Mental exhaustion from overthinking is scarier than physical tiredness.
Tips
culture
内耗 originally meant organizational infighting or wasted resources. Around 2021-2022, young Chinese people repurposed it to describe psychological self-consumption - anxiety, overthinking, and emotional exhaustion from worrying without taking action.
usage
精神内耗 (mental internal friction) is the full phrase. Often used when someone wastes energy on anxiety, self-doubt, or indecision instead of actually doing something.
