The Two Powerful Keys to Recovery From Burnout

There are many ways forward, but these are non-negotiable.

A burnout-free career is a rare thing.

Most of us find ourselves physically and mentally exhausted by work at some point. Some go through several spells in the course of their working lives.

Although burnout is most commonly linked to work, it can show up in all sorts of contexts. Caregiving. Sports. Relationships. Families. Side hustles. Anywhere where people are overtaxed — for whatever reason.

People in therapy or coaching don’t mind being “diagnosed” with burnout; they have almost always anticipated it. They are often relieved to have a reason for how they’ve been feeling.

As a therapist, these reactions to this intrigue me. When you diagnose depression, people drink it in — they take it seriously. They want to understand it. They want a treatment plan.

But burnout? Even though it looks like mild depression — and is on the same trajectory —they’re kind of okay with it. It’s just one of those things. Everyone’s burnt out, right?

Er, no. Burnout’s common, but not healthy. And it certainly shouldn’t be left to take care of itself.

Walking a dark path

The simple truth is that burnout doesn’t carry the same weight as depression. Nor the stigma.

While included in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an “important occupational phenomenon” burnout is not classed as a mental disorder/condition in the psychiatric manual DSM-5.

It’s widely held that it’s easier to tell your boss — and your family — that you are burnt out, than you are clinically depressed. I guess it’s more acceptable to have an empty tank than be “mentally unwell”.

Fair enough. Call it what you will.

But here’s the thing. If you don’t take it seriously, you are walking a dark path. Every day you head back into the fire that burned you out in the first place, you are making it harder to get healthy again.

I recall a woman who nodded calmly when I confirmed her burn out in our first therapy session. But her chill evaporated when I suggested reducing her output. “I can’t,” she hissed at me through gritted teeth. “I just have to keep going.”

She was stretched so thin that I felt exhausted by proxy after our session. Her health was compromised on all fronts. Mentally, her focus was shot; her memory was poor, her brain in overdrive. Her body was screaming for attention — she’d had a cold for months, she had gut issues and unexplained aches and pains. Her sleep was shallow and broken.

Serious? You decide.

The keys to recovery

Burnout is the consequence of chronic stress — so that’s the first step: acknowledging that you’ve been under the pump for a very long time.

Beyond that, there are lots of ways to move forward from burnout, but there are two non-negotiables on the road to recovery.

1. Reduce your energy spend.

Also known as taking a break. Now, I get this is not easy. Not everyone can just step back and take a break from work. Bosses, bills, obligations and all that. But you do need to figure out a way to take the foot off.

It the simplest terms, burn out happens when you are using up more energy than you are taking in.

So the first step is to look hard at your energy spend. How can you cut back on the ways in which you are using that energy — that is, your commitments to your work and your family and everything in between?

Maybe, like my client, you’re up for fighting me on this? But I’ve never met a person who can’t reduce their energy spend — who can’t slash at least one task or obligation from their personal inventory.

It comes down to ordering your priorities and accepting that you can’t do everything. Renowned psychologist William James puts it like this: “…need to withdraw from some things in order to effectively deal with others.”

When people say they can’t let anything go it’s usually because they’re stuck in a loop of one of these things (sometimes all three of them): pleasing others, needing to be needed or trying to maintain impossible standards. And they are prepared to sacrifice mind, body and soul to do it.

2. Do life differently.

Next, you need to make a change.

If you’re able to take a break, or reduce your obligations, that’s a great first step. But it will do you no good at all if life (or work) looks exactly the same when you step back into the fray.

It’s like that swamped feeling you get when you open your inbox after a couple of days off.

So it’s important to make some sort of change — something you plan to stick to. Psychologically, it sends a signal to your brain that things are different now.

People often struggle with this because they think the change has to be significant. You don’t have to quit your job, retire from your sport or leave your family.

A tweak is sometimes all it takes. Tweak your work or wfh hours. Change the way you approach work, learn a skill that will make it easier, delegate a particular task at work or home. Make your working environment more comfortable. Dedicate a little time to yourself every week. If you’re an athlete change your training programme, or technique.

When it comes to change, don’t think big — not at first. Think small.

You don’t have to change the world. But you do have to change something about the way you move through it.

‘The measure of intelligence is the ability to change’ -Albert Einstein

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