The ninth and final Unfiltered conversation of the series tackled burnout and emotional exhaustion — then handed the room over to a dance session built to move what words couldn't.
Burnout isn't always visible. Sometimes it looks like constantly pushing through, feeling emotionally exhausted and disconnected, and being expected to keep going as though everything is fine. On 5 August 2026, Unfiltered #09 — Beyond Burnout — closed out the year's panel series at Fiika Deli with an open conversation about exactly that gap between how people look and how they feel.
Naming the exhaustion
The panel — moderated by Rashika Fazali and joined by mental health professionals and advocates — pushed past the general language of "stress" toward something more specific: the particular exhaustion of feeling quietly overwhelmed and deeply disconnected while still, outwardly, functioning.
It's easy to say "I'm fine" when the world keeps moving, but emotional exhaustion isn't just about feeling tired — it's about feeling quietly overwhelmed, deeply disconnected, and drained.
A dance session to close the series
Rather than end on discussion alone, the evening handed the floor to JD Ruban, an award-winning international salsa artist, for a movement and dance session exploring how physical movement can support mental wellbeing — a reminder that some emotional weight doesn't fully process through conversation, and needs somewhere else to go.
Nine conversations later
Beyond Burnout marked the ninth and final Unfiltered conversation of the year — a series that had, by this point, covered setbacks, motherhood, childhood development, neurodiversity, single motherhood, masculinity, fatherhood, chronic illness and, finally, exhaustion itself. Hosted by the I SEE YOU Movement and Infinite Grace Foundation throughout, the series had quietly built something rare: a running, public record of Sri Lankans talking honestly about the things that are usually only discussed in private.
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