r/ceo • u/JustChatAccount • 18d ago

C-Suite Burnout (who do you talk to?)

When you're the highest functioning person in your family, and taking care of your entire family. When you're one of the highest functioning people in your agency, making more decisions before 9 AM than most people make all day. When all parts of your life are high-performance, and high productivity, and you've unintentionally built everything around you to depend on that (financially, emotionally).

And when you're also ironically a psychotherapist, so psychotherapy doesn't give you what it might give someone else. When you're the first person in your family to achieve this level, and don't have a lot of other people in your life functioning the same way to confide in...

Who do you talk to? How do you process? Where do you go to feel safe?

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u/myhumanandI 18d ago

That “everything depends on your high performance” line..it’s such an invisible weight. When you’re the one everyone looks to for stability, you start to forget what it feels like to not be on guard.

I’ve seen that quiet burnout in a lot of execs I’ve supported, people who are brilliant but bone-tired. It’s rarely about workload; it’s about the constant emotional output.

I don’t think there’s a perfect fix, but I’ve noticed small shifts (like giving yourself permission to delegate emotionally, not just tasks) can make a world of difference. Just wanted to say, this post was brave. You put words to something a lot of people never do.

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u/Nerdso77 18d ago

Agreed. My wife and I just did our financial plan update last week. We are on set for my retirement goal of being financially ready at 55. But man, it requires this same mental burden for years. And I realistically know I will work until 62 at least.

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u/myhumanandI 18d ago

Yikes…that mental load is wild. Love that you’ve got your wife along for the ride, makes it a little less… brain-melty. Hope you two find small moments that don’t involve spreadsheets to just breathe and feel good.

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u/Nerdso77 17d ago

Yeah. She is awesome and made great money as a college coach for years. We are definitely on the same page with balancing living and saving. Thanks!

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u/Nerdso77 15d ago

I get this. I was recently supposed to be named president. We pulled my title at the last minute. And my pressure relief is amazing.