Burnout, FMLA, and questioning my entire career. I don’t know what to do next.

I’m 28 (f) and have been with the same company for three years. My official title is still Senior Analyst, but over the last two years I’ve become the system owner and the person everyone goes to for answers. Earlier this year, my director announced I would be leading our global procurement technology function, but my title never changed.

I expected at least a compensation adjustment because my responsibilities had grown so much. I also asked HR and my director to help me understand what the path looked like so we were aligned on expectations. I wasn’t asking for an immediate promotion. I just wanted to know what success looked like and whether there was a real path forward. Despite multiple follow-ups, I never got a clear answer.

Since then, my workload has only increased. I’ve set boundaries, asked for help, escalated concerns, and requested more resources. When none of that worked, I just kept doing the work because someone had to.

Last week I took a one-week vacation. Most of my project meetings were canceled or moved because I wasn’t there, and the few they held apparently went so poorly that they canceled the rest. I came home to an impossible schedule and realized the project had become dependent on me in a way that isn’t healthy.

Since then I’ve had several near panic attacks, cried for hours, and completely lost my composure with my fiancé, which is very unlike me. I’ve been seeing a therapist for two months because of work and a psychiatrist for two years. Both know how much this job has affected me, and I’m considering talking with them about FMLA or short-term disability.

The bigger realization is that I don’t think I’m passionate about this career anymore. I don’t care about ERP systems or procurement technology. The parts of my job I’ve always loved are helping people, solving difficult problems, building relationships, creating strategy, communicating, and making organizations work better. I want work that feels meaningful.

The problem is that I’m the primary breadwinner, so I can’t afford to make the wrong move. I’m afraid I’ll jump to another company doing the same work and end up just as burned out. I’m also afraid of starting over in a completely different field and realizing I made a mistake.

For anyone who’s been through this:

Did you take FMLA or short-term disability before leaving?

Did it affect your ability to find another job?

How did you know you needed a different employer versus a completely different career?

Looking back, what do you wish you had done?