My name is Gabe Kwakyi and in July, 2020, I burned out while running a mobile advertising agency named Incipia. For the previous 5 years, I had been progressively pressuring myself to work more and more, on behalf of my own vision of success and what I thought others demanded of me as a high-performer. The pressure in my head amplified more and more and more, until it became too much and I hit a burn out point, which led to a third/quarter life crisis. I thought I was fine, until I wasn't. I thought I could handle the pressure, until I realized it was too much. It was a terrifying, humbling, and life-altering experience.

This burnout ended up lasting in total for about a year, and one of the casualties besides myself was the company my co-founder and I had been running, which my Co-founder and I decided to shut down. In that moment, I felt intense shame. I felt depressed. I felt guilty. I felt stupid. I felt incapable. I felt anxious. I felt like a failure. I felt like I would never recover. I felt inconceivably inhuman.

One of my learnings from burning out was that in order to address burnout, we have to talk about it. We have to talk about the pain, shame, and fear. We have to acknowledge the fact that burnout exists, and that mental health at work is a critical topic which can’t be taboo or tiptoed around. The first step to fixing burnout at work is to become aware of it and to normalize it. We must consciously create a space for reflection within ourselves and others. We must examine the beliefs that drive us to be so hard on ourselves and others, to the point of acute physiological suffering. Burnout is so tough because it happens unconsciously, as an automatic action based on our deeply held beliefs, such as "I can't say no," "I'll be okay when X," "I'll be okay, it's not that bad," and "I have to be strong, not weak.”

On my website I've shared about my experiences and learnings, and through Learn About Burnout, I aim to continue raising awareness for burnout and doing my part to educate others going through or recovering from burnout.

You can raise awareness by sharing this website, but moreover by being more conscious in your own life and in interactions with others.

Observe yourself honestly. Have you felt compelled to work in order to avoid stress/pain outside of work? Or to feel like you are worthy enough or not bad?

Observe your family/friends/colleagues – how seriously do they seem to take work? How attached to work are they?

Open up a conversation with others who care about you, and others you care about if you are concerned. It doesn't have to be much – just create the space and be ready to genuinely listen.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed ideas/insights along the way, and to you for visiting.

I hope it helps. And, if you are personally struggling with burn-out, remember:

You are not alone.

You are not damaged goods.

You do not need to be ashamed.

You can make it through this.