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1. You Obsessively Check Your Work Email

Certain people struggle with social media addiction, scrolling for hours on apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Yet, you may find yourself glued to Gmail or Outlook.

Do you constantly refresh your work email to make sure you haven't missed anything? Do you check your email as soon as you wake up in the morning and right before your head hits the pillow at night?

If so, your job is dominating your thoughts, and these obsessive tendencies can lead you to suffer stress and anxiety. Now, you don't have to entirely "unplug," but make sure you're giving yourself space to relax, decompress, and worry about other things that aren't work-related.

2. You Work During Weekends Or Vacations

Weekends (and vacation time) are common practice for a reason. It's unrealistic to expect anyone to continuously work without a break, and working when you're supposed to be resting can seriously erode your motivation and mental health over time.

Sure, catching up on emails or completing a project with an impending deadline can be fine on weekends from time to time. However, most Saturdays and Sundays should be reserved for "you time," and working when you're supposed to be on vacation is flat-out unacceptable.

3. Your Relationship With Your Significant Other Is Struggling

When a job starts to take over your life, relationships can really take a hit, especially the one you share with your significant other.

Your partner may grow frustrated if literally all you do is talk about your workday or stress about the outstanding items on your to-do list. Plus, if you're frequently working long hours or are just mentally consumed by your responsibilities, you and your partner won't get to spend enough uninterrupted quality time together.

Sacrificing personal free time is one thing, but if you realize that your romantic relationship is suffering due to the demands of your job, it may be time to reassess your situation. After all, your partner (and you) deserve more.

4. Every Goal You Have Is Career-Related

Being career-driven is often viewed as a very valuable and commendable personality trait, yet being too goal-oriented can spiral out of control. This is particularly true if all of your aspirations center solely around your career. This tunnel vision may help you climb the corporate ladder faster, but you're doing your inner self a disservice.

Aside from promotions and salary increases, what other life goals do you have? You might've once dreamed of owning a home, starting a family, traveling more, or delving into a hobby. If these goals have been entirely pushed to the wayside in favor of focusing on just your career, your job is consuming your life.

5. You've Lost Your "Spark"

Remember when you were in high school or even college, with wide eyes and big plans for your future? Unfortunately, adulthood has a way of grounding our expectations. Even so, no one turns into a corporate zombie overnight. After landing your job, you might've been over the moon and actually excited about your new position.

Nowadays, do you see that same person in the mirror? Or do you find yourself feeling agitated, unenthused, and trudging through your day-to-day? This is a red flag that you've lost your "spark," the personality that makes you, well, you.

6. Your Home Is A Mess

Some people out there are simply messy by nature. Regardless, that doesn't mean their homes are always complete disasters. With dozens of meetings and an endless amount of tasks on your to-do list each week, it can be hard to keep up with laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and mopping.

It's obviously okay for houses to be "lived in" and not spotless all the time. Still, neglecting maintenance and cleaning of your home is a major sign that your job is taking up way too much of your time. You deserve to dwell in a space that feels clean and cozy, especially if that's what you desire.

7. You Frequently Have To Cancel Plans

Think back to the last time you actually got to grab drinks with your best friend or enjoy dinner with your parents. Have you become known as "flakey?" Having to cancel plans all the time due to your job isn't just unfair to your loved ones; it's not good for your mental health.

While it's great to have solid or even family-like relationships with your coworkers, they shouldn't be who you see every waking hour of the day. Everyone needs relationships outside of work, and by constantly canceling on your loved ones, you're just isolating yourself and letting your job take over your personal life.

8. You Suffer From The "Sunday Scaries"

Finally, no one really likes Mondays. But that doesn't mean your Sundays should be filled with anxiety over them. Think about it: you only get two days off each week. If you constantly get the "Sunday Scaries," half of your weekend has been wasted on work stress.

Getting out of the house, disconnecting from your devices, and even meditation can be helpful in curbing this common problem. Nevertheless, if none of that works, it's usually a red flag that your job is impeding your life and negatively impacting your mental health.

1. You're Anxious About Going To The Office

If you find yourself waking up in the morning with a pit in your stomach and wishing you could avoid the day ahead, it's a sign that your mind is overwhelmed. Feeling anxious or dreading going to work can be normal from time to time, but if it's a consistent pattern, these emotions may be a result of burnout or mounting stress. It's essential to listen to your body, as pushing through and going to work anyway could lead to further exhaustion and even more anxiety.

2. You Feel Burnt Out

Burnout has the ability to creep up on us gradually. When stress is unmanaged, or breaks are neglected, these feelings can build up over time and cause us to feel deeply exhausted. People suffering from burnout can experience a multitude of symptoms, from lower energy levels and mental fogginess to physical and emotional depletion.

3. You're Having Trouble Focusing

When we're stressed, our minds can become clouded, and concentrating at work becomes an impossible task. Even the simplest responsibilities may take more mental effort than ever before, and in the wake of this overwhelming feeling, the likelihood that we'll make mistakes increases.

Not to mention, the effects of stress extend beyond just focus and can also interfere with memory and the ability to retain new information. You may suddenly realize you're struggling to learn new skills or recall important details.

4. You're Constantly Getting Sick

Chronic stress can seriously affect your physical health as well, and if you're frequently getting sick, you may need to take a day off. Research has shown that stress triggers an increase in suppressor T cells and catecholamine levels, both of which suppress the immune system. So, you're left more vulnerable to illnesses.

A mental health break from work can help you lower stress and, in turn, boost your immune system's ability to fight off things like colds or viruses.

5. You're Getting Agitated Easily

After exhaustion and stress take over, it can be tough to keep our emotions in check. So, even tiny annoyances might trigger agitation or anger.

If you've begun snapping at coworkers or losing your temper over things that wouldn't normally bother you, it's a sign that your mental health is suffering. Taking a personal day will be good for both your well-being and the maintenance of your professional relationships.

6. It's Difficult To Sleep

Whether you're frustrated, anxious, or stressed, all of these emotions can make it tough to sleep at night. And if you're tossing and turning, not getting enough rest to sustain you throughout the workday, stress levels will continue to rise.

This pattern can spiral into a vicious cycle: the more sleep you lose, the harder it becomes to think clearly, leading to more stress and even more lost shut-eye. Sometimes, taking a mental health day to catch up on some much-needed sleep can break the cycle.

7. Your Eating Habits Have Changed

Much like sleep, stress can also have a significant impact on our eating habits as well. Some people may lose their appetite and skip meals due to anxiety, while others turn to food for comfort.

Both of these coping mechanisms are unhealthy and signal that your mental health is struggling. If you realize that you've been binging or avoiding food in response to work-related pressure, it's time to take a break.

8. Your Work Performance Has Dipped

Next, a decline in your work quality, from missed deadlines to challenges staying organized, may suggest your stress levels have reached a point where they're affecting your job performance.

If we're overwhelmed and our mental capacity becomes overloaded, it's tougher to prioritize tasks effectively and operate with a clear head.

9. You Feel Disconnected From Those Around You

Another telltale indicator is feeling disconnected from coworkers, friends, and family. You might feel misunderstood or as if you're on a different page than everyone else. Plus, as stress continues mounting, you may feel isolated and alone, even when surrounded by people. Taking a break from your routine and reconnecting with loved ones in your personal life can help you reset and ground your mental health.

10. You're Bringing Your Work Home

Last but not least, does it seem like work is constantly following you home? Perhaps you're always thinking about tasks, worrying about emails, or mentally replaying conversations from the office in your head.

Being unable to disconnect from work after hours is dangerous, as it impedes your work-life balance and doesn't give you a chance to properly rest and recharge. Additionally, blurring the line between work and home life can strain your personal relationships since you're less present with loved ones. A mental health day will allow you to step away, clear your mind, and restore a necessary boundary.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag's job as a fireman isn't like what you or I are used to. Instead of saving the lives of those affected by fires, he and his co-workers set them because it's a crime to have books in one's home. He does his job well and comes home to the passionless marriage he has with his wife Mildred, running on a mindless loop. It isn't until he meets a teenager named Clarisse that he begins seeing the world through her eyes and it makes him uncomfortable.

Underneath that discomfort is the knowledge that he's been keeping a secret all along and will have to decide which side of history he wants to be on.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Chain-Gain All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" are a part of Criminal Actional Penal Entertainment, aka CAPE, as prisoners. They've worked their way up the hierarchy of the Chain-Gain All-Stars and are the reigning champs as they fight until the death to earn freedom.

However, there's a catch: one of them will be heavily discouraged from leaving with every hardship they face. It seems greed has no bounds and will make sure to keep viewers invested.

American War by Omar El Akkad

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

The Last Murder at the End of the Worldby Stuart Turton

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

Divergent by Veronica Roth

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

North America's now known as Panem, and it's comprised of twelve districts that once rebelled again the Capitol. However, their defeat was costly and caused them to allow two kids per district to participate in "The Hunger Games." It's a known fact that they may die as a result, but nothing's happened to change this unimaginable law.

When Katniss Everdeen volunteers as tribute so her young sister doesn't have to compete, this sets forth a chain of events that prove her an unlikely winner and hero.

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

The Garden by Nick Newman (February 18, 2025)

Fable for the End of the World (March 4, 2025)

Outlawed by Anna North