Emotional exhaustion is that feeling you get in the lead-up. That sense of dread in the morning... All the things you used to do absolutely fine and in your stride suddenly feel like you can't cope with them. A lot of people talk about this inability to concentrate, which impacts the ability to make even small decisions, like not being able to think of what to wear.
Most people work to live, not live to work. But considering the amount of time most people spend in the workplace, over time, many employees come to value morale over money. Not surprisingly, job satisfaction is often directly tied to workplace culture: Employees survive and thrive when they feel supported, leave when they feel devalued. A main complaint from employees who have traded salary for satisfaction is not overt discrimination or harassment; it is incivility.
If you've ever hit a moment on day three or four of a family visit when everything suddenly feels like too much, you're not alone. Most of us have a threshold, and once we hit it, even small interactions can feel overwhelming. Just know that's not a personal failure ― it's actually a common psychological response. And if you pay attention to the subtle signs that you're nearing your limit, you can avoid a tense blowup or unnecessary burnout.
She lived in constant fear of triggering an outburst, carefully monitoring everything she said and did in an effort to avoid conflict and keep the peace. But it never worked for long. She loved her mother deeply, yet by the time she left, she felt exhausted, drained, and desperate for space. This kind of exhaustion is sometimes known as relational burnout, a state of emotional depletion that comes from continually managing another person's volatile moods, reactions, or crises.
Some mornings, I wake up and feel like I'm already behind. Someone can't find their shoes, someone is fighting over who gets to sit in the front seat, and I'm pouring cereal into a cup because all the bowls are somehow in the dishwasher - again.
