Things I Needed to Hear After Quitting a Toxic Job

Tara Kermiet Leadership Coach & Consultant | Burnout Prevention and Work-Life Balance

I thought quitting my toxic job would feel like freedom.

Instead, I sat on my couch, staring at the wall, wondering if I had just made the biggest mistake of my life.

Nobody tells you how loud the self-doubt gets once you walk away.

I wish someone had told me what to expect. So, if you've just quit (or you're thinking about it), here's what I needed to hear when I was in your shoes.

You didn't "give up." You saved yourself.

I told myself I should've been stronger. That I should've toughed it out. That successful people don't just leave.

But, staying would've cost me more than my paycheck covered. My mental and physical health, my confidence, my relationships.

Walking away was the bravest thing I could've done.

Your body is going to freak out.

For weeks after I quit, I still flinched at every notification on my phone. My stomach dropped when I got an email. And I woke up in the middle of the night convinced I had a deadline I'd forgotten.

The exhaustion, the brain fog, the weird guilt... that's your body recalibrating after being stuck in survival mode for too long.

Your worth isn't tied to your productivity.

Work was my identity. Without it, I felt lost. If I wasn't producing something, achieving something, proving my value... then who was I?

But here's what I had to learn the hard way: You're valuable because you exist, not because of what you accomplish.

You might miss it... and that's normal.

Not the job itself necessarily, but the structure, the familiarity, the coworkers who made it bearable.

Even toxic workplaces have moments that felt good.

But when that nostalgia creeps is, remember why you left. You didn't imagine the stress. You didn't exaggerate the burnout. You didn't "make it all up."

Not all workplaces are like that.

When I was deep in burnout, I believed every job was the same. That work would always be draining, that all CEOs were out of touch, that every company was full of red flags.

That's what toxic workplaces do... they make you think dysfunction is normal. It's not.

Healthy workplaces exist. Good leaders exist. And you deserve better than what you just walked away from.

Leaving a toxic job is hard. Healing from one is even harder.

But if you take nothing else from this, hear me on this: You will find yourself again.

And when you do? You'll wonder why you ever questioned this decision in the first place.

Take care,

Tara

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P.S. Need help figuring out what's next? That's what my Career Reboot Strategy Session is for. We'll map out your next move, so you're not just escaping burnout—you’re building something better.

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