If you’re a millennial, your brain probably never stops. So does mine. Every time I think that I have got some free time to myself, my to-do list flashes in front of my eyes. That’s when I start feeling guilty; I could be at the gym, or doing laundry, or cleaning my apartment. Sigh.
For most millennials, it all starts from their high school period. Excellent results to never-ending extracurriculars to internships; it’s like we are all tucked in between. Not all of us are the same, and many of you already suffer from mild depression and anxiety, and on top of that, this stress leads to having insomnia.
Moreover, this is where it brings us to suffering from millennial burnout.
This idea was first hyped up by BuzzFeed writer Anne Helen Peterson in her most shared article. The article has diligently pointed out how the fine line between life and work has become so blurred that there’s nothing called a work-life balance anymore. The fact that we are online 24/7 automatically presumes that we’re available and that we should respond to work emails, social messages and as well find love. And guess what? It doesn’t even stop on holidays. The writer’s article provoked a good number of audiences, which led her to edit down another follow-up piece.
We, millennials, we are tired. And whom can we blame?
The writer, Anne Helen herself believes that we, millennials are suffering from an errand paralysis. This is where a simple task like ordering food online or returning an online order feels impossible.
We tend to avoid tasks that wouldn’t make our lives any more comfortable. It’s not about the high levels of stress that it comes with neither it is a temporary affliction: it’s the millennial condition.
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You might be doing well in your career, but your personal life is a mess!
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I prioritise our job like no other. No matter how much pressure that might be to me, I am always on the run; reply to emails, working overnight to get the job done and so on. While this may take my career places, my personal life might be a mess. I haven’t had the time to think about the last time I had gone shopping!
It’s all about appointments that I need to make, and a shopping list that I know you will never buy the stuff written on it. For instance, I wouldn’t buy the ingredients needed to make a proper dinner. Why? Simply to save money.
The day usually ends with a list full of reminders for the next day, meeting deadlines.
And by any chance, if I feel that you have skipped one single task from the list, I end up feeling overwhelmed. It’s a vicious circle.
What’s more than making a list is breaking up life into several compartments: friends, family, work and relationship. While I want to give them all of my equal attention, I feel that I just don’t have enough time for all that. I end up feeling depressed, guilty and permanently exhausted.
Feel me?
Next, overcommitting to deadlines is in my bloodstream. This brings me to the sacrifices that I’ve done in my social life — ending up with a last-minute cancellation to refusing to go for a night out only to let down my friends who end up disappointed.
In the long run, it’s affecting every area of my life, but I fail to see it right now. This is perhaps the main sign of millennial burnout as per the British psychotherapist Beverly Hills. Although it’s not a scientifically proven condition as of yet, Hill mentioned that she had seen this in some of her clients.
This burnout is believed to be brought on by over-expectations from society, parents and careers. What made it worse is the pressure from social media, which brings the constant pressure of living the best life by keeping everything perfect. This leads to a fear of failure as well as a fear of success.
This, by the way, may even lead to suicidal thoughts and depression in millennials, who then seek medical help like counselling.
Worst of all, we, millennials are not even “allowed” to be this tired. That’s when the comparison comes in. Think of your mom or your dad, who had had a child by the time they reached your age. They supported a family, working two to three jobs, cooking and cleaning the house and on top of that, providing you with the best of everything. And yet, we still had the audacity to complain.
However, things were different at that time. We have set up our minds in such a way that being average is no longer enough, we’ve got to be moving, always on the run, achieving. And of course, there are social media out there for everyone to check up on.
Our parents did not have anyone to prove that they are doing enough to keep us alive, yet we had whatever we needed.
The idea of a successful career is ruining our generation. It was all about making a living, but now it’s more about having a job that everyone thinks is cool. For our parents, it used to be about staying healthy, eating a balanced diet and having a clean house.
However, for us, it’s about going to the gym, eating kale, cleansing skin so that we don’t get wrinkles too easily. What’s more it’s about is being hyper-fashionable, hyper-healthy and honestly, that’s exhausting.
Are you burnt out?
It’s still not too late. Take your life in your hands. Reflect on where you are going and get back on track. It hurts to think of it this way that sometimes all we need to do is take a step backwards in order to move forward.