Yes it is your body warning you about the degree of longterm burnout that you are being forced to normalize by life that it cannot.

I've been off since 18th December and have no wish to return. I want to continue to eat cheese, chutney, and crackers at home whilst playing Atomfall. Wage-paying Bastards.

I can't take vacations because if I do I'll quit my job.

I don't come back refreshed and relaxed. I come back pissed that I have to continue slaving away just to barely survive.

I've been dreading returning to work for the past week during break. Even more so now that RTO is mandatory for the the whole company. I'm desperately looking for remote work elsewhere but it's been fruitless so far. Why can't upper management just let its office workers do their jobs the best way they see fit? The announcement from a few months ago already worsened the attrition rate to at least one engineer every week.

I'm getting off a two week break. I wouldn't say I'm overwhelmed just... Exhausted by the thought.

Also think I should try week long breaks more often....

Anytime I have more than like, 4 days off, I always have a worry in the back of my head that I'll forget how to do my job lol. Its never happened, but I still always worry.

I'm a freelancer but can't really shoulder the financial ups and downs. So I worry I can't find a stable job but I also worry I will find a stable job.

I also feel this

Not looking forward to having to remember what I was doing before the break and getting back up to speed, which always takes a couple of days.

That said, I generally look forward to returning to a regular schedule. The rhythm of the working week helps keep me grounded and I miss it when it gets disrupted.

I want to quit every time my vacation is ending. I used to get so stressed out I'd stay up all night with an aching stomach the night before. I hate it here.

I go back to the workplace after being off since 12/20. I am low-key fretting as I have 3-4 new staff starting tomorrow to prep tech for, and said tech came in barely two days prior to vacay; aka no time to prep them beyond getting them into our management system. And the above isn't even factoring in my day-to-day tickets.

Don't get me wrong, I like my job, but I like being off and lazy way more.

I am right there with you on this one.

I was laid off at the end of summer, and am just starting a new job this week. The level of anxiety is real, even knowing the new job is less responsibility (and money) than my previous one.

Oh yeah. I burned a personal day for Monday, so it'll hit me tomorrow.

I on the other hand am ready for my kids to go back to school where they have instructors who are trained, and staff to cook, feed and clean up after them, as well as friends to converse with that they can get their energy out with as opposed to constantly being all up in my face. I LOVE my kids so much but the office is gonna seem like a vacation. Note that I’m COMMISSION ONLY so it’s not like I’m not in a somewhat stressful spot there either….

It can be crushing.

Back to school in the morning after 2 weeks.

Halp.

I took today and tomorrow off, because my daughter's school starts Wednesday. It's good to start off with a short week. Friday will be a short day as always and then I'm fucking Off into the weekend. I fucking hate my job at the moment, because I was so stupid to become one of the most important people in my division. This is not bragging. It's a fucking curse. I hate every fucking second of work nowadays.

Edit: please excuse ye inflationary use of the word "fucking". I'll leave it as it is, because those convey my emotions on this topic.

I definitely feel this. It was worse before I was medicated too. One thing that's helped me, is getting on a schedule I like at work. It won't be possible for everyone, but I work 4 ten hour shifts, 9-8, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It means I never end up tied up in the same thing too long, and gives me more breaks, and an easier first day of the week.

I'm bored, looking forward to going back to work.

It's going to be three weeks for me. While very relaxing, and I haven't found a new project, not looking forward to the day after tomorrow.

Yes, things tend to become "too much" after a while, including work. Could be related to autism or ADHD, or neither.

Part of it is the environment and sensory overload, like grocery shopping. It might also be the wild thoughts shooting around in my head, of things to do, what could go wrong with them, what would happen then, what I know and don't know. It's hard for me to get into a new things that I didn't choose, and that's what many jobs are all about. Thus even finding a new job would add to the problem, not solve it.

My solution was, for a long time, to take advantage of the good IT pay of the 2000s and 2010s, then long periods of time off. But I missed out on the opportunity to save up for retirement at 50, and now it'll be work until 70. My current job is 100 % remote, couldn't sustain anything else.

I think a lot of people feel this way when they come back from break.

Especially if you hate your job, it makes sense that it adds to your feelings of being overwhelmed. The ADHD certainly doesn't help either. I'm sorry you're dealing with this pressure, my friend.

I'm not officially diagnosed, but I do get that feeling too when I have been on break. The transition from being on break to going back to work or vice versa is difficult for me.

I like routine. If I could choose, I think I would like for every single day to have the same structure with no breaks except for the ones I choose willingly. Christmas time is one of the worst for me because it is a holiday I don't have any control over. I can't postpone it or change it. It comes every years and if I'm not ready for it, it will disrupt my routine completely for two weeks (in my country Christmas break lasts two weeks).

I have accepted that breaks are necessary and that the world doesn't spin to the tune of my needs, so I try to deal with it as best I can.

My Christmas break ended a few days ago and since Monday, I have barely slept. I have racing thoughts, restless limbs and I feel stressed about work. I love my job and I'm really good at it, but the transition from one state to another is always difficult. It just is. Sometimes I hate it because I'm in a really good workflow and I don't want it disrupted. Other times I'm so exhausted that the thought of having to get back in the treadmill causes me endless stress.

It's rare that the transitions are easy. My spouse is not struggling with a hyperactive mind like I am, so he doesn't lie awake at night with racing thoughts and all that, but he does feel tired and exhausted after a break and it always take him a few weeks to get back into flow. I think it's a universal human experience to go through this, but if you have a disorder like ADHD or like in my case, ADHD-like symptoms, then it feels extra difficult to get back on track, because being on track is so hard in the first place.

Big hugs to you! I wish you the best, my friend.