Balancing need for career break vs current AI-related industry changes

33M senior dev working in Europe with 11+ years of experience here.

I changed jobs last year and joined a decent, reputable tech company. Excellent pay, very interesting challenges, nice team, and a realistic promotion path in 1–2 years. On paper, it’s great.

However, I’m starting to feel burned out. The company is good, but I was given a lot of responsibility quickly, and I fell into a pretty unhealthy work rhythm. Over time that turned into anxiety and something that feels close to burnout.

For years I’ve been thinking about taking a long career break (ideally ~1 year). I’ve never done it. The idea would be to reset properly, explore side projects, maybe travel a bit, and generally step back to rethink what I want long-term. Lately I feel more and more that I need this for my personal development and long-term happiness.

But here’s the part that’s making me hesitate:

The industry seems to be changing extremely fast because of AI. I can see it in my own workflow: it’s already completely different from a year ago, and it keeps evolving month to month.

I’m afraid that if I go on a sabbatical now:

• I’ll miss out on good pay and a potential promotion (this one I’m mostly fine with).
• I might get “left behind” by the AI wave and come back feeling outdated.
• (Maybe a bit paranoid.) There might simply be fewer jobs at that moment due to AI-driven productivity gains.

So I’m torn between:

• Taking care of myself and finally doing something I’ve wanted to do for years.
• Staying in the game during what might be a major industry shift.

Anyway, I know this is ultimately my decision. I’m just curious if others here have experienced a similar internal struggle recently. Would you take a year-long break in the middle of this AI acceleration phase? Or does that feel like the worst possible timing?

Would appreciate honest perspectives, especially from other experienced devs.