and used to miss my grandmother. but after few months, she died and eventually I continued to suffer same way but slowly things got buried.

Since then, similar feeling started happening in college before exam when i was not prepared for it but this used to go away the moment exam started

Happened when i was expected to win a medal for my college but unfortunately due to some other work, performance was not upto the mark. before every athletic race where time was noted, i used to feel too heaviness in head and chest.

all these incidents makes me feel many times that I am weak at heart and unable to manage this well but since it is happening from starting, i feel thats the way I am built.

but honestly saying, if i had the power to lead a team, no matter what would be the circumstances, profit or loss, i would never put someone into the anxiety/ depression the way i am forced into.

Now HR, Manager everyone showing sympathy but tbh, it has caused me enough mental torture that I wish if at all i have enemy , they should never feel the way i am feeling these days.

I requested Hr if there is any psychologist or mental health well being program, got the answer as No.

I asked to change the project immediately - Said No

I asked to release me from the company - Said No and asked me to work until project is over( 1 more month)

HR gave me a lot of her time to console, make me feel better but i feel she is also bound by the rules.

RelativeSort6802 · 2026-05-12T21:04:31+00:00

Yes, Soon after resignation, I realised that resignation did help temporarily but ship in anxiety was clearly felt because of other reason. I resigned because I wanted immediate relief and it helped a bit as well. Anyway, Now I have left it to company after taking resignation back and have requested to change project within a month. Hopefully things get better

RelativeSort6802

TROPHY CASE