内耗 is the draining loop of repeated weighing, self-doubt, and inner conflict that leaves you stuck before anything changes.
You can end up exhausted even though the decision, task, or conversation has not moved forward at all. That stuck, spent feeling is 内耗: energy being used up by repeated weighing, self-doubt, and inner conflict.
It is usually a negative way to notice that your thoughts are pulling against each other and delaying action. The work itself may be small; the draining part is the loop of second-guessing and hesitation around it.
Lin
我把给老师的邮件改了一个小时，还是没发出去。
Wǒ bǎ gěi lǎoshī de yóujiàn gǎi le yí gè xiǎoshí, háishi méi fā chūqù.
“I have edited the email to my teacher for an hour and still have not sent it.”
Wei
你是担心语气不对，还是怕自己漏了什么？
Nǐ shì dānxīn yǔqì bú duì, háishi pà zìjǐ lòu le shénme?
“Are you worried that the tone is wrong, or that you have left something out?”
Lin
都有。这封邮件我反复纠结，内耗了半天。
Dōu yǒu. Zhè fēng yóujiàn wǒ fǎnfù jiūjié, nèihào le bàntiān.
“Both. I have been going back and forth over this email and mentally draining myself over it for half the day.”
Lin has spent an hour changing an email without sending it. 内耗 here names the repeated self-doubt and weighing that use up her energy while the task remains stalled.
Friends helping with a decision