SINGAPORE: Burned out from juggling work and studies, a stressed-out man wrote on social media that he no longer desires anything other than “the security of having a roof over his head.”
“I don’t desire yearly vacation trips to Japan or whatnot; I don’t crave for HDL or any alcohol and vices; I just want the gentleness to not worry about [being] left without a roof over my head should my career take a hit,” the man wrote on r/askSingapore on Thursday (Feb 22).
The man shared that he has been looking into renting a place for quite some time; however, to his dismay, he discovered that rent right now is “insane even for a common HDB room.”
He added that since he is not straight, he will never be eligible for BTO unless one of his pals wants to get married “in name” to have access to all the tangible welfare afforded to married couples.
Furthermore, he has no family or relatives to support him.
“I don’t know; I can’t seem to see a way out. I know that there are many who have toughed it out and rented for 15 years before reaching home ownership somehow. But given today’s climate, it is much harder to achieve what they did when our purchasing power declined over the years and rent skyrocketed,” the man said.
The man stated that he has also stopped attending any gatherings because his social battery is always depleted and because he feels none of his friends can relate to any of his problems.
“What should I do?” the man asked.
“Solve one problem at a time.”
Singaporean redditors rushed to the comments section and offered the man words of comfort and wise counsel.
One redditor said, “Solve one problem at a time. Unfortunately, life is meant to be hard for regular people. But I promise you, if you keep fighting and fight hard enough, you’ll eventually get what you work for. Don’t hang out with naysayers or negative people. Focus on what you’re going after.”
While another redditor commented, “I just wanted to tell you that you have every right to feel burned out and tired. You’re playing life on hard mode. Anyone would be exhausted. Tell yourself it’s okay to feel this way and you’re not abnormal.”
One redditor, meanwhile, offered him a way to regain some sort of control over his life, writing, “List down everything that worries you, and in each worry write down exactly what you can do right now, in a sense that if I had to 100% focus all my effort onto this worry, how do I get rid of it by tomorrow? Most people will eventually realize that most of their worries are just speculation and senarious in our mind. And when you reflect on your actions, you will already most likely have done best you could have at that situation.”
A few others advised the man to look for another job that is slightly less stressful, or to take a break if things became too overwhelming, with one redditor adding, “Life is a marathon not a sprint, and sometimes you need to just stop and stroll so that you don’t collapse.”
Complaints of burnout appear to be increasing on Singapore forums online. Earlier this month, a workaholic employee also sought advice from his Singaporeans and asked how he could maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Read more: Workaholic employee suffering burnout asks, “How do you maintain work-life balance?”
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