u/Alarmed_Kitchen_6081

I resigned today after months of feeling terrible. The plan was always to find another job before leaving, but I reached a point where I couldn’t keep going and decided to resign without something lined up, give myself some headspace, and properly think about my next move. I’ve been considering a career pivot too, especially as this industry feels harder than ever.

I’ve worked in this industry for nine years and, honestly, I’ve encountered a lot of difficult people and very few genuinely supportive managers. Today, both my boss and the CEO asked me to reconsider and stay. After some pretty terrible and, at times, traumatic agency experiences, it actually felt really nice to feel valued and seen.

When I initially made the decision to leave, I felt excited… finally. It felt like a weight had lifted and the world was my oyster. I could take some time, explore other industries and potentially pivot into something completely different.

But now I’m questioning whether I should stay and see their reaction as a sign. It’s hard to find a company and leadership team that genuinely value you, and I’ve always known they liked and respected me. I just don’t think I’ve necessarily felt the praise or rewards of that because they’ve been under so much pressure themselves.

So now I’m torn: do I trust the relief and excitement I felt when I decided to leave, or recognise that being genuinely valued by your boss and CEO is rare and give it another chance?

I’ve been in this industry for a while now, working across multiple agencies, and I always seem to hit burnout around the 1-2 year mark. When I reflect on it, I can understand why. Agency life is intense, the client workload is relentless, and I’m someone who’s very conscientious. I also suspect I have ADHD, which I think probably contributes to how mentally exhausting I find it.

I want to leave this industry so badly, and I’m honestly very close to rage quitting. The only thing stopping me is my savings are pretty limited at the moment.

I know I’m good at what I do, but it never seems to feel like enough. I’m also not someone who’s good at playing office politics or sucking up to people (I’ve tried). I genuinely just want to do good work, switch off at the end of the day, and have a life outside of work.

Right now, I’m wondering whether the best option is to resign, focus on my mental health, and give myself the headspace to work out what I want to do next. Because at the moment, I feel like I’m walking a very fine line.

Am I ever going to find a job that doesn’t burn me out or is it me cause I like to work hard? If I reflect, the only job that hasn’t burned me out was when I wasn’t in PR.

If anyone understands how I’m feeling or has been in my position, please, share your experiences or advice.

I’m currently looking into this - as it has alot of transferable skills. Has anyone does this or could share some insights?

It seems to offer: insights, strategy, creativity, stakeholder management