Karine St-Michel, former Occupation Double candidate, recently shared on her social networks that she was on sick leave due to overwork. In fact, Karine has decided to take more time for herself in the coming months to get back on her feet.
However, some comments from netizens were not much appreciated by the content creator as he is already having a hard time and feels guilty about taking a career break.
“Stop asking me if I’m better. The feeling that has overwhelmed me the most since I stopped working is the guilt of letting everyone down. I already find it very difficult to be vulnerable by accepting the fact that I'm mentally unwell, this question only increases my guilt, which slows my healing. I'm even more ashamed that I'm not feeling better yet. When someone asks me if I'm feeling better, I feel pity and disgust for myself. I'm still at the very beginning of my process. I'm still trying to stop hating myself and eliminate the preconceived notion that I'm weak and stupid for being where I am today. I'm still trying to care enough about what I want, what I like, and how I feel to take time to rest. Towards the end of December I went on sick leave. It can take 6 to 12 months to recover from burnout. Did you expect me to come back after 2-3 weeks? So no, I'm not feeling better. “I’m not depressed, I’m fine, I’m just deeply mentally exhausted (…),” wrote Karine St-Michel in a post on Instagram.
The content creator knows very well that netizens' intentions are not bad, but she simply wanted to send the message that words can hurt without us necessarily realizing it.
Burnout can affect anyone, at any age and in a wide variety of situations.
We wish Karine that she finds balance again in her busy life and takes good care of herself in order to get back on track!