The Weekly Exhaustion Index đ„ July 7, 2025 (Edition #19)
A weekly report on burnout, overwork, and the quiet rebellion against productivity culture.
Welcome to The Weekly Exhaustion Index đ„
If BURNT unpacks the roots of burnout, The Exhaustion Index tracks it in real time, because exhaustion isnât just personal, itâs global. Each week, I break down the biggest conversations on work, rest, and productivity, so you donât have to doomscroll your way to enlightenment.
Think of this as BURNTâs news section, minus the wellness clichĂ©s, plus some sharp, necessary critiques.
This week, weâre talking about:
đ This Big Beautiful Bill would devastate youth mental health services
đ§ Ocean Vuong opens up to the NYT about the real reason he became a writer
đ Are we spiritually bankrupt, or just spiritually exhausted?
đ© Itâs okay if youâre too tired to mentor right now. I am.
đŹ We must protect our minds, at all costs
đš DCC Cheer! Donât be fooled by the uniforms or the tired stereotypes
Letâs get into it.
đ Week of July 7, 2025
1ïžâŁ Must-Read: The Article You Need This Week
đ The âBig Beautiful Billâ will gut mental health support for millions.
One of the most dangerous parts of Trumpâs bill isnât even being talked about: the impact on mental health and the burnout epidemic.
The Jed Foundation warns these cuts would devastate youth mental health, stripping away essential services like school counselors, early intervention programs, and community-based care. These arenât extras, theyâre lifelines. Especially for teens in crisis.
Did you know Medicaid is the largest payer of mental health services in the U.S? Cutting billions from it doesnât just hurt access, it dismantles infrastructure. That means fewer therapists, longer waitlists, and more young people falling through the cracks.
Over 1.6 million people rely on Medicaid for behavioral health care and more than 10 million Americans could lose access to essential mental health services like medication. This is political. Itâs structural. And itâs often a direct result of policies that treat mental health like a luxury, not a necessity.
This bill didnât just pass. It passed without serious debate about the cost, not in dollars, but in people.
đ Read Here
2ïžâŁ Listen to This: A Podcast That Gets It
đ§ âOcean Vuong Was Ready to Kill. Then a Moment of Grace Changed His Life.â â The Interview, NYT Magazine
Poet and author Ocean Vuong opens up to David Marchese about the real reason he became a writer. And itâs not the polished origin story you might expect. Itâs raw. Honest. At times, heartbreaking.
Vuong talks about rage, grief, masculinity, and the violence he nearly enacted, and how a single moment of unexpected grace rerouted his life. He doesnât romanticize pain. He makes meaning out of it. This episode is not self-help. Itâs just the painful truth of what it means to be human.
And it might change you.
đ§ Listen here
3ïžâŁ Insight of the Week: Did You Know?
đ ChatGBT is now a âspirit guideâ
Weâve seen AI used for, emails, research, prompts and nowâŠspirituality? In this Dazed piece titled âWhen ChatGPT Becomes Your Spiritual Guide,â writer Laura Pitcher dives into the rise of people turning to chatbots for spiritual advice, guidance, and even prayer. Yes, seriously. People are consulting AI about shadow work, energy healing, inner child trauma, and itâs not always wrong. Thatâs whatâs both fascinating and unnerving.
It raises a bigger question: are we spiritually bankrupt, or just spiritually exhausted? The lines between self-help, therapy, algorithm, and God are getting blurrier by the scroll.
Thereâs something deeply human about it, though. Weâre burnt out on institutions, religion, priced out of therapy, and craving answers. So we turn to the one thing that never says no: the botâŠThis piece is weird and the kind of cultural insight we should all be paying attention to.
4ïžâŁ Productivity Myth to Unlearn
đ© âIf youâve made it, you have to mentor.â
Itâs okay if youâre too tired to Mentor right now. I am.
Mentorship is meaningful, but it also asks something of you. And sometimes, thereâs just not enough to give. We put so much pressure on ourselves to always be available, to always pay it forward. But capacity is not a moral failing. Itâs a signal. And honoring it isnât selfish, itâs sustainable.
Mentorship matters. But so does timing. And you get to choose when you're ready. Be kind to yourself.
5ïžâŁ Quote of the Week: Something to Sit With
đŹ âThe first duty of a man is to think for himself.â
In a democracy, we must protect more than our rights, we must protect our minds. The freedom to think critically, to stay curious, to question what weâre told, thatâs the foundation.
Algorithms want your attention and extremism wants your allegiance. But your thoughts? Those are yours. Stay curious. Stay awake. And most importantly, stay yours.
6ïžâŁ Just Because: Something Beautiful, Just Because
đș Season 2 of Americaâs Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
I surprise myself over and over again tearing up during this show. Donât be fooled by the uniforms or the tired stereotypesâŠthese women are not a dated cheerleader clichĂ©. Theyâre insanely strong, brilliant, hard-working, and all around incredible humans.
Season 2 goes so much deeper than Season 1. Itâs about resilience. Body image. Race. Injury. Identity. Ambition. Financial Equity. Itâs about trying to live your dream while quietly breaking under the pressure of it, and still somehowâŠcoming out on top.
These women give everything, and then some, often for very little in return. And the way this show treats their stories? With care. With nuance. With reverence. Itâs exceptionally done. I love it so much!
Donât sleep on it.
