What Burnout Really Feels Like

I used to think I just needed more sleep, a better planner, or maybe a new morning routine.

But no matter how early I went to bed or how many to-do lists I wrote, I still woke up feeling heavy. Like my brain was stuck in fog and my heart couldn’t catch up. I told myself I was lazy- I just needed to try harder. Turns out, I was burnt out.

What Burnout Really Feels Like

Burnout sneaks in. You likely won’t realize you’re headed towards it. But all of a sudden you’re in the middle of it.

Here’s what it can look like:

• Crying when your phone rings because it’s just one more thing.

• Dreading your day before it even starts.

• Worrying about your to-do list but not being able to complete one single thing.

• Feeling like even the good things are too much.

• Smiling but feeling numb inside.

You just don’t care anymore. And then you feel bad because you’re supposed to care. But, really, it’s not that you don’t care – it’s that you’ve been carrying too much for too long. Your nervous system is fried and you feel like you’ve lost control of your own life.

So, where do you go from here?

Let’s start here: You’re not weak or lazy. And you’re not broken. You’re burnt out.

But you don’t have to stay this way. You can stop just getting by and start healing.

What Helped Me 

Once I realized I was burnt out, I wanted to do everything I could to get out of the cycle. But I didn’t have the energy. So, I started with simple steps that helped me manage my anxiety and prioritized my well-being. Steps like creating routines and setting boundaries to help myself feel in control again. Part of burnout, especially when it comes from trauma, is the lack of control you feel. You do the things you’re supposed to do but you don’t feel like you have a purpose outside of them. You have no motivation and lost your creative spark. Feeling like I was in control again made me feel a sense of purpose rather than just going through the motions in someone else’s life. These steps led me to make changes that felt good and slowly I exited the burnout fog.

If you’re feeling like I did – tired, overwhelmed, and unsure where to start because you simply don’t have the energy – I made a free checklist for you. 

My Burnout Recovery Checklist helps you take small, manageable steps to recover from burnout, regain your energy, and go from surviving to feeling like yourself again.

Grab the checklist here.