This is a new series, “Burnout BFF: The Exit Interviews,” where I feature people who’ve gone through an “exit” of their old self after burnout and how they’re navigating work and life on the other side. My hope is to raise awareness around burnout and highlight the many different paths people take as they find their way back to themselves. Enjoy 💛
LinkedIn is supposed to be a job-search platform. It’s where people hunt for openings, cold DM strangers at their dream companies, and scroll past cringey influencers flexing career milestones.
I never expected it to be a place where I’d make genuine connections - until I shared my own burnout story.
That’s how I met Natalie.
She messaged me while she was on medical leave, and from our very first call, we bonded over our shared experiences with toxic workplaces and the kind of burnout that breaks down your body and forces you to step away. Talking to someone who had been through the same thing felt deeply cathartic, especially since burnout is such an isolating experience that it’s hard to explain to others who haven’t been through it.
We stayed in touch after that, and over the next few months, I watched her transform. In the span of five months, she went from needing medical leave to pivoting into a role and a company that was the complete opposite of what burned her out. She listened to her body, prioritized her health, realigned her values, and broke out of a cycle that had kept her stuck for years.
In many ways, her story mirrors my own - just with different details. That’s why I wanted to share her journey.
(Name and details have been changed to protect her anonymity.)
Burnout Disguised as a Career Stalement
Our first call happened right at the beginning of her four-month leave. After talking to so many people about burnout, I’ve noticed something: I can usually tell what stage of burnout someone is in just from their energy - even through a laptop screen.
Underneath the exhaustion, it was clear Natalie was highly capable and deeply conscientious. She had a strong work ethic and a bias toward action - the kind of person who always has a plan and moves quickly from one thing to the next. I recognized myself in her as someone who used to pride myself on being goal-oriented and getting things done.
Like so many of us, she didn’t realize she had been burned out for a long time. Her burnout built up over years - misaligned roles, jumping into a new job right after a layoff because it looked good on paper, and ignoring subtle red flags during onboarding. That role turned out to involve toxic management, false performance claims, and treatment that completely contradicted the quality of her work.
“I’ve always been a good employee and gave work my all. Being treated unfairly and blatantly lied to about my performance shook me to my core.”
Before taking leave, she was physically and mentally depleted - barely eating lunch, waking up exhausted even after a full night of sleep.
And yet, burnout wasn’t even on her radar. She thought she had hit a career stalemate. She had always dealt with situational anxiety and depression, so she assumed this was just another low period she needed to push through - until her therapist suggested something she hadn’t considered at all: taking a medical leave from work.
“I was miserable, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. Burnout actually made me work harder. I tried distracting myself with hobbies, but nothing worked. I was just going through the motions.”
Medical Leave: The Forced Reset
Looking back, she’s grateful her therapist urged her to take medical leave immediately - because if she had time to think about it, she probably would have talked herself out of it due to guilt and shame. She felt a deep sense of responsibility toward her colleagues, even though her body and mind were clearly asking her to stop.
Like many high achievers, she tried to compensate. The day before her leave began, she spent twelve hours putting together an incredibly detailed handoff - essentially wrapping up a quarter’s worth of work in one day.
“That was my biggest regret. I ran myself into the ground to ‘earn’ the leave. I was trying to prove I didn’t fail.”
The first few weeks of leave for Natalie were quiet and simple. She woke up without an agenda. She made herself tea and breakfast - things she hadn’t prioritized for herself in years. She was fortunate that work was the main source of distress in her life, which allowed her to fully focus on recovering her health during leave.
She set small, gentle goals: watching a show that’s been sitting on her to-watch list, finishing a book for fun, and taking long walks with her dog in nature. It struck me how joy always comes from the simplest things in life - but they’re also usually what we abandon first when we’re under chronic stress.
By month two, she started re-engaging with curiosity after her nervous system recovered to baseline. She spent an hour a week learning a new coding language - something she had always been interested in but never found the time or energy. But she still focused on only doing things that she felt ready for, instead of operating under pressure or fear to figure out the next step. She didn’t job search or force productivity. She traveled somewhere she had always dreamed of going, and being immersed in nature helped her remember how big the world is - and how small our problems can be in comparison.
“I’ve always needed to know the next step. But this time, I focused on just existing. Former me would be freaking out, but for the first time, I felt calm knowing this was the right move.”
Choosing Herself and Taking A Risk
By the end of her leave, two things were clear to Natalie: she wasn’t going to return to the workplace that burned her out, and she wanted to pivot into a role and company that aligned with her values.
She hired an employment lawyer to handle the separation. For her, that decision was about self-protection because even the act of emailing her former employer felt emotionally triggering. Ultimately, her lawyer negotiated a favorable separation that allowed her to leave safely and fully focus on healing.
“Working with a lawyer was my way of protecting my peace. I worked so hard to rediscover the hopeful version of myself, and I didn’t want to revisit the place that was so damaging to me.”
As she began interviewing for a new role, she created a list that grounded her through the process: Must Haves, Nice to Haves, and Do Not Wants. She pinned the list in her Notes app and referenced it whenever she felt uncertain about a role after an interview. It was her way of keeping herself accountable and a reminder of what she needs from her next job to prevent the same toxic patterns from occurring again.
That clarity paid off. Natalie landed a role at an AI startup with a people-first culture shortly after her leave. Her new environment was a 180-degree difference from her last job, and the contrast made her realize just how abnormal her previous situation had been and how much toxicity she had tolerated.
Watching her navigate this pivot, especially in a tough job market, was inspiring. But I also knew her success wasn’t a lucky coincidence. This was a result of her intentional decision-making. Instead of giving in to fear and control, she prioritized recovery and patience - trusting the process and focusing on listening to her needs that helped ground her with the confidence and calmness necessary to make a career pivot. This alignment is an intentional career strategy, and it’s hard work.
Post-Burnout Lessons
When we caught up again after Natalie started her new job, her energy was completely different from our first meeting - she was glowing with confidence and vibrant energy. I felt proud of her transformation and was inspired by her journey - so much so that it sparked my idea of starting this interview series where I share people’s stories about how they overcame burnout.
A few things from her story stayed with me:
Your intuition is your secret power.
People always say "trust your gut," but so often we suppress our intuition when we’re operating under a fear mindset. Natalie had felt something was wrong early on with her previous job but couldn’t name it. It wasn’t until she actually followed through with trusting her intuition that she started recovering from burnout, which ultimately led to her landing her dream role after a hard reset.
Burnout can be both a gift and a trauma.
Burnout can cause such severe impact on our nervous system that the effects are similar to PTSD - lasting long beyond leaving the job that caused the harm. Experiencing burnout cost Natalie her time, money, and energy she won’t get back. But it was also a gift that forced her to re-evaluate her choices, raised her standards, and helped her achieve a life with clarity and peace.
Today, she shuts her laptop at the end of the day without guilt. She doesn’t let her to-do list dictate her worth.
“I’m more productive when I live a balanced life. I love my job - but it’s only one part of who I am. The rest of my life deserves my attention too.”
If Natalie’s story resonates with you or if you have your own burnout story to share, comment below or send me a note! I read every reply and would love to hear your feedback. Subscribe to stay updated when the next Burnout BFF Exit Interview drops.
Follow the inner sound in your self❤️👏👏👏💕!!