Burnout: Here’s How to Spot It, Treat It, and Keep It from Coming Back
If you're feeling worn out, irritable, or just plain "over it," you’re not alone. Burnout is something I see often in therapy—especially in high-achievers, business owners, caregivers, and folks who are constantly putting others’ needs before their own. It doesn’t just happen at work. Burnout can show up in school, in parenting, and even in your relationships.
Let’s break it down: what burnout really is, how to spot it, why some of us are more vulnerable to it, and most importantly how to recover and prevent it from taking over again.
What Is Burnout?
Burnout is more than just a bad week or a “rough patch". It’s a state of chronic emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, often from work, school, or caregiving. You might feel drained, disconnected, or like your usual coping tools aren’t cutting it.
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is specifically tied to ongoing stress that hasn’t been successfully managed (WHO, 2019). It’s that feeling that you’re “running on empty, and you’re so depleted you have no idea how you’re going to fill your tank again.
How to Recognize Burnout
Here are some common signs you might be dealing with burnout:
Physical: Always tired, frequent headaches or stomach issues, trouble sleeping
Emotional: Feeling irritable, numb, hopeless, or like you're constantly on edge
Mental: Struggling to focus, forgetfulness, lack of motivation
Behavioral: Pulling away from people, procrastinating, dreading tasks you used to handle
It’s not all in your head—burnout impacts your body, mood, and relationships (Maslach & Leiter, 2016).
Who’s More Likely to Burn Out?
While burnout can happen to anyone, certain habits and personality traits can make us more vulnerable:
You’re a perfectionist who has a hard time letting go
You say yes to everything because you’re a people-pleaser
You have trouble resting or asking for help
You take care of everyone else but rarely check in with yourself
You feel responsible for things outside your control
If any of these resonate, you’re not alone and you’re not at fault. These traits often reflect strength and deep care, but without support and boundaries they can contribute to chronic exhaustion.
Cultural Impacts on Burnout
Culture plays a big role in how burnout shows up and how we respond to it. In many AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) communities, there can be deep cultural values tied to hard work, achievement, family obligation, and emotional restraint. These values can make it hard to recognize or talk about burnout, especially when there’s pressure to “push through,” avoid burdening others, or live up to high expectations (whether spoken or unspoken).
Other communities also carry generational messages around self-sacrifice, survival, or proving worth—especially for immigrants, first-generation professionals, and those navigating systemic inequality. Burnout in these cases isn’t just about being “too busy”—it’s often layered with complex identity dynamics, internalized pressure, and cultural silence around mental health.
Recognizing the cultural context of your burnout isn’t about blame—it’s about bringing self-compassion to the bigger picture of what you’ve been carrying.
Systemic Failures Contribute to Burnout Too
It’s also important to name this: burnout isn’t just an individual issue—it’s often the result of broken systems. When workplaces reward over-functioning, devalue rest, and overlook equity, they set people up to burn out. The same goes for school systems that demand perfection, and for caregiving environments that lack structural support.
This is especially true for marginalized communities, who may be navigating racial trauma, ableism, or gendered expectations on top of everything else. You can do “everything right” and still feel overwhelmed—because the systems around you aren’t built with your well-being in mind. Naming this truth is a step toward both healing and advocacy.
Different Types of Burnout
There are so many different types of burnout, here a few common ones to be on the lookout for:
Professional Burnout
Common in high-stress careers like healthcare, education, tech, or nonprofit work.
You might feel: Emotionally drained, unmotivated, resentful of your job, or disconnected from your purpose
Academic Burnout
Common in students, especially high-achievers or those in demanding programs.
You might feel: Overwhelmed, anxious, detached from schoolwork, or like you're constantly behind
Caregiver Burnout
Shows up in parents, adult children caring for aging parents, or anyone supporting someone with chronic needs.
You might feel: Emotionally depleted, isolated, guilty about needing a break, or like you’ve lost yourself
(American Psychological Association, 2025.)
How to Start Recovering from Burnout
The first step is acknowledging that you’re burned out—not broken, lazy, or failing. Then, start making space for recovery:
Talk to a therapist: It’s so much harder to recognize patterns and habits alone.
Prioritize rest: That includes real, slow rest—not just zoning out on your phone.
Set (and hold) boundaries: Your time and energy are not infinite.
Reconnect with joy: Even if that just means five minutes of music, dancing, or being in the sun.
Lean on support: Friends, family, peers, or a support group can help you feel less alone.
According to Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski (2019), recovery also requires us to complete the stress cycle—not just remove the stressor. This means physically processing stress through things like movement, breathing, crying, laughter, or connection. Otherwise, the stress stays stuck in the body, even after the “to-do list” is done.
Burnout at its core is about unprocessed stress that your body never had a chance to release (Nagoski & Nagoski, 2019).
(National Academy of Medicine, 2019)
Preventing Burnout in the Future
Once you start feeling better, it’s tempting to jump right back into “doing it all.” But here’s how you can build more burnout-resilience going forward:
Check in with yourself weekly: What’s working? What’s not?
Build breaks into your day: You don’t need to “earn” rest.
Set digital boundaries: Yes, that includes email and doomscrolling.
Say no—and process the guilt: You can be kind and still protect your energy. For over givers this may make you feel guilty, it’s important to sit with that feeling and see if that’s really valid.
Reconnect with meaning: Even in small, imperfect ways.
Practice self-compassion: Most people in your position would also be feeling burnt out.
Remember, just because you’ve experienced burnout once, it doesn’t mean you’re doomed to repeat it. It means it’s time to make some changes to your routines and boundaries that may work better than last time.
Final Thoughts
Burnout isn’t a personal failure. It’s often as a result of systemic and organizational failings. However, many systems are also lacking supports for us to treat burnout. We must be proactive when it comes to addressing burnout and consciously preventing it from happening in the future. Whether you’re juggling work deadlines, caregiving responsibilities, or just trying to keep up with life, you deserve space to rest and recharge.
If any of this resonated with you, therapy might be a helpful place to sort through what’s been weighing on you—and to figure out how to move forward in a more sustainable way. Go to my contact page to schedule a free 15 minute consultation.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Burnout. https://www.apa.org/topics/burnout
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311
Nagoski, E., & Nagoski, A. (2019). Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books.
National Academy of Medicine. (2019). Taking action against clinician burnout: A systems approach to professional well-being. https://doi.org/10.17226/25521
World Health Organization. (2019). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. https://www.who.int/mental-health/evidence/burn-out/en/