Burnout: When Life Overwhelms Us

Burnout often sneaks up on us, appearing as mere fatigue, busyness, or the need to push through. Can you relate? I know I can. I tend to keep moving forward until my mind, body, and soul finally say, “ENOUGH”. That’s when I pull back, take time to rest, clear out unhealthy energies, and reset.

If left unchecked, it can drain the joy from your work, put strain on your relationships, and make even simple tasks feel like major challenges.

Understanding Burnout

Burnout is more than feeling tired—it’s full-body exhaustion: emotional, mental, and physical. It builds slowly, from chronic stress without enough rest, support, or recognition.

• Anyone can burn out—parents, professionals, caregivers, students, even those who “seem fine.”

• One sneaky cause? The need to control everything to feel safe, capable, or “enough.”

• Trying to manage it all—work, family, emotions, outcomes—keeps us stuck in overdrive.

• Eventually, the mind, body, and soul call for rest.

• Burnout isn’t weakness—it’s a signal: something needs care, not control.

Burnout in Work, Life, and Relationships

In the Workplace

• Burnout often manifests as a loss of motivation, decreased performance, cynicism, and emotional detachment.

• Those in high-responsibility or helping professions (like healthcare, education, and mental health) are particularly susceptible.

• Long hours, lack of control, or feeling undervalued can exacerbate symptoms. 

In Daily Life:

• Outside of work, striving to balance everything, managing a household, caregiving, maintaining appearances, or overcommitting, can exhaust even the strongest individuals.

• The internal pressure to control outcomes, prevent failure, and meet everyone’s needs often arises from a fear of what might happen if we relax our grip. 

In Relationships:

• Burnout can manifest as feelings of irritability, emotional detachment, or bitterness towards those close to us.

• When we consistently put the needs of others ahead of our own, it can gradually weaken our relationships.

• You may experience numbness, a sense of disconnection, or a feeling of merely “going through the motions.”

• At times, burnout can also mean realizing that some relationships are detrimental, and opting to distance ourselves becomes a form of self-care.

Therapeutic Approaches That Aid Recovery

Recovering from burnout is more than just taking time off; it involves tackling over-functioning, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and ongoing control issues. Here are some therapeutic approaches that can support healing: 

• Somatic Therapy – Calms the body’s survival response and creates a sense of safety through grounding and breath.

•  Mindfulness-Based Therapy – Builds nonjudgmental awareness and reduces the urge to control outcomes.

•  Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Helps you understand and heal the parts of you driven by fear, control, or perfectionism.

•  EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) – Reprocesses past trauma and rewires the nervous system, which helps promote a sense of safety.

Self-Care Practices for Recovery

Healing from burnout isn’t merely about doing less; it’s about fostering a more compassionate and intentional relationship with yourself. Self-care is about honoring your needs and resisting the notion that your value is tied to your productivity. 

1.     Rest Without Guilt:

• Give yourself genuine rest, not just sleep, but deep, restorative stillness.

• Rest involves saying no, making space, and honoring your right to simply exist. You don’t need to earn it.

• It also includes stepping away from people and places that no longer support your well-being.

2.   Release Perfectionism:

• Perfection isn’t the goal—progress is.
  Permit yourself to make mistakes, honor your humanness, and receive support when you need it.

3.     Set Boundaries and Let Go of Control:

• You don’t have to oversee everything. Start small, delegate a task, or ask for assistance. Trust that others will step up. 

4.     Reconnect with Joy:

• When burnout prevails, joy fades. Take steps to reclaim it: dance, garden, sing, explore, laugh. You have the right to experience joy again. 

5.     Seek Connection and Support:

• Speak with a therapist, become part of a community, and lean on your support network. Seeking help is a sign of wisdom, not weakness.

A Final Thought

• If you’re experiencing burnout, remember this: you are not broken, you’re human. Burnout signals that something isn’t working; it tells you, “I need care. I need change.” 

• Therapy can help you unravel the need for control, soften your expectations, and find a way to live that’s grounded, joyful, and sustainable. 

• You deserve rest. You deserve to feel whole again.