IN today’s fast-paced world, saying “I’m burned out” has become a near badge of honour – an unspoken proof of how hard we are working, how busy we are and how much we are juggling.
However, burnout is not just tiredness. It is not a bad week or a rough patch at work. Burnout is a chronic, often invisible state of emotional, mental and even physical collapse that goes far deeper than exhaustion.
It is what happens when we ignore the whispers of disconnection until they turn into screams.
Burnout was first described in the 1970s by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, who observed it in healthcare workers – people who were once deeply passionate about helping others but began to lose motivation, compassion and energy.
What began as a condition associated with caregiving professions has now spread like wildfire across industries, age groups and even social roles. Students, parents, educators, activists and entrepreneurs – no one is truly immune.
In 2019, the World Health Organisation officially recognised burnout as an “occupational phenomenon”, describing it as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
According to this definition, burnout has three main characteristics: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation (a sense of detachment or cynicism) and reduced professional efficacy. However, limiting burnout to just the workplace misses the bigger picture.
Today, burnout can arise from caregiving, activism, academic pressure, financial insecurity or living in a constant state of alert in an increasingly unpredictable world.
To understand burnout better, we need to look beyond its symptoms and explore its types.
While all forms of burnout are rooted in chronic stress and unmet emotional needs, the way it shows up can differ significantly.
One of the most common types is overload burnout. This is what we typically imagine when we hear it: people pushing themselves to the limit, working long hours, overcommitting and driving themselves relentlessly in the name of ambition, responsibility or perfectionism.
At first, it looks like high performance, but over time, the constant pressure erodes mental clarity, sleep, motivation and even physical health.
Then there is under-challenged burnout, a less obvious but equally damaging form. This occurs when individuals feel bored, unstimulated or disconnected from purpose. It is common in roles with little autonomy or creativity.
People experiencing this type of burnout may not feel overwhelmed but rather emotionally flat, disengaged or lost. The soul shrinks when it is not being stretched in meaningful ways.
Lastly, there is neglect burnout, which arises when people feel powerless to meet the demands placed on them.
This often happens in environments lacking support, fairness or recognition. Individuals may feel stuck, inadequate or defeated, gradually withdrawing from their roles and relationships.
Regardless of its form, burnout is a message from the mind and body that something is not working. It is not a personal failure – it is a survival response.
Yet, many of us continue to push through it, afraid to seem weak or lazy. We tell ourselves to “just keep going” even as our joy fades, our bodies ache and our thoughts spiral into hopelessness.
What makes burnout so dangerous is its slow and quiet onset. It does not always come with dramatic symptoms. Sometimes it arrives in the form of small things: the hobby you have abandoned, the constant fatigue you cannot shake and the lack of motivation you feel even after a long sleep.
Over time, it steals our presence, our passion and our peace. Recovering from burnout is not a matter of taking a weekend off or booking a vacation.
While those can be helpful, healing requires deeper work – work that involves listening, realigning and regenerating.
The first step is awareness. Many people are so used to operating in survival mode that they do not even realise they are burned out.
Checking in with yourself – emotionally, mentally and physically – is essential.
Are you finding joy in anything? Are you waking up with dread? Are you constantly irritable or emotionally numb? These are signs worth paying attention to.
Next, comes permission – to rest, to slow down, to say no and to disappoint others in service of not abandoning yourself.
In a society that equates worth with productivity, choosing rest can feel rebellious. But true rest is not indulgence; it is repair. And repair is essential for sustainability – of your energy, your creativity, your relationships and your purpose.
A crucial part of burnout recovery is realignment. Often, burnout signals that we have drifted too far from what matters.
Maybe we have been working in a role that conflicts with our values. Maybe we have said yes too many times out of obligation. Maybe we have neglected our needs for connection, nature, creativity or solitude.
Healing means coming back to what truly nourishes us. This is where reflection, journaling and therapy or even quiet walks can become powerful tools.
Finally, healing burnout is not something we need to do alone. Connection is a vital form of medicine. Talking to someone you trust, seeking professional support or simply being part of a community where you feel seen can help dissolve the shame and isolation that burnout often brings.
We also need to acknowledge the broader systems that contribute to burnout. Work cultures that glorify overwork, educational environments that prize grades over curiosity, families that reward self-sacrifice over self-care – these are not neutral.
If we want to truly address burnout, we must challenge the conditions that create it, not just the symptoms it produces.
Burnout is not the end. It is a threshold. A turning point that invites us to do things differently – not just to recover but to regenerate.
To build a life that is not only sustainable but also soulful. A life where rest is respected, values are honoured and boundaries are clear.
A life where we are not constantly running on empty but moving with intention, clarity and care.
Dr Praveena Rajendra is a certified mental health and awareness practitioner specialising in narcissistic abuse recovery.
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