Chinese (Mandarin) slang
内耗
nèi hào
Draining yourself from the inside — overthinking, self-doubt and second-guessing.
- Literally:
- 内 inside + 耗 to consume / drain
How it's used
内耗 originally meant internal friction inside an organisation, and it still does in business news. Online it now usually means 精神内耗 (mental self-drain): replaying conversations, worrying, and exhausting yourself before doing anything. People say 别内耗了 to tell a friend to stop overthinking. Casual but sincere.
Examples
别再内耗了，想做就去做。
Bié zài nèihào le, xiǎng zuò jiù qù zuò.
Stop wearing yourself out overthinking — if you want to do it, just do it.
我每天晚上都在精神内耗，一直想白天说错的话。
Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang dōu zài jīngshén nèihào, yìzhí xiǎng báitiān shuō cuò de huà.
Every night I drain myself mentally, replaying the things I said wrong that day.