Navigating Burnout: My Personal Wake-Up Call
- Leigh Mikaila
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
By Leigh Mikaila, a contributing writer for CO Counseling Group
I’ve always been an anxious person, so when my life took an insane turn this year, I didn’t realize what it was doing to my body. And to make matters worse, there was nowhere to go to decompress. By day, I was doing the work of literally four people due to a department merger, and no one seemed to care. By evening, I’d commute an hour or more back home, where I was harassed and there was no recourse from the property manager… or law enforcement. On the weekends, to attempt to get away from it all, I’d go on a walk, but then I’d get hit on, or I’d head to the public library, only to get hit on. I couldn’t afford to book a room like I could when I lived in South Korea and needed a short getaway. And it was taking a toll not just on my mental health, but my physical health. All of my bloodwork showed increases in my LDL, glucose, and thyroid levels. Even my facial hair was causing me to wax or pluck every other day! All a result of stress.
Before things got worse, the school I work for went on winter break, thankfully. For two blissful weeks, I didn’t have to deal with a single email or panicked phone call from grownups who refuse to take care of their own problems. Neighbors still provoked me for my attention, but I chose to focus on doing things that made me happy, like decorating for the holidays, baking, streaming sappy shows, playing with makeup, and coloring.
One day, while trying out a makeup look I’d seen on an influencer, I noticed I hadn’t waxed my chin in over a week. I also realized my blood sugar numbers, which I check daily, were in the healthy range despite all the baking and fewer walks. And my chest no longer felt like an alien was about to pop out of it at any given moment. What was happening? Burnout was reversing, that’s what!
However, as soon as the new semester began, all my numbers rose again, and my chin began sprouting more hairs. My anxiety was back to alien-in-chest levels despite now being on not just one or two but THREE anti-anxiety medications. It was time to let it all go, or continue to decline.
Letting it go looks different for everyone. For me, while it’s summer break and relatively quiet, I’m focusing most of my time and attention on changing careers while transitioning out of the current one (quietly). As for the unneighborly neighbors, they won’t be an issue much longer since their antics have caught up with them and they will be leaving the complex. Still, I don’t plan to renew after my lease is up. I don’t know where I’ll head next, but I do know that my health (mental and physical) will always come first. I’m not stuck, and neither are you! Let go!
Leigh Mikaila, a Chicago native, is an author and avid fan of horror, true crime, and romance. She is also a passionate supporter of and advocate for social awareness issues. She can be found on Instagram and TikTok under the username @authorleighmikaila, or on her website featuring blog posts and short stories at leighmikaila.com.
If any part of this feels familiar, you don’t have to keep carrying it alone. At CO Counseling Group, we help people untangle the lies anxiety tells and reconnect with what really matters. Whether you're dealing with overwhelm, disconnection, or just trying to figure out your next step, therapy can help.
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