Soft Life, Hard Feelings: Why Burnout Isn’t Just for Adults

You’ve probably heard the term “soft life” floating around on TikTok — a life of ease, peace, and intentional rest. But what happens when your mind doesn’t get the memo? When your body feels tired all the time, your motivation has disappeared, and even scrolling feels exhausting?

Welcome to Gen Z burnout.

Burnout has often been labelled an adult condition, reserved for the overworked and underpaid. But I’ve sat with enough teens and twenty-somethings in therapy to know that stress doesn't wait until your 9-5 starts. “I’m tired” has become a standard response to “how are you” globally.

Between academic/work pressure, social media comparison, navigating identity, family dynamics, climate and political dread, and a 24/7 digital world, young people today are emotionally multitasking at Olympic levels. And burnout isn’t just physical exhaustion — it’s emotional flatlining.

From a psychological lens, adolescent burnout can mirror symptoms of depression, but it’s often missed. You might feel:

• Irritable or numb (or famously, “bored”)

• Hopeless about the future

• Constantly tired even with sleep

• Like nothing you do feels "enough"

These are not character flaws — they’re cues from your nervous system that it’s overwhelmed.

In therapy, we explore how burnout is often a protective response. Your body isn’t betraying you, it’s slowing you down so you can listen. Together, we unpack internalised perfectionism, people-pleasing, and how systems (like school and capitalism) reward over-functioning. This does not mean stopping progress or discouraging ambition, but supporting it. 

Burnout doesn’t make you weak. It makes you wise.

Wise enough to know something has to change. And that change can start with rest that isn’t earned, joy that isn’t productive, and healing that honours your pace.

Feeling burnt out in your teens or twenties? Let’s talk about what rest could look like for you. Therapy at Smarā is a place to unravel, safely.