Some jobs drain people so quietly that they don’t realize how exhausted they are until they finally stop.

That break finally came for one worker in the wake of a stressful layoff.

But when they started to feel more relief than panic, it revealed exactly how bad things had gotten.

Keep reading for the full story.

Got laid off but somehow feel… happier? Is this character development or insanity?

I got furloughed and then fully laid off, which should’ve sent me spiraling.

Instead, my brain went, “Finally, we’re free.”

Not financially free, not emotionally free, but free-free.

Looking back, this employee realizes just how bad things had gotten for them.

The wildest part is realizing how much my job had me in permanent fight-or-flight.

Every email felt like a mini boss battle. Every meeting could’ve been an exorcism.

So now that they’ve left, they feel an immediate difference.

Now I wake up unemployed and somehow my skin is clearer, my shoulders are looser, and my soul isn’t trying to escape through the top of my head.

Obviously I need income, but if this is the price of peace… corporate America might not get me back as easily as it thinks.

It’s wild when unemployment brings more clarity than corporate stability ever did.

Redditors chime in with their thoughts.

Sometimes you just have to give yourself a break, even if that break is forced.

Many full-time jobs are rough on the body and the mind.

Sometimes burnt out employees find clever ways to get the better of their employers.

Job security doesn’t always equal job satisfaction.

Are humans really meant to work 40 hours a week anyway?

Sometimes your body knows you’re done long before your brain does.

With peace finally showing up, maybe better opportunities will too.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.