I grew up the child of small business owners, so my expectations around work when I graduated from college were pretty out of touch with reality. My parents worked hard, but they always had time for living life and for me. When I started my first job in the corporate world, I was shocked and miserable. And even though I left that world and am independent now myself, I still feel the pressure I learned to live with during the years I spent in shitty jobs I hated. I struggle with guilt when I keep my workload reasonable and when I take days off. I also am in the process of changing careers and I am really scared of starting at the bottom again and facing psychological abuse and having to job hop to find the right fit. Even now, as a contractor, I feel pressured by my boss to do more than I am comfortable with. I say no each time, but it sets off an internal struggle and a lot of anxiety because of what I experienced before and how unsympathetic most of my coworkers and family were (“This is the real world, stop complaining” etc). It's akin to surviving an abusive romantic partner in that you never fully shake the mentality you had to adopt while surviving that situation. And this has the added element of a mass brainwashing, so you feel like a duck out of water when you stand up for yourself (although this is improving). I'm glad I have this community to remind me I'm not crazy and that the system really is f*cked. Thanks for listening.