Countless people have moved to New York City with the mantra, “If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere,” playing on a loop in their heads. For many people, it’s just where you go when you have a lot of ambition. But while it’s home for tons of happy residents, it’s also a city of extremes. It’s easy to get caught up in the feeling that you must always be striving for more, and that can lead to burnout in a hurry. Here’s how to respond if your efforts to build up a career in NYC are starting to bring you down.

Figure out what’s bugging you

It’s Sunday evening around dinnertime, and you’re starting to feel anxious or even depressed about going to work tomorrow. It’s natural to experience the Sunday blues. But it’s not natural to feel so stressed out that you want to hide every time your alarm goes off. Sure, a little bit of groaning and moaning is one thing. But if your job is truly making you miserable, you owe it to yourself to figure out why.
If it’s your commute, well, you’re not alone. Everyone in New York City is frustrated with the subway system right now. It’s not working nearly as well as it should. But while you can’t single-handedly fix the MTA, you can acknowledge your frustration and know that you’re not alone in feeling it.

Or maybe the problem is your job doesn’t pay enough because your expenses have been creeping up. Taking a look at your spending habits can help you figure out whether any of those new costs can be modified. If you haven’t gotten a raise in a while, maybe now’s the time to ask. You can’t work toward changing something until you know what’s really stressing you out.

Talk to a professional

You’re far from the first person to feel unhappy about the way your career is going in New York. That’s why career counseling nyc exists. Yes, you really can get therapy if you’re unhappy at work, but it’s not just about that. It’s about treating you as a person rather than just treating you like another cog in the machine.

If you don’t know a lot about yourself, then you likely will also have a hard time identifying what you want in a new job. Plenty of people want a change, but then they get into a new job and find that they’re just as unhappy six months later. Sure, maybe you dreamed of a certain career when you were 18, but you’re an adult now. You’re allowed to change your mind. If you’re in a stressful job and want to work in a less-fulfilling career that doesn’t require you to think as much, talk it out with a professional first.

Make minor changes until you can make bigger ones

Let’s say you and a career counselor decide that you do need to look for a new job. But job-hunting can take some time, especially if the economy is slow or you’re in a field with a ton of competition. If you’re in the middle of a big life event (for instance, maybe you’re expecting your first kid) you may not even be able to switch jobs right now, and you have to find a way to be OK with that.
Chances are, no one is going to call with a job offer tomorrow and say, “Can you start next week?” You can apply for jobs and work on polishing your cover letter and resume, but at some point, you have to focus on what you can control instead of what you can’t. For instance, maybe you can try a new exercise routine to reduce stress while you hunt for a new job. You may not feel like you have time, but going to the gym two or three times a week is still a lot better than nothing.