Anonymous: I cried in the office bathroom for 6 months before I finally quit

Posting anonymously because some colleagues still follow me on LinkedIn.

It started as one bad week. Then one bad month. Then somehow I'd spent 6 months dreading every morning, crying in the bathroom during lunch, and performing okay-ness for 8 hours straight before collapsing when I got home.

I didn't leave because I was scared: scared of losing income, scared of what it said about me if I couldn't handle it, scared I wouldn't find something better.

What finally made me move: a doctor told me my cortisol levels were clinically elevated and asked me about stress. Having a medical professional say "this is affecting your body" made it impossible to minimise anymore.

I left without another job lined up. Took 6 weeks. Found something significantly better.

If you're in the bathroom crying at lunch, that is data. Please listen to it.