Are you Burnt out?

“I’m Fine.” – Are you?

Confessions of a Recovering Burnout-er

A couple of years ago, I had the worst burnout of my life. And when I say worst burnout, I want you to know that this wasn’t the first time it had happened. It was just the worst one. Worst in the sense that it took almost three years to recover. There’s sometimes a sense of false superhumanness that grips you when you’re in what others might term, an enviable position of loving what you do, so much so that the lines of rest and work are blurred. Which is fine, until you’re not.

You’re functioning. You’re showing up. You’re still delivering. But inside, something feels off. You’re numb. Tired. Irritable. Emotionally flat. This is what burnout often looks like, a quiet erosion, rather than a fast flame burnout we’ve been led to think.

The Signs We Miss

Most women don’t notice burnout because it doesn’t always look like a total collapse.
Sometimes it looks like:

• Not feeling joy in the things that used to fill you.
• Resenting your responsibilities — even the ones you chose.
• Constantly fantasizing about disappearing for a month.

Burnout can also be physical, it can be emotional, spiritual, and psychological.

Where It Starts

Burnout begins when your output exceeds your support — for too long.

• Giving more than you’re receiving.
• Holding space for others while neglecting yourself.
• Powering through, even when you’re empty.

Sometimes what looks like laziness isn’t laziness. It can be a sign of depletion.

Recovery Begins with Permission

Before you fix anything, you have to stop pretending you’re fine.

Recovery begins when you:

• Name what you need — rest, time, space, help.
• Reduce what’s non-essential, even if it’s uncomfortable.
• Restore the rhythms that nourish you.

While a weekend away is usually the first (and most tempting) ‘out’ of burnout, it usually needs a full-life recalibration. It doesn’t mean overhauling your entire life, but it does mean starting to integrate non-burnout practices into your daily life, so it becomes a part of how you live, and how you show up, and eventually; a person who lives in a way where you don’t get to the point.

You Don’t Need to Earn Rest

FYI, one of the BIGGEST lies burnout tells you is that you can rest after you’ve finished everything. Certainly, this was the case for me. There was always one.more.thing to do be done, completed, finished, before I could take rest.

But as I have since learnt, rest is not a reward, it’s a requirement, and setting regular time aside to rest and renew should be part of your overall life philosophy.

I want you to take away this: you are not a machine. You are a woman with a mind, body, spirit, and purpose — and they all need care.