It was a financial difficulty, but with the extra time of not working I was able to cut household expenses by about 60% (though those have crept back up since I'm working again). I volunteered for a layoff, so severence covered a lot of the time off.
When I left I hit every item on this list. I thought I never wanted to look at a microcontroller again.
I spent time with some personal projects. Dedicated myself to coaching a local roller derby team and generally followed my curiosity wherever it led.
And I slowly found myself drifting back to embedded projects. I realized a combination of imposter and Stockholm syndrome had kept me at the company for years longer than I should have stayed. But I didn't have an issue with the specialization itself.
I've now found a position I enjoy. In a nice twist of fate we are using a micro built by my previous company and my familiarity is a big asset. My new employer recognized my passion and talent, so this job came with a raise that will cover what I spent during my sabbatical.
The gap did come up in interviews. I was truthful and said I volunteered for a layoff and took a long sabbatical. Then talked about the projects that gave me time to work on.
In closing, I also want to echo the call to go find professional help. I spent many of the dark years talking. It took a long time to work up the courage to take the plunge. I would never have been ready to volunteer for that layoff, or make good use of my time off without those sessions.
I think burnout happens when you put your standards higher than you can achieve. But there are different kind of standards.
* You can burnout when you work harder than you can (physically and emotionally).
* You can burnout when your social standard is different than your company's.
* You can burnout when your standard is pleasing the user while your company's standard is pleasing the shareholders.
* You can burn out when you think you are not replaceable and the company will collapse without you (fact: it won't).
* And so on...
I never had a burnout but I suffered from extreme fatigue because I was sitting all day. I got all kinds of physical and emotional problems. So I started to burn out. And what scared me most was that working out at the end of the day doesn't help much when you are sitting still 10 hours in a row.
So I had the luck that I could change jobs. Maybe you are also lucky and can find something that will help you change the problem that burns you out.
I like talking week-long blocks of time to recover. I work in consulting, and given the amount of decision-making and travel-related stress I undertake during the week, having a week of being at home and doing nothing is very, very welcome.
I think the key is doing nothing. Nothing manifests itself differently to different people. To me, nothing means waking up whenever, driving for hours on end, watching a movie or working on a personal project at my own leisure. For others, it's shitloads of TV (which I don't like). For others still, it's hours of golf or something like that. Detaching completely from work is the key here.
I'm going to emphasise this when I start leading my own teams. I want people to be at their best, and the only way to do that in a world like this is by stepping away from work every so often. You only live once.
Good luck!
If you feel too much pressure weighting you down go get proffesional help, even if it feels like a defeat.
http://quietkit.com, guided meditaton for beginners
It is a good job market out there and there is no reason should put up with a job that is making you sick.
Take more than a free Friday.