Minimal editorial illustration of a solitary human silhouette leaning forward under invisible emotional weight, set against a dark, muted background, symbolizing quiet psychological exhaustion and emotional erosion rather than physical burnout.

Emotional Erosion: Why Rest Isn’t Fixing Modern Exhaustion

Emotional erosion refers to the gradual exhaustion caused not by excessive work, but by prolonged emotional misalignment. It occurs when individuals must repeatedly adjust, explain, or accommodate without being fully understood, recognized, or met halfway. Unlike burnout, which stems from workload, emotional erosion develops through unreciprocated emotional labor—being heard without being acknowledged, flexible without reciprocity, […]