I had nightmares and started drinking heavily because I was so burned out at work. Quitting was the only way out.

• Shelley Paxton learned that success meant climbing the corporate ladder from a young age.
• She developed an unhealthy relationship with work during her career as a marketer. 
• Paxton became severely burned out as an executive and had to quit to overcome her health problems. 

The following as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Shelley Paxton, an author, speaker, and coach, about her experience with professional burnout. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in a middle-class, straight-laced family but always felt restless. I was raised primarily in Minneapolis, which felt very homogenous. I always wondered what else was out there.