☁️ You Can Step Away Before It’s a Breakdown

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Last week, we talked about that weird mid-summer haze - when your brain feels like it’s stuck in hot glue, and even little tasks feel like a lot. So, we figured out how to build safe zones into your day: little pockets of peace to reset, refocus, and just breathe.

This week, we’re zooming out a little. Because sometimes that sticky fog isn’t just seasonal. Sometimes it’s your brain whispering: Hey, I’m getting tired. Please don’t make me wait until I break.

🚨 Burnout doesn’t always announce itself

We usually imagine burnout as this dramatic thing: Crying in the work bathroom. Rage quitting. Ghosting your inbox. Forgetting your friends.

Honestly though, burnout often starts way more quietly. It starts with sleeping through your alarms or putting away hobbies you used to really look forward to. It looks like sleeping in longer and longer each morning, or ignoring your friend’s Discord/iMessage reach outs. Burnout looks like feeling way too tired to even open the fridge door, so you stay on the bed doomscrolling instead.

You might still be getting things done, but the weight feels heavier than usual. As someone who hit that burnout wall and is still on the road to recovery, I wanted to share some advice with y’all to help you before it gets really bad.

🔦 Some clues your brain needs a break

If you’ve been feeling off, but can’t quite explain why, here are some signs to watch out for:

• You feel snappy and irritated, even with people you like.

• The idea of replying to one more message makes you want to scream/disappear.

• Your brain is foggy but feels real loud at the same time.

• You keep putting off small things, even though they’re easy.

• You’re fantasizing about quitting everything and moving to the middle of nowhere.

These aren’t signs you’re okay. They’re just messages: You need a minute. Just a moment to pause before things boil over, and it’s harder to come back from.

🧰 How to actually pause (when you don’t know how to)

“Take a break” sounds cute… until your schedule laughs in your face.

So here’s what a realistic pause can look like:

• 🌵 Cut your to-do list in half, just for today

• 🛑 Mute non-urgent pings (Slack, email, Insta) for a few hours

• 😶‍🌫️ Step away from your screen and do literally nothing for 10 minutes

• 💭 Let one friend know you’re not feeling like yourself, no big explanation needed

• 🍳 Cook the most random meal with whatever’s in your fridge—no rules, no recipes

• 🗓️ Block one tiny “off” window this week where nothing gets scheduled

The thing about novelty is that it creates new pathways in your brain - things you’ve never done help you shake off that pent up anxiety. Rewiring does work! So, try something newish this week and make a memory. Give your brain a break.

📝 This week’s journal prompt

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Real or AI 🤖

Y’all really have strong feelings about Labubus 🤣 But, about 70% of you were correct in choosing Image 2 as the Realbubus! 👻 I love those lil monsters, man. A lot of you were saying that they looked WAY too happy to be Labubus and pointed out the fur being unsettling.

Alright, this week you walk into your friend’s new apartment to check it out. They’ve always been pretty good at interior decor but man they nailed it with this living room set up. It’s neon, cozy, and got some pretty pothos plants along the shelves. Y’all are ready to settle in for another watch of Cult Horizon, so you turn your back for a second to grab some sour candy. When you walk back in the room… something now feels really eerie.

You’re left seeing double and you’re not sure what’s a hallucination, and what’s real. So… which couch do you choose to relax with? Which is real… and which is AI? 🤖 

You don’t need permission to pause

Rest isn’t something you only get once you’ve hit a wall. You’re allowed to pause before you fall apart. You’re allowed to downshift before you’re running on fumes.

The more you practice that (pausing early, listening to yourself sooner) the more sustainable everything becomes. Just remember: burnout happens gradually. It’s not all at once. It’s a little at a time… then it’s too much all at once.

So if something’s been whispering “I need a break”… please try listening before it has to scream. 💓 

🌱 rorrie