I work a pretty low-paying management position and have not been able to save up any type of money. I am constantly stuck in a paycheck to paycheck cycle and never have a financial cushion to fall back on. Taking more than two days off is not an option nor is just not working at all.
I am back in school to pursue something I am passionate about and has a much higher earning potential, but until I finish that up I just feel stuck. It feels like the next few months will be the longest of my life.
Our shifts take up my entire day so on my days off I still only get a few hours to rest and decompress by the time I run errands and do all that I need to. I hardly have time for friends, family, hobbies, or anything that brings genuine joy to my life. I never wake up feeling well rested and have gotten to the point of hating going to a job I once absolutely loved.
I moved up the ladder very quickly and within under a year went from a part time hire to a full time manager. I started taking work home and it’s just now hitting me like a ton of bricks how burnt out I’ve become. This has happened before and if I neglect the mental signs of burnout, I end up physically sick to the point of being in and out of the hospital for months when all of my autoimmune issues start to flare up.
So I am really just struggling right now. My mental state is a wreck, I’m scared I’ll get to the point where I’m physically too sick to work. I live paycheck to paycheck as it is and me taking a single sick day makes me fear for what my next paycheck will look like. I have no financial security, no time for loved ones, and barely have time for anything besides working, cleaning, and running errands. I feel like I’m living on autopilot and about to crash at any given minute. I am just so lost as to what to do.