I'm a Gen Xer who left my stressful engineering job for a yearlong break — and it was the best thing for my happiness and health

• Christopher Gehring left his engineering job to take a career break and focus on his health.
• He said his cholesterol and blood pressure were high and he was close to being classified as obese.
• In April, Gehring — who's returning to his former employer this spring — ran the Boston Marathon.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Christopher Gehring, an engineer who's wrapping up a yearlong career break.

As a Gen Xer, I remember when hustle culture was the norm.