Burnout isn’t just about being overworked—it’s about being overwhelmed and under-resourced. It’s your brain hitting Control+Alt+Delete while your body throws up the “nope” sign. And let’s be honest, it’s become so normalized that half of us treat it like a personality trait.
So today, we’re going there. What burnout actually is, why it happens, and what to do when your inner battery isn’t just dead—it’s corroded and leaking sarcasm.
No productivity hacks, no “just do yoga and hydrate” BS. Just the real talk on how to un-crisp your nervous system.
Join us on the O'Neil Counseling app here: https://www.oneilcounseling.com/app-landing-page
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
So if you're listening to this while lying face down on the
carpet, contemplating whether you have the energy to make a
cup of coffee or just chew some beans and hope for the best.
Hi welcome. You might be burnt out.
Not I need a nap. Tired.
(00:23):
Not one busy week exhausted. We're talking crispy soul deep.
I've rewatched the same Netflix show three times because making
a new decision feels illegal. Kind of fried.
Burnout isn't just about being overworked.
(00:44):
It's about being overwhelmed andunder resourced.
It's your brain hitting control alt delete while your body
throws up the Nope sign. And let's be honest, it's become
so normalized that half of us treat it like a personality
trait. So today we're going there.
(01:05):
What burnout actually is, why ithappens, and what to do when
you're in. Our battery isn't just dead,
it's corroded and leaking. Sarcasm.
No Productivity hacks? No just do yoga and hydrate BS.
Just. The real talk on how to uncrisp
(01:26):
your nervous system. Let's get into it.
Burnout isn't just I'm tired. It's.
My soul has left the group chat.It's when your body keeps
(01:48):
showing up but your brain is filing for emotional bankruptcy.
You're not. Just.
Low on energy? You're spiritually overray,
mentally tapped out, and physically surviving on caffeine
and vibes. This isn't your average long
week kind of exhaustion. This is the.
(02:11):
Deep fried, crispy edged, staring at the wall while your
inbox explodes level of done. It's when even replying lol.
Feels like a group project? Your job feels like quicksand,
your relationships feel like chores.
(02:33):
And that self-care list you madethree months ago?
Cute. Burnout is the result of
prolonged stress, unrealistic expectations, and the lie that
rest is something you earn. Spoiler alert.
It's not. It's what happens when you keep
(02:56):
pushing, performing, and producing while ignoring the
tiny voice in your head whispering, hey, maybe we nap or
cry or scream into a pillow realquick.
Recognizing burnout isn't just about catching yourself sobbing
in your car after work, though relatable.
(03:19):
It's about noticing the slow fade, the apathy, the
irritability, the way your passions now feel like
paperwork, the way your yes muscle is overdeveloped and your
no muscle is in traction. If any of this sounds familiar,
(03:42):
you're not broken, you're burnt.And guess what?
You don't have to. Stay that way.
You can heal, you can rest, you can unlearn the nonsense that
got you here in the first place.So let's talk.
(04:02):
About what burnout really looks like, how to stop confusing it
with laziness, and what recoveryactually requires.
And it's not just bubble baths and chamomile tea, though.
Those don't hurt. Let's be clear.
(04:23):
Burnout doesn't just knock politely and say hey.
You. Might want to rest.
No burnout kicks down the door like a Wrecking Ball, wearing
Crocs and an oversized hoodie, clutching 1/2 melted iced coffee
and muttering we live here now. It doesn't gently ease into your
life. It takes over like a raccoon in
(04:46):
your attic, making weird noises at 2:00 AM and wrecking
everything. It touches your mind, your body,
your soul, and your will to answer emails.
Physically, you're basically a haunted iPhone battery, never
fully charged, constantly overheating and mysteriously
draining even when on airplane mode.
(05:09):
Chronic fatigue isn't just I didn't sleep well, it's I woke
up exhausted and somehow got more tired as the day went on.
Despite doing absolutely nothing.
Your body starts sending weird little SOS signals, headaches
that throb like your inbox notifications, stomach issues
(05:32):
that pop up the second you're stressed, and that shoulder
tension. Oh, that's just where you store
all your repressed rage and unmet needs now.
Welcome to the human stress warehouse.
Sleep. Forget it.
You're either lying wide awake with your brain running through
(05:52):
every cringey thing you've ever said since 2004, or you're
having dreams that feel more exhausting than real life.
You might fall asleep mid scrolland still wake up more tired
than when you started. And the cruel joke?
No amount of caffeine seems to help anymore.
(06:16):
It just makes you shaky, anxious, and aware of how much
work you're not doing. You might also feel heavier.
Not always physically, though. Yeah, sometimes that too.
But energetically, like you're wading through molasses just
(06:38):
trying to get through the day. Getting up to pee feels like a
quest. Responding to a text feels like
a dissertation. Grocery shopping?
You'd rather starve. Burnout doesn't just make you
tired, it makes your entire existence feel like it's being
(07:00):
run through a fog machine that also plays sad trombone sounds.
And the worst part? It sneaks up on you.
You don't realize you're in it until your body starts glitching
like Windows 98 and your soul isjust buffering emotionally.
(07:23):
Burnout doesn't just wear you down, it straight up hijacks
your personality and swaps it out with a gremlin who lives off
of sarcasm, caffeine, and seething resentment.
You're snappy, short tempered, and one minor inconvenience away
from a full blown adult tantrum over a broken shoelace or the
(07:46):
wrong kind of almond milk. Your patience gone vaporized,
evaporated like your. Will to answer how are you?
Texts, even the people you love dearly, start to feel like over
stimulating background noise, and your own internal monologue
(08:07):
sounds less like a supportive bestie and more like a tired
raccoon muttering every 3 minutes.
The tiniest things set you off. Someone chewing too loud A Slack
notification? Ping your own thoughts.
Daring to be loud while you're trying to dissociate and joy.
(08:32):
Please you. Used to like things, music,
hobbies, walking in the sunshinelike a functioning human, but
now everything feels like a chore.
Watching your favorite show? Meh.
(08:52):
Reading that book, you were so excited about getting invited to
do something fun. A social threat You.
Roll your eyes at everything, including the idea of fun
itself. Burnout makes joy feel like an
(09:14):
ancient myth someone told you about once.
Like Atlantis or Inbox 0? There's also that charming sense
of hopelessness clinging to you like the ghost of bad decisions
passed. It's subtle at first, just a
little meh here, a little what'sthe point there, And before you
(09:38):
know it, you're marinating in a low grade existential crisis.
Everything feels flat, detached.You're technically there, but
not really. More like emotionally ghosting
your own life. Interactions feel fake,
(09:59):
relationships feel exhausting. You're on your own private brain
fog island surrounded by people.But.
Weirdly alone, like you're buffering in real time and no
one's noticed. Burnout turns your inner world
(10:20):
into a grayscale rerun. Nothing's technically wrong, but
nothing feels right either. And that emotional numbness,
that's not peace. That's shutdown mode.
Mentally, you're foggier than a haunted Victorian, more at
(10:42):
midnight, and just as dramatic. Your brain is basically running
on dial up and every thought hasto fight through the static just
to make it to the front of the line.
Concentration missing, presumed dead.
You open your laptop to do 1 task and somehow lose 45 minutes
(11:03):
Googling whether raccoons can open doors.
They can, by the way, which feels metaphorically relevant.
Every attempt at focus turns into a detour, and you're lucky
if you make it through one paragraph, one e-mail, or one
sentence without spacing out or immediately forgetting what you
(11:27):
were doing. Motivation, Mia.
With no forwarding address, the ambition, drive, or even mild
interest you once had has packedits emotional suitcase and left
you here, staring at your list of responsibilities like they're
(11:48):
written in ancient Sumerian. You want to care, you know you
should care, but your brain's internal response is just static
and vibes. Even when you are working.
It's like swimming upstream through mental molasses.
(12:12):
You're busting your ass, spinning every plate, juggling
flaming tasks, and somehow stillfeel like you're getting
nowhere. It's that special.
Flavor of burnout, where productivity becomes
performative. You're doing things, sure, but
(12:34):
everything feels hollow, rushed,or half baked.
Your To Do List gets longer, notshorter, and your reward for
working yourself to the brink iswhat more things to do?
Cool, cool, cool. Cool.
(12:55):
Cool. Cool, cool, cool cool.
Even the smallest tasks start feeling enormous.
Responding to a simple e-mail islike writing a dissertation.
Paying a bill feels like assembling IKEA furniture with
one missing piece and a growing sense of doom.
(13:16):
Planning a meal might as well climb at first.
Burnout turns every decision into a mental obstacle course,
and your executive functioning is back there taking a nap in
the bushes. At its worst.
It starts messing with your sense of self.
(13:38):
You question your competence, your value, your sanity.
You forget things, repeat yourself, lose track of
conversations. And not in a.
Quirky way, but in a wait and I actually broken kind of way.
(14:00):
You're not. You're burnt and behaviorally
oof. This is where the wheels don't
just fall off, they fly. Off.
In four different directions. While you're still pretending to
steer, you start pulling back from literally everything.
(14:24):
Group chats go unopened. Work.
Calls become emotionally radioactive, even the thought of
someone casually asking how are you?
Fills you with. Dread because you know you're 3
seconds from either crying, snapping, or fake smiling so
aggressively your face might actually spasm.
(14:48):
Social energy gone. You don't even want to be around
yourself half the time. You're ghosting people not
because you don't care, but because existing feels like too
much. You don't have the.
Bandwidth to hold a conversation, let alone a
relationship. You start avoiding tax like
(15:11):
they're debt collectors. You leave people on red not
because you're rude, but becausereplying requires thought,
effort, and pretending to be a person.
Then cynicism kicks in like an uninvited houseguest who eats
all your snacks and judges your life choices.
(15:32):
Everything feels pointless. That project you used to care
about? Dumb.
The meeting you're supposed to prep for?
What's even the point? You find yourself side eyeing
everything from workplace pep talks to inspirational quotes
with a vibe of. Wow, that's a lot of.
(15:54):
Optimism for someone who clearlyisn't drowning an e-mail.
And then there's the procrastination.
Not the cute oops I got distracted kind.
No, this is industrial grade procrastination where your brain
(16:15):
flat out refuses to cooperate. You stare at your task list,
then suddenly decide organizing your sock drawer or deep diving
into niche conspiracy tik toks is the priority.
It's not laziness, it's a full blown work strike staged by your
(16:37):
nervous system. Your.
Executive function is picketing with little cardboard signs that
say. We're over it.
You're not doing things because your brain is overwhelmed,
overworked, and under cared for.It's trying to protect you the
only way it knows how, by shutting down anything that
(17:00):
might make the burnout worse. Which unfortunately is
everything. Burnout doesn't just whisper.
Hey, maybe slow down. It commandeers your system.
Slams on the gas, cranks danger zone at full volume and launches
(17:21):
you straight into emotional gridlock.
You're running on fumes and vibes while your inner voice
screams. We should not be doing this.
And the worst part? You still try.
You still show up. You still.
Perform being OK until one day your brain turns into.
(17:46):
Hot. Soup and your body starts
sending invoices for unpaid rest.
Recognizing these signs isn't about self diagnosing or
spiraling. It's step one, Step 2.
Giving yourself permission to pause, to opt out of the Burnout
(18:08):
Olympics, to say. Actually, I think I'll be.
Prioritizing not losing my entire sense of self today.
Thanks. So why does burnout happen?
Is it because you're weak, Lazy.Dramatic.
(18:30):
Nope. Burnout is what happens when
life shoves you into a high speed hamster wheel, throws in a
few flaming hoops, and yells just keep running while removing
the floor. At its core, burnout is a
mismatch, A cosmic tug of war between what's being asked of
(18:52):
you and what you actually have to give.
And spoiler alert, that gap. It's not your fault, so let's
break it down. First, there's work overload.
Also known as the never ending To Do List from hell that
(19:15):
regenerates like a cursed scrollevery time you cross something
off. It's not just I'm busy, it's I
haven't breathed through my nosein a week and I think I forgot
what day it is. You're juggling deadlines like
flaming chainsaws, trying to meet expectations that were
clearly drafted by someone who'snever heard of the concept of
(19:39):
time or mortality. The requests just keep coming.
Projects, side tasks, favors, quick asks, check insurance, and
just circling back emails that make you want to gently walk
into the sea. And it's not just tasks, it's
(19:59):
emotional labor too. You're the team therapist, the
group cheerleader, the crisis manager, and the one expected to
just handle it without losing your cool.
Your Co workers vent to you. Your boss leans on you.
Your group texts are filled withpeople asking for advice,
(20:20):
support. Or your last scrap of sanity.
You are everyone's safety net, but no one's checking if you are
fraying. The pressure is relentless, the
hours blurred. You start answering emails at
midnight, not because you're ambitious, but because if you
(20:40):
don't, the next morning we'll eat you alive.
Lunch becomes a granola bar inhaled while typing.
You lose track of your own needsbecause your brains default
setting has become urgency mode.And the support?
What support? You keep hearing about this
(21:03):
mystical teamwork concept, but in reality it feels like you're
stuck in an endless group project where you're doing 98%
of the work while everyone else is somehow busy making Canva
graphics or emotionally spiraling.
And yet you're still the one expected to smile through it and
(21:25):
respond promptly and carry it all with grace.
You know it's. Not graceful crying in a Staples
parking lot because you just remembered you forgot something
else. You are one group project, one
last minute request, one. Can you just away from a full
(21:49):
existential unraveling in front of your coworkers?
Possibly during a Zoom call, possibly while muted?
But. Very visibly dead inside Work
Overload is Burnout's favorite breeding ground, and the worst
part it tricks you into. Thinking.
(22:10):
You're the problem. Like if you just managed your
time better, were more productive, worked faster,
optimized harder, you wouldn't be drowning.
But the truth is, you're not failing.
You're being asked to carry too much with too little for too
long. Then there's the soul crushing
(22:35):
joy of lack of control, also known as the psychological
equivalent of being buckled intothe passenger seat of a clown
car driven by someone who's never read a map and thinks
brakes are optional. You know the feeling.
You're technically awake, technically working, technically
(22:57):
functioning, but it all feels like it's happening to you
instead of. With you.
Your calendar is full of meetings you didn't schedule,
your time is chewed up by priorities you didn't set, and
every day feels like playing whack emotional whack A mole
with problems you didn't create but are somehow expected to
(23:20):
solve. Maybe it's a boss who
micromanages so aggressively youhalf expect them to pop out of
your closet and critique how youbrush your teeth.
Or maybe it's an unpredictable work schedule that shifts more
than a reality TV shows villain.Reality TV villains loyalties
(23:42):
just stable enough to give you hope, but chaotic enough to ruin
your plans, your sleep, and yourwill to meal prep.
And it's not just about work. Lack of control bleeds into
every area of life. Maybe you're caring for others,
navigating systems that don't care.
(24:04):
You're human, or stuck in a cycle of just getting through
the week with no time to pause or ask yourself if any of this
actually feels OK. You become a passenger in your
own existence, strapped into theemotional roller coaster while
(24:24):
someone else holds the controls and DJ Khaled is screaming
another one every time a new crisis appears.
The emotional. Result A.
Cocktail of anxiety, helplessness and good old
fashioned resentment. You're not just tired, you're
(24:45):
edgy. You start snapping at printers,
traffic lights, and possibly your toothbrush for being too
aggressive. Everything feels like too much.
Because you never get a say in any of it.
Your choices feel limited, your voice feels silenced, and your
(25:09):
autonomy is on a long, mysterious sabbatical.
And you want to scream. Not at any one person.
But at the whole damn system. The system that keeps saying
you're in control of your life while stacking your To Do List
(25:31):
like a game of Jenga with missing pieces and 0 safety net.
Lack of control is insidious because it makes you doubt your
own power. It convinces you that this is
just how it is. That asking for more flexibility
or fewer responsibilities or actual breathing room is too
(25:53):
much. But let me be clear, being a
passenger in your own life is not a vibe.
It's a red. Flag and until you start
reclaiming even tiny bits of choice.
Your time, your space, your boundaries.
(26:15):
It'll keep sucking the oxygen out of your soul.
And Next up, there's unclear expectations.
AKA trying to win a game where no one.
Told you the rules. The goal posts.
Keep moving and half the time you're not even sure what sport
you're playing. Is this soccer?
(26:37):
Is this chess? Is this emotional?
Dodgeball. With yourself worth, no one
knows, least of all you. You're showing up, working hard
and trying. But there's this.
Constant underlying feeling of Am I doing this right?
(26:58):
Is this enough? Should I be posting?
More. Replying faster, saying fewer
just checking insurance in emails.
You start second. Guessing everything from how you
worded that Slack message to howmany exclamation points make you
(27:19):
sound enthusiastic but not unhinged.
The correct answer, by the way, is unknowable.
And because no one's giving you solid feedback or clear
direction, your brain fills in the blanks with its worst case
scenario generator. You assume you're screwing it
(27:39):
up, that everyone else gets it and you're the only one winging
it through adult life with a panicked smile and a color-coded
planner you stopped updating 3 weeks ago.
You're out here. Trying to perform, produce and
prove yourself in a system that keeps saying.
Just do your best while. Quietly judging you for not
(28:03):
reading minds. Sometimes you get praise out of
nowhere. Sometimes you get silence,
sometimes you get. We need to talk.
With no context and your nervoussystem immediately packs a
suitcase and flees. The lack of clarity turns into
(28:27):
constant vigilance. You start working longer hours
over preparing people, pleasing and rewriting emails 7 times
just to feel safe. Not even to succeed, just to
avoid invisible failure. You pour yourself into tasks
(28:49):
without knowing whether they matter, and then wonder why you
feel like a ghost in your own career.
Unclear expectations don't just cause stress, they cause self
erasure. Because when you never know
where you stand, you start performing instead of existing.
(29:10):
You become a shapeshifter, trying to be what you think is
wanted instead of what you actually are.
And that disconnect? Exhausting.
It's how burnout quietly worms its way in, not through chaos,
but through confusion. So yeah, if you're feeling like
(29:33):
you're running a race where no one told you the distance, where
the finish line teleports every few minutes and the judges are
mysteriously silent, that's not you being dramatic.
That's what happens when expectations are made of fog and
vibes. Let's not forget insufficient
(29:54):
rewards. The emotional equivalent of
busting your ass, pulling off a miracle with duct tape and a
deadline, and being handed a participation trophy.
It's broken and misspelled your name.
You've given it your all. Your energy, your creativity,
(30:17):
your emotional labor. And when do you get in return
crickets or worse, a vague good?Job said through a yawn while
someone else takes the credit inthe meeting.
Whether it's low. Pay that doesn't come close to
matching your effort. Lack of acknowledgement from
(30:40):
your boss. Or just the?
Gut wrenching sense that no one actually sees you.
This kind of soul level neglect chips away at your motivation.
You start asking why am I tryingso hard?
(31:01):
What's the point in going above and beyond if beyond?
Gets. Treated like the bare minimum.
This is when. You enter the emotional ROI
crisis. You're doing emotional calculus
everyday giving 110%. But the return feels like a.
(31:23):
Sad coupon that expired last week.
You're putting in energy, heart and probably more hours than
you're being paid for and the. Reward.
A vague e-mail. A meaningless badge.
We really appreciate your hard work.
(31:44):
Said in the same tone someone might use to complement a paper
towel brand. It's demoralizing.
It's draining. It's the psychological
equivalent of doing a triple backflip into a Shark Tank while
juggling flaming swords, only tobe met with a slow clap from
(32:08):
someone scrolling Instagram, clearly only half aware you
exist and it doesn't. Just hurt your ego.
It warps your sense of self worth.
You start wondering if you're actually not doing enough, even
though you're barely hanging on.You start believing your.
(32:32):
Value is invisible unless you break yourself to prove it when
effort. Isn't met with recognition,
monetary, emotional, or otherwise.
It creates a silent resentment that builds in the background.
(32:53):
It's Burnout's favorite sidekickdemotivation.
You don't even want to try anymore because deep down you've
learned that trying doesn't change anything.
So yeah, insufficient rewards aren't just disappointing.
They're demoralizing. They tell your brain this effort
(33:15):
doesn't matter until eventually you stop making it and finally
imbalance the silent assassin ofyour sanity.
It's that slow, creeping erosionof joy that happens when your
(33:37):
entire life becomes 1 long checklist of obligations.
You spend all your time doing, working, caretaking, fixing,
performing, planning, problem solving, mood managing,
appointment scheduling and. Emotionally triaging everyone
around you. You become the unpaid CEO of
(34:01):
Keeping It Together TM, and you do it so well, so consistently,
that no one, including you, remembers.
The last time you actually had fun.
Eventually, your days blur into an endless cycle of output.
(34:22):
Wake up, work, care for others, handle the emergencies, chase
the deadlines, maybe eat something, collapse, repeat.
And somewhere along the way you start to notice you haven't felt
anything in a while. Not joy, not curiosity, not even
(34:47):
a good laugh from a dumb meme. Just static Gray survival mode.
Burnout thrives in this imbalance.
It loves when there's no room for recovery, no space for
(35:10):
silliness, no buffer between youand your obligations when rest
becomes lazy. And joy becomes a luxury for
people who don't have real responsibilities when your
downtime is just collapsing in front of a screen while
scrolling. Past other people's highlight
(35:32):
reels. And wondering why you feel like
a potato with anxiety. This isn't just exhaustion, it's
an entire system malfunction. You're running a high intensity
schedule on a low battery body with 0 updates and no off
(35:52):
switch. And the worst part?
You blame yourself. You wonder why you're so
irritable, why your motivations gone, why your creativity dried
up, why you feel like a husk with a haircut.
You start to believe you're the problem.
(36:14):
But you're not. This is not a personal failure.
This is the math, not mapping. It's your brain and body weaving
tiny white flags screaming in Morse code made of exhaustion,
apathy, caffeine shakes, and that weird twitch in your eyelid
that started 3 weeks. Ago and won't quit.
(36:36):
The truth is. You're not broken, you're
imbalanced. You've been living in output
only mode without input. Rest Joy.
Or. Softness and no system, human or
machine can run like that without eventually glitching.
(36:57):
So if you're. Sitting here wondering why you
haven't laughed in forever or why getting out of bed feels
like a high stakes mission. Please hear this.
It's not just you. It's the system.
And it needs to change before your personality fully gets
(37:18):
replaced by a burnt toast emoji with commitment issues.
So you've hit the wall. Fallen through it and now you're
lying in the rubble wondering how to human again.
First of all, welcome. You're not alone and you're not
(37:42):
broken. You're burned.
And no, the fix is not. Just.
Power through it, unless your goal is a full on mental
combustion. If you want to actually recover
and maybe, just maybe not end upback in the burnout pit of
(38:07):
despair in three weeks, here's what needs to happen.
Step one, Recognize that you arenot a robot.
Seriously, You are not a machine.
You are not a productivity app with legs.
(38:29):
You're a messy, miraculous, beautifully breakable human
being with limits. And pretending otherwise is how
we all end up sobbing into our tote bags over out of stock
frozen dumplings while someone plays the succession theme song
in the distance. Rest is not optional.
(38:52):
It is not a reward you earn by completing an impossible.
To Do List or by surviving one more week of high functioning
misery. It's not the prize you get after
grinding yourself into dust for the approval of a boss, a
parent, a spouse, or your inner perfectionist.
(39:12):
Rest is not a nice to have. It's survival.
It's maintenance. It's the part.
Where your body and brain hit control, alt delete and beg for
a reboot. But we've been.
Sold this capitalist fever dreamthat says rest must be
justified. That you have to deserve it.
(39:35):
That you can only nap if you've already conquered your e-mail
inbox, emotionally supported everyone in your orbit, cleaned
out your fridge, and somehow stop spiraling about your
entire. Future.
And even then. Rest comes with a side of guilt
like you're. Failing some invisible.
Test. By letting yourself.
Exist without producing something that's not REST.
(40:01):
That's internalized hustle culture with a sprinkle of
burnout seasoning. Real rest means building in
breaks before your body taps out.
Actual weekends, not ones where you secretly try to get ahead
while gaslighting yourself into thinking it's self-care.
(40:24):
Screen free evenings where you let your brain wander instead of
doom scrolling until your eyes glaze over.
Naps that you take in the middleof the day like some European
icon. Vacations that don't include
your work e-mail, just in case. Because guess what?
(40:45):
The world won't stop spinning ifyou miss a Slack notification
you are not morally obligated tobe on all the time.
You are allowed to do less to step back.
To rest without first earning itthrough suffering.
(41:09):
Because here's the truth, if youdon't choose to rest, your body
will force you to. And that rest.
Won't be peaceful, it'll be a breakdown in a parking.
Lot. A panic attack mid meeting.
Or a full. On shutdown, we're even brushing
(41:30):
your teeth feels like climbing Everest in flip flops.
So let's skip the meltdown and start with the basics.
You are human. You need fuel.
Not just food, but peace, silence, laughter, sleep that
(41:52):
doesn't start with collapsing. Rest isn't weakness, it's
wisdom, and it's your first stepout of the burnout inferno.
Step 2. Learn the magic word.
No, let's just RIP the Band-Aid off.
(42:17):
If you're burnout, chances are you have a complicated
relationship with the word no. Maybe it feels rude.
Maybe it feels selfish. Maybe you've been conditioned to
believe that you are worth is directly tied to how useful you
are to other people, which is how you ended up emotionally
(42:40):
multitasking yourself into the fetal.
Position in the first place, burnout thrives in people
pleasers, perfectionists and recovering overachievers who
treat boundaries like optional bumper stickers instead of life
saving guardrails. You keep saying yes because you
(43:00):
don't want to disappoint anyone,except you keep disappointing
yourself. And let's be real, That slow,
internal, betrayal, it adds up. Here's the truth, unfiltered.
(43:21):
Every time you say yes to something that drains you,
distracts you, or demands more than you've got to give, you're
saying no to your own peace, your energy, your healing, your
basic human need for downtime and dignity.
(43:45):
And sure, it it feels easier in the moment to just agree,
because then you don't have to explain, defend, or sit with the
guilt. But that ease is a lie.
Because afterward, you're fried,you're resentful, you're
(44:07):
exhausted and spiraling. Wondering why you're always the
one carrying the emotional groupproject and that unpaid
therapist role you keep falling into?
Retire it immediately. If someone treats your
compassion like an emotional ATMwith unlimited withdrawals, it's
(44:33):
not noble to keep showing up. It's masochistic.
You're not selfish for protecting your peace.
You're not a bad friend, partner, Co worker, or human for
preserving your sanity. It's time to flex that Nope
muscle. Even if it's weak and trembling
(44:55):
like a newborn deer at first. Start with the low hanging
fruit. Decline the event that you don't
want to go to. Say no to that extra shift.
Let the call go to voicemail. You do not owe everyone your
time just because they asked. And the guilt.
(45:21):
Oh it'll, it'll show up, it always does.
But you can survive it. Let it ride shotgun if it must,
but don't let it drive. Eventually, that no will stop
feeling like a crisis and start feeling like a gift, a tiny
(45:44):
rebellion against burnout, a boundary wrapped in a full
sentence. So say it with me.
No, not today, not this time, not at the expense of myself.
(46:04):
You are allowed to disappoint others to avoid abandoning
yourself. Step three, Remember what the
hell you care about. Burnout doesn't just drain your
energy, it erases your compass. Everything starts feeling the
(46:27):
same. Bland.
Obligatory Gray You wake up, go through the.
Motions, maybe answer some emails, maybe feed yourself
something that isn't sadness. But nothing feels like anything,
and that's the scariest. Part It's not just exhaustion,
(46:50):
it's emotional amnesia. You forget what you love.
You forget what lights you up. You forget that you were ever
more than a calendar full of tasks and a brain full of tabs.
This step is about reversing that.
It's not about finding your passion in a Ted Talk kind of
(47:13):
way. It's about crawling back to your
own humanity through whatever tiny weird wonderful thing still
sparks even the faintest flickerof joy.
It's about reconnecting to the why underneath all the
performing. What makes you feel alive, not
(47:37):
just useful? What reminds you that you're a
full ass person with wants and needs and feelings Not.
Just a burnout shaped productivity puppet.
It could be anything, painting, baking.
Writing terrible poetry under the moon, gardening, lying on
(48:00):
the floor listening to sad musicand staring at the ceiling like
you're in an A 24 film screamingParamore lyrics alone in your
car with the kind of emotional intensity that scares nearby
drivers. Whatever it is, do more of that.
This isn't about being productive.
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This is about feeling like you again, and if you don't know
what you even means anymore, that's OK.
That's part of it. Start by asking real, grounding
questions. What do I want, not just what's
(48:47):
expected of me? When do I feel most like myself?
What would I? Do if no one was watching,
judging, or expecting anything. And please understand, these are
not cute journal prompts. They're survival questions.
(49:10):
Because when you lose touch withwhat matters to you, burnout
fills in the blanks with noise, guilt, and obligation.
But. When you start realigning your
life, even in tiny ways, with what actually feels meaningful
to you, that's when things shift.
(49:33):
That's when healing starts. Not the kind you perform for
Instagram, but the real kind. The kind that's slow and private
and sometimes messy. The kind where you remember
you're not just here to work, achieve, and hold everyone else
(49:54):
together. You're here to live, to feel, to
want things, to find joy again, even if it's in tiny,
ridiculous, sacred moments that make no sense to anyone but you.
(50:14):
And when you start building a life around those things,
burnout doesn't stand a chance. Step 4.
Delegate or ask for help. You're not a one person cult.
Look. I know independence has been
(50:36):
marketed to you as a personalitytrait.
Somewhere along the way you absorb the message that asking
for help equals weakness, that needing support equals failure,
and that being self-sufficient to the point of collapse is
somehow virtuous. But let me.
(50:56):
Lovingly remind you this isn't acompetition for most emotionally
overexerted human. You don't win anything for doing
everything alone. Accept exhaustion, resentment,
and possibly a neck cramp from holding up the weight of the
world. You are not a one person cult.
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You don't have to recruit yourself into a lifestyle of
over functioning and solo suffering.
That I'll just do it myself. Energy it's.
Admirable until it's self-destructive.
If you're juggling blaming swords while riding a unicycle
across a tightrope and wonderingwhy you.
Keep getting burned maybe? Just.
(51:44):
Maybe it's time to hand off. A sword or two.
Start delegating. Ask for help.
And then and. This is the real kicker.
Let people help you. Let your partner do the dishes
(52:04):
and resist the urge to rearrangeeverything after.
Let your Co worker take the leadon a project even if they do it
in a slightly. Chaotic way that makes your left
eye twitch. Let your friends show up for you
even when you're not feeling like the fun one or the strong
one. Or the I swear I'm fine one.
(52:27):
News flash, the world won't implode if you loosen your grip.
Delegation isn't laziness, It's logistics.
It's management. It's survival.
You are not more lovable, worthy, or valuable just because
you did it all on your own and never asked for anything in
(52:49):
return. That's not strength, that's
burnout. And it's Sunday best.
And I get it. Maybe asking for help feels
awkward, vulnerable, messy. But guess what?
People can't show up for you if you never let them see where
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you're struggling. You're allowed to say hey.
I'm drowning a little, can you throw me a life raft instead of
just admiring how well I fake swim?
You don't have to earn rest. By first setting yourself on
fire to keep everyone else warm.You don't have to hit rock
(53:32):
bottom before you're allowed to receive support.
Channel your inner exhausted CEO.
Outsource the chaos. Delegate the nonsense.
Give yourself. Permission to be helped.
Because being strong doesn't mean doing it all.
(53:53):
It means knowing when to say. Actually.
I can't do this alone. And I shouldn't have to Step 5.
Self-care isn't just bubble baths, but also bubble bath
slab. Let's start here. self-care is
(54:17):
not aesthetic. It's not all face maths.
It's not all face masks, teal journals or those Instagram
posts of a sunset with the caption Just breathe.
Love those for you, but no. Self-care is not cute.
It's not curated. It's the often boring, unsexy,
(54:42):
necessary choice to not completely unravel.
It's showing up for yourself in ways that no one else can see.
But that your future self will 100% thank you for.
It's not indulgence, it's maintenance.
And yes, sometimes it is a bath and a latte, but more often it's
(55:07):
doing the hard, repetitive basiccrap that keeps your meat suit
functioning and your soul from slipping into a depressive fog.
Let's. Break it down.
Sleep. You are not a raccoon.
You need more than chaotic naps and caffeine to function.
(55:28):
Sleep is the reset button your brain is begging you to hit, not
something to barter. With.
Like if I finish this spreadsheet.
I'll allow myself to sleep tonight.
No talk. Yourself in like you're someone
you. Love, get off your phone.
(55:49):
Give your nervous system a bedtime, not a negotiation.
You deserve rest. That doesn't come with guilt or
a panic. Hangover food.
You are not a sentient coffee machine and goldfish crackers.
(56:10):
Iconic, but not a food group. Your brain is a needy little
goblin that runs on actual nutrition, not fumes and cold
brew. Feed it something green,
something with protein, something that didn't come out
of a vending machine or your emotional eating spiral.
(56:32):
Nourishment isn't about being good, it's about giving your
body and mind the literal building blocks to function.
And yes, joy food counts too. Eat the cookie.
Hydrate like it's a hobby. Take your vitamins like you're a
chaotic little plant that needs upkeep.
(56:54):
Movement. Not the punishment kind, not the
earn your carbs kind. We're talking about gentle,
joyful movement. The kind that reminds your body
it's alive and not just a vesselfor stress storage.
(57:15):
Walk outside, stretch like a cat, do bad yoga in your living
room, dance like no one's watching and Beyoncé is watching
your nervous system needs. Physical release.
You don't have to crush a workout, you just have to move.
(57:39):
Show your body. It's part of the team.
Self-care is making choices thatserve your long term Wellness,
not just your short term coping.It's taking your meds, making
the appointment, saying no, logging off, turning on do not
(58:00):
disturb, and actually meaning it.
It's maintenance, boundaries, and rebellion.
Rebellion against the systems that taught you that your worth
is in your output and your burnout is just a vibe.
So yeah, bubble bath. Slap but.
So does going to therapy. So does saying I matter enough
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to eat something that didn't come from a drive through.
So does prioritizing sleep over hustle.
So does showing up for yourself consistently, not just when
everything's on fire. Because self-care isn't
weakness, it's you building the infrastructure that keeps you
(58:43):
whole when everything else is asking you to fall apart.
Step 6. Rethink that chaos schedule.
Babe, let's talk about your calendar.
If it currently looks like a color-coded crime scene where
(59:03):
every hour is booked, double booked, or ominously labeled
catch up, then it's time for an intervention.
Specifically one where you lovingly remind yourself that
you're not a Cyborg who runs on espresso and vibes.
You're a person. A person who deserves more than
(59:24):
a schedule designed by Satan andGoogle Calendar in a joint power
grab. Somewhere along the way, you
started treating burnout like a badge of honor.
Like busy equals important, and a full schedule means you're
doing something right. But babe.
When was the last time you actually enjoyed your day?
(59:46):
Or breathed or. Peed in peace?
If your entire week is packed with meetings, tasks, favors,
emotional labor, and mystery obligations you can't even
remember saying yes to, then yeah, your burnout isn't
mysterious. It's math.
(01:00:08):
It's over capacity with a side of soul erosion.
It's time to rethink the whole thing.
Start with the sacred question is this.
Task aligned with my goals, values and sanity.
Or is it just? Eating my soul like an emotional
tapeworm. Because not everything deserves
(01:00:29):
space in your life. Not every opportunity is worth
the anxiety. Not every invite project.
Or favor is a yes. Sometimes it's just a stress
booby. Trap in a trench coat, and if
your boss, Co worker or client is tossing flaming hot deadlines
at you like they're running a T-shirt cannon at a stress
(01:00:51):
circus, then it's time to set a boundary.
You are allowed to speak up. You are allowed to say hey, this
isn't sustainable. You are allowed to ask what the
priorities actually are. Because if everything is urgent,
(01:01:15):
then nothing is, except maybe your nervous system, which is
moments away from filing for emancipation.
You're not weak for needing space.
You're not selfish for wanting time to eat a sandwich without
multitasking. You're human and humans need
(01:01:37):
breaks. Like real ones.
Ones where you don't check your e-mail on the toilet and pretend
that's self-care. So go into that calendar and
start decluttering. Cancel something, reschedule
something, let something go, block off time for actual
(01:02:00):
breathing. Add in blank space that isn't.
Just recovery from whatever justbroke because you deserve a life
that has room. In it not just for rest, but for
joy, for spontaneity, for doing nothing and not feeling bad
(01:02:22):
about it. Burnout doesn't just come from
doing too much, it comes from believing you have to.
And it's OK to unbelieve that starting now.
Step 7. Make room for fun.
(01:02:45):
Your brain will riot. Listen your inner child.
Is. Pacing in the metaphorical
corner of your soul right now. Clutching a juice box and
whispering. Remember when we used to enjoy
things? When life wasn't just
spreadsheets, coping mechanisms and haunting group chats?
(01:03:08):
Yeah. Kids.
Still in there and they're one more cancelled plan away from
staging a full blown glitter fueled rebellion.
Here's the truth. No one tells you when you're
deep in burnout. Fun is not optional.
It's not a bonus round after you've handled.
(01:03:29):
All your responsibilities and processed your trauma and done a
12 step skin care routine. Fun is functional.
It's what reminds your nervous system that you're alive, not
just surviving. You cannot work, fix, hustle, or
(01:03:51):
heal 24/7 and expect to stay sane.
That's a one way ticket to emotional flatlining.
If your whole life is just cycles of effort and recovery
with no joy in between, your brain will riot.
And the form of that riot? Apathy, resentment, numbness,
(01:04:17):
maybe even rage at people who doseem to be having fun.
Because somewhere inside, you'regrieving the parts of you that
forgot how. So let's unearth them.
Make fun a priority, not an afterthought.
(01:04:37):
Watch dumb tik toks. Play board games where the
stakes are nothing. Rewatch that trashy reality show
you pretend you're above? You're not and it's fine.
Paint something messy. Go roller skating.
Host a living room dance party. Do something just for the hell
(01:04:58):
of it, not because it's productive, marketable, or a
good networking opportunity. Fun isn't childish.
It's healing. It rewires your brain toward
joy. It gives your nervous system a
break from the cortisol flood. It's a form of resistance in a
(01:05:20):
world that profits off your exhaustion.
And don't wait until you have time for it.
Because let's be real. You won't.
Time for fun isn't found, it's made, and it starts by deciding
you're worth more than a schedule that includes only
(01:05:41):
work, chores, and the occasionalbreakdown.
Give yourself permission to enjoy things again, Not later.
Now, before your brain throws A tantrum, your burnout deepens,
or your inner child runs off with someone else who still
knows how to play. Because.
You're not here just to function, you're here to.
(01:06:04):
Live and fun. That's.
The part that makes the rest of it make sense.
Step 8. Reflect like you're the main
character in a self aware sitcom.
Once the burnout smoke starts toclear and you've stopped
(01:06:25):
emotionally malfunctioning everytime your phone pings, it's time
for the awkward, tender, cringy,necessary part of healing.
Reflection not to beat yourself up and question your entire
existence Kind. The honest, loving, slightly
(01:06:48):
salty kind. The kind that.
Starts with you. Squinting at your own life and
saying OK, how the hell did I end up here?
Cue the dramatic zoom. Cue the lo fi soundtrack.
Cue the flashbacks of you nodding yes while silently
screaming. Reflection is where the healing
(01:07:10):
turns from reactive to intentional.
It's where you look back, not topunish yourself, but to piece
together the map that got you sooff course in the first place.
It's asking questions like what boundaries did I not hold and
why? What guilt kept me saying yes
(01:07:33):
when I was screaming please no on the inside?
What version of success was I chasing that wasn't even mine to
begin with? Maybe you said yes because you
didn't want to disappoint anyone.
Maybe you overworked because youthought proving your.
Worth. Meant running yourself into the
ground. Maybe you didn't rest because
(01:07:54):
you were scared of what it wouldmean to slow down and feel the
feelings. Spoiler All of that is valid.
None of it means you're weak. It just means you were
functioning in a system, external or internal, that
wasn't built to support you. It was built to use you.
(01:08:16):
And now, now. You get to rewrite the.
Rules. Redraw the map, clean house,
emotionally burn the blueprint that told you burnout was the
cost of being good enough. Reflection is powerful, but it's
(01:08:37):
not about becoming perfect. It's about becoming clear, about
recognizing the patterns and choosing differently next time.
Not because you have to, but because you can.
This is where you get to become the version of you who sees it
(01:08:59):
coming, who says no sooner, who blocks out rest time like it's a
sacred ritual, who doesn't overextend just to feel valuable
And trust me, future you, They're already clapping.
Probably wearing cozy socks, possibly eating fruit from a
(01:09:22):
basket and sipping tea with boundaries built in.
So take the. Time to look back, do the
awkward analysis, laugh a little, cry a bit, reflect like
the main character in a self aware sitcom who's finally ready
to stop being the comedic reliefand start being the damn
(01:09:46):
protagonist. Step 9.
Sometimes you need backup. Phone a therapist.
OK, real talk, if self-care, journaling, bubble baths, send
interpretive dancing to breakup playlists, haven't moved the
(01:10:06):
burnout needle, it's time to call in backup.
Because while those things help,they can't always unstick you
from the mental traffic jam thatis chronic stress, internalized
pressure, and emotional spaghetti.
Burnout isn't just a time management issue.
(01:10:27):
It's not just too much work or Iforgot to meditate again.
It's a complex, layered tangle of beliefs, behaviors, trauma
responses, and nervous system overload.
And sometimes you need someone trained in decoding that mess to
help you untangle it without setting your entire personality
(01:10:50):
on fire. That's where therapy comes in,
or counseling, or coaching, or whatever flavor of qualified
support fits your needs and makes you feel like a person,
not a project. You don't have to wait until
you're falling apart in the parking lot screaming at your
iced coffee for not fixing your life.
(01:11:13):
If you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, checked out, or like
your emotional bandwidth is one group chat message away from
imploding, that's enough reason to reach out.
You are not weak for needing help.
You are not broken for wanting support.
You are not dramatic for saying,hey, I'm not OK and I don't know
(01:11:37):
what to do about it. Therapy isn't about fixing you,
it's about helping you understand yourself.
It's a space where you can say the messy, unfiltered, ugly
stuff without having to sandwichit between emojis or small.
Talk. It's where you learn how to
(01:12:01):
unlearn the guilt, perfectionism, hyper
independence, and I'll rest whenI'm dead mindset that got you
here in the first place. Because burnout recovery.
It's not just about fewer emailsand better snacks.
It's about radically reimaginingyour relationship to yourself,
(01:12:24):
your worth, your time, your limits.
And sometimes that process needsa guide, a witness, a person
trained to help you say, wait a minute, why am I living like
this and then actually do something about it?
(01:12:48):
So if the. Wheels are coming off and you're
coping tools feel like they've been duct taped together.
Phone a therapist. That's not failure.
That's strategy, because even superheroes have support teams,
and so should you. Step 10.
(01:13:13):
Mindfulness use. Your brain needs a time out too.
Let's be real. Your brain is tired, it's
overstimulated, over committed, and probably halfway through a
meltdown while trying to remember if you paid that bill.
Replied to that. Text or.
(01:13:34):
Just hallucinated doing both. It's been running on autopilot,
caffeine and mild panic. And you know what?
It needs a time out, not a punishment.
Just. A pause.
Mindfulness isn't just for people named Sage, who drink
(01:13:55):
moon water and speak exclusivelyin math affirmations.
It's for anyone whose brain is currently auditioning for the
Mental Chaos Olympics. If your thoughts are racing,
your anxiety is driving, and your internal monologue is a mix
of doom scrolling and disaster planning, Congrats, you qualify.
(01:14:18):
This doesn't mean you need to sit on a cushion for 90 minutes
and chant in Sanskrit. Mindfulness can be weirdly
simple. close your eyes and takethree real breaths.
Notice 5 things around you that don't require fixing.
Sit outside and stare at a tree until you remember you're a
(01:14:40):
human being and not a productivity productivity
algorithm. Feel your feet.
Yes, really wiggle your toes like you're trying to re
establish. Wi-Fi with your body.
That's mindfulness. It's the act of coming back to
(01:15:01):
your body, to the present moment, to something quieter
than the static in your head. It's what happens when you press
pause on reacting to everything like it's defcon one and just
exist for a second. And No, 5 minutes of mindfulness
(01:15:25):
won't cure your burnout or instantly delete your inbox, but
it will give your brain a breath.
Of. Air between the noise.
It. Creates the tiniest wedge
between stimulus and reaction, where peace might eventually
sneak in and say. Hey, maybe you don't.
(01:15:46):
Have to lose your mind today? The world has trained you to
equate worth with output, success with speed and presence
with productivity. Mindfulness gently calls BS on.
All of that, it says. You are allowed to slow down.
You are allowed to be, not just do so.
(01:16:11):
Try it. Breathe.
Pause. Let a moment be.
Just. A moment.
Your brain is more than a task manager.
It's a living thing. And like anything living, it
needs quiet. It needs stillness.
(01:16:34):
It needs you to check in before it checks out.
You deserve peace. Even if it's just for 5 minutes
today. Especially if it's just for 5
minutes today. The bottom line?
Burnout isn't. Just a rough patch.
(01:16:57):
It's not just a little tired or just.
A busy season. Or just need to push?
Through It's not something you can fix with a single nap, a
motivational quote, or a new planner you'll forget to use by
next week. Burnout is your entire body and
brain slamming on the emergency brake, throwing up red flags and
(01:17:21):
screaming in unison. Hey, we are not OK.
It's not subtle. It's not shy, and it is not
something you're supposed to power through with iced coffee,
guilt, and the sheer force of Type A ambition.
This isn't a vibe, it's a crisis.
(01:17:43):
It's a neon sign in your nervoussystem, blinking, recalculating
route in all caps. Burnout is not weakness.
It's not a. Flaw in your character or a
failure of mindset? It's a full body protest against
the impossible standards you've been living under.
(01:18:05):
It's what happens when your lifebecomes one big performance of
being fine while you're silentlyfalling apart backstage.
It's a warning that your currentsetup is unsustainable, that
your calendar, your commitments,your boundaries, and your
beliefs about productivity are draining you faster than you can
(01:18:28):
recover. And it's a loud invitation to
rebuild, to rethink the lie thatrest has to be earned by first
becoming a husk of a person. Spoiler, it doesn't.
Burnout demands real rest. Not just zoning out on a screen
(01:18:50):
until you dissociate, but actualreplenishment.
Sleep, stillness, joy, boundaries that aren't just
Swiss cheese, conversations thatdon't drain you, expectations
that don't eat you alive. It asks you to stop treating
(01:19:13):
yourself like a machine that outputs value on demand and
start remembering that you are aperson with limits, with needs,
and with the right to not constantly be on the verge of
collapse. So if you're running on fumes,
if you're resenting everyone andeverything, if your joy has
(01:19:36):
packed a bag and ghosted you, please.
Take this. Seriously, this isn't a
motivational pep talk. This is your sign to pause, to
rest, to recalibrate. Not someday now.
Because the truth is, you don't have to earn rest.
(01:19:59):
You deserve it simply because you exist.
And the more you listen to your burnout, the more it transforms
from a screen into something softer, something like clarity,
something like peace, something like you.
(01:20:23):
Coming back to yourself. Recovery.
Is an instant and it sure as hell isn't linear.
It's not a glow up montage whereyou wake up one day, do some
yoga, delete some emails and suddenly feel reborn.
It's messy. It's slow.
(01:20:45):
It's 2 steps. Forward one existential crisis
back. It's remembering to eat
breakfast three days in a row and then crying on the 4th
because you forgot again. It's not perfection, it's
persistence. But here's the thing, you can
come back from this not just as your old self, the over
(01:21:09):
functioning, over committed, people pleasing version of you
who confused exhaustion with achievement, but as someone new.
Someone who knows their limits, who doesn't apologize for
needing rest, who looks at a calendar full of chaos and
(01:21:30):
thinks absolutely not. Someone who doesn't say yes just
to avoid guilt, silence, or disappointing.
Someone who wouldn't survive a single day in your shoes.
You don't have to earn peace through burnout.
You don't have to keep proving your worth with suffering.
(01:21:54):
You deserve to live a life that doesn't feel like an endless
performance review, where joy isa side effect instead of a.
Goal. You deserve mornings that start
gently, not with panic, Eveningsthat hold space for peace
instead of playing catch up. Weekends that don't feel like a
(01:22:15):
recovery ward. You deserve joy that doesn't
feel like a guilty pleasure, rest that isn't laced with
shame, energy that actually makes it past noon, and most of
all, you deserve to remember whoyou are beneath the burnout.
(01:22:38):
A whole damn person. Not a robot, not a productivity
machine, not a walking To Do List in cute.
Shoes. So no, burnout isn't the end.
It's not the full collapse of your character arc.
It's the plot twist. The moment where you wake up,
(01:23:02):
look around at the flaming debris of hustle culture, and
say, actually, no more of this. It's the turning point where the
soundtrack kicks in and the lighting shifts and your
recovery montage begins, full ofnaps, boundaries, unapologetic
(01:23:22):
nose, slow mornings and rediscovered joy.
And yeah, you might still be a little crispy.
That's OK. Healing takes time.
But you're not burnt out forever.
You're just in between chapters and what's coming next.
(01:23:48):
That's the part where you start to.
Feel alive again. All right, babes, if you're
still listening. Chances are you're crispy, like
emotionally deep fried with a side of I swear I'm fine sauce.
And listen, if nobody's told youthis lately, it makes sense that
(01:24:11):
you're tired. It makes sense that you're
stretched too thin, checked out,or snapping at your loved ones
because because someone breathedwrong.
Burnout doesn't happen because you're weak.
It happens because you've been strong for too long without
enough support. Without enough rest.
And without enough no in your vocabulary, you're not lazy,
(01:24:36):
you're not dramatic. You're a human being with
limits. And pushing past them day after
day doesn't make you a hero, it makes you a time bomb.
And I say that with love. So here's your homework.
Give yourself some grace. Say no to one thing this week
(01:25:01):
that doesn't serve you. Ask for help without apologizing
for it. Do.
Something wildly unproductive just because it brings you joy.
And maybe, just maybe, put yourself on your own priority
list. High up like top three.
(01:25:27):
Burnout isn't a character flaw, it's a signal, and you deserve
to answer it with care, not shame.
Thanks for spending time with metoday.
If this episode made you feel seen, dragged, or gently called
out in a productive way, share it with someone who needs the
(01:25:50):
same reminder. And if you're.
Craving more support? Don't forget, you can find
transcripts, blog posts, and ourBurnout Recovery cheer squad
over on the O'Neill Counseling app.
The link is in the show notes. And hey, if you're loving the
show, do the things that make the algorithms happy.
Rate it, review it, subscribe, and maybe shout it out in your
(01:26:13):
group chat. Your support helps this little
mental health corner of the Internet keep growing, and I
appreciate the hell out of you for it.
Now go drink some water, turn off your phone for 5 minutes,
and give yourself credit for showing up.
I'll see you next week for our next guided journal entry, and
(01:26:34):
ideally, we'll all be less crispy.
So if you're listening to this while lying face down on the
carpet, contemplating whether you have the energy to make a
cup of coffee or just chew some beans and hope for the best.
Hi welcome. You might be burnt out.
Not I need a nap. Tired.
(00:23):
Not one busy week exhausted. We're talking crispy soul deep.
I've rewatched the same Netflix show three times because making
a new decision feels illegal. Kind of fried.
Burnout isn't just about being overworked.
(00:44):
It's about being overwhelmed andunder resourced.
It's your brain hitting control alt delete while your body
throws up the Nope sign. And let's be honest, it's become
so normalized that half of us treat it like a personality
trait. So today we're going there.
(01:05):
What burnout actually is, why ithappens, and what to do when
you're in. Our battery isn't just dead,
it's corroded and leaking. Sarcasm.
No Productivity hacks? No just do yoga and hydrate BS.
Just. The real talk on how to uncrisp
(01:26):
your nervous system. Let's get into it.
Burnout isn't just I'm tired. It's.
My soul has left the group chat.It's when your body keeps
(01:48):
showing up but your brain is filing for emotional bankruptcy.
You're not. Just.
Low on energy? You're spiritually overray,
mentally tapped out, and physically surviving on caffeine
and vibes. This isn't your average long
week kind of exhaustion. This is the.
(02:11):
Deep fried, crispy edged, staring at the wall while your
inbox explodes level of done. It's when even replying lol.
Feels like a group project? Your job feels like quicksand,
your relationships feel like chores.
(02:33):
And that self-care list you madethree months ago?
Cute. Burnout is the result of
prolonged stress, unrealistic expectations, and the lie that
rest is something you earn. Spoiler alert.
It's not. It's what happens when you keep
(02:56):
pushing, performing, and producing while ignoring the
tiny voice in your head whispering, hey, maybe we nap or
cry or scream into a pillow realquick.
Recognizing burnout isn't just about catching yourself sobbing
in your car after work, though relatable.
(03:19):
It's about noticing the slow fade, the apathy, the
irritability, the way your passions now feel like
paperwork, the way your yes muscle is overdeveloped and your
no muscle is in traction. If any of this sounds familiar,
(03:42):
you're not broken, you're burnt.And guess what?
You don't have to. Stay that way.
You can heal, you can rest, you can unlearn the nonsense that
got you here in the first place.So let's talk.
(04:02):
About what burnout really looks like, how to stop confusing it
with laziness, and what recoveryactually requires.
And it's not just bubble baths and chamomile tea, though.
Those don't hurt. Let's be clear.
(04:23):
Burnout doesn't just knock politely and say hey.
You. Might want to rest.
No burnout kicks down the door like a Wrecking Ball, wearing
Crocs and an oversized hoodie, clutching 1/2 melted iced coffee
and muttering we live here now. It doesn't gently ease into your
life. It takes over like a raccoon in
(04:46):
your attic, making weird noises at 2:00 AM and wrecking
everything. It touches your mind, your body,
your soul, and your will to answer emails.
Physically, you're basically a haunted iPhone battery, never
fully charged, constantly overheating and mysteriously
draining even when on airplane mode.
(05:09):
Chronic fatigue isn't just I didn't sleep well, it's I woke
up exhausted and somehow got more tired as the day went on.
Despite doing absolutely nothing.
Your body starts sending weird little SOS signals, headaches
that throb like your inbox notifications, stomach issues
(05:32):
that pop up the second you're stressed, and that shoulder
tension. Oh, that's just where you store
all your repressed rage and unmet needs now.
Welcome to the human stress warehouse.
Sleep. Forget it.
You're either lying wide awake with your brain running through
(05:52):
every cringey thing you've ever said since 2004, or you're
having dreams that feel more exhausting than real life.
You might fall asleep mid scrolland still wake up more tired
than when you started. And the cruel joke?
No amount of caffeine seems to help anymore.
(06:16):
It just makes you shaky, anxious, and aware of how much
work you're not doing. You might also feel heavier.
Not always physically, though. Yeah, sometimes that too.
But energetically, like you're wading through molasses just
(06:38):
trying to get through the day. Getting up to pee feels like a
quest. Responding to a text feels like
a dissertation. Grocery shopping?
You'd rather starve. Burnout doesn't just make you
tired, it makes your entire existence feel like it's being
(07:00):
run through a fog machine that also plays sad trombone sounds.
And the worst part? It sneaks up on you.
You don't realize you're in it until your body starts glitching
like Windows 98 and your soul isjust buffering emotionally.
(07:23):
Burnout doesn't just wear you down, it straight up hijacks
your personality and swaps it out with a gremlin who lives off
of sarcasm, caffeine, and seething resentment.
You're snappy, short tempered, and one minor inconvenience away
from a full blown adult tantrum over a broken shoelace or the
(07:46):
wrong kind of almond milk. Your patience gone vaporized,
evaporated like your. Will to answer how are you?
Texts, even the people you love dearly, start to feel like over
stimulating background noise, and your own internal monologue
(08:07):
sounds less like a supportive bestie and more like a tired
raccoon muttering every 3 minutes.
The tiniest things set you off. Someone chewing too loud A Slack
notification? Ping your own thoughts.
Daring to be loud while you're trying to dissociate and joy.
(08:32):
Please you. Used to like things, music,
hobbies, walking in the sunshinelike a functioning human, but
now everything feels like a chore.
Watching your favorite show? Meh.
(08:52):
Reading that book, you were so excited about getting invited to
do something fun. A social threat You.
Roll your eyes at everything, including the idea of fun
itself. Burnout makes joy feel like an
(09:14):
ancient myth someone told you about once.
Like Atlantis or Inbox 0? There's also that charming sense
of hopelessness clinging to you like the ghost of bad decisions
passed. It's subtle at first, just a
little meh here, a little what'sthe point there, And before you
(09:38):
know it, you're marinating in a low grade existential crisis.
Everything feels flat, detached.You're technically there, but
not really. More like emotionally ghosting
your own life. Interactions feel fake,
(09:59):
relationships feel exhausting. You're on your own private brain
fog island surrounded by people.But.
Weirdly alone, like you're buffering in real time and no
one's noticed. Burnout turns your inner world
(10:20):
into a grayscale rerun. Nothing's technically wrong, but
nothing feels right either. And that emotional numbness,
that's not peace. That's shutdown mode.
Mentally, you're foggier than a haunted Victorian, more at
(10:42):
midnight, and just as dramatic. Your brain is basically running
on dial up and every thought hasto fight through the static just
to make it to the front of the line.
Concentration missing, presumed dead.
You open your laptop to do 1 task and somehow lose 45 minutes
(11:03):
Googling whether raccoons can open doors.
They can, by the way, which feels metaphorically relevant.
Every attempt at focus turns into a detour, and you're lucky
if you make it through one paragraph, one e-mail, or one
sentence without spacing out or immediately forgetting what you
(11:27):
were doing. Motivation, Mia.
With no forwarding address, the ambition, drive, or even mild
interest you once had has packedits emotional suitcase and left
you here, staring at your list of responsibilities like they're
(11:48):
written in ancient Sumerian. You want to care, you know you
should care, but your brain's internal response is just static
and vibes. Even when you are working.
It's like swimming upstream through mental molasses.
(12:12):
You're busting your ass, spinning every plate, juggling
flaming tasks, and somehow stillfeel like you're getting
nowhere. It's that special.
Flavor of burnout, where productivity becomes
performative. You're doing things, sure, but
(12:34):
everything feels hollow, rushed,or half baked.
Your To Do List gets longer, notshorter, and your reward for
working yourself to the brink iswhat more things to do?
Cool, cool, cool. Cool.
(12:55):
Cool. Cool, cool, cool cool.
Even the smallest tasks start feeling enormous.
Responding to a simple e-mail islike writing a dissertation.
Paying a bill feels like assembling IKEA furniture with
one missing piece and a growing sense of doom.
(13:16):
Planning a meal might as well climb at first.
Burnout turns every decision into a mental obstacle course,
and your executive functioning is back there taking a nap in
the bushes. At its worst.
It starts messing with your sense of self.
(13:38):
You question your competence, your value, your sanity.
You forget things, repeat yourself, lose track of
conversations. And not in a.
Quirky way, but in a wait and I actually broken kind of way.
(14:00):
You're not. You're burnt and behaviorally
oof. This is where the wheels don't
just fall off, they fly. Off.
In four different directions. While you're still pretending to
steer, you start pulling back from literally everything.
(14:24):
Group chats go unopened. Work.
Calls become emotionally radioactive, even the thought of
someone casually asking how are you?
Fills you with. Dread because you know you're 3
seconds from either crying, snapping, or fake smiling so
aggressively your face might actually spasm.
(14:48):
Social energy gone. You don't even want to be around
yourself half the time. You're ghosting people not
because you don't care, but because existing feels like too
much. You don't have the.
Bandwidth to hold a conversation, let alone a
relationship. You start avoiding tax like
(15:11):
they're debt collectors. You leave people on red not
because you're rude, but becausereplying requires thought,
effort, and pretending to be a person.
Then cynicism kicks in like an uninvited houseguest who eats
all your snacks and judges your life choices.
(15:32):
Everything feels pointless. That project you used to care
about? Dumb.
The meeting you're supposed to prep for?
What's even the point? You find yourself side eyeing
everything from workplace pep talks to inspirational quotes
with a vibe of. Wow, that's a lot of.
(15:54):
Optimism for someone who clearlyisn't drowning an e-mail.
And then there's the procrastination.
Not the cute oops I got distracted kind.
No, this is industrial grade procrastination where your brain
(16:15):
flat out refuses to cooperate. You stare at your task list,
then suddenly decide organizing your sock drawer or deep diving
into niche conspiracy tik toks is the priority.
It's not laziness, it's a full blown work strike staged by your
(16:37):
nervous system. Your.
Executive function is picketing with little cardboard signs that
say. We're over it.
You're not doing things because your brain is overwhelmed,
overworked, and under cared for.It's trying to protect you the
only way it knows how, by shutting down anything that
(17:00):
might make the burnout worse. Which unfortunately is
everything. Burnout doesn't just whisper.
Hey, maybe slow down. It commandeers your system.
Slams on the gas, cranks danger zone at full volume and launches
(17:21):
you straight into emotional gridlock.
You're running on fumes and vibes while your inner voice
screams. We should not be doing this.
And the worst part? You still try.
You still show up. You still.
Perform being OK until one day your brain turns into.
(17:46):
Hot. Soup and your body starts
sending invoices for unpaid rest.
Recognizing these signs isn't about self diagnosing or
spiraling. It's step one, Step 2.
Giving yourself permission to pause, to opt out of the Burnout
(18:08):
Olympics, to say. Actually, I think I'll be.
Prioritizing not losing my entire sense of self today.
Thanks. So why does burnout happen?
Is it because you're weak, Lazy.Dramatic.
(18:30):
Nope. Burnout is what happens when
life shoves you into a high speed hamster wheel, throws in a
few flaming hoops, and yells just keep running while removing
the floor. At its core, burnout is a
mismatch, A cosmic tug of war between what's being asked of
(18:52):
you and what you actually have to give.
And spoiler alert, that gap. It's not your fault, so let's
break it down. First, there's work overload.
Also known as the never ending To Do List from hell that
(19:15):
regenerates like a cursed scrollevery time you cross something
off. It's not just I'm busy, it's I
haven't breathed through my nosein a week and I think I forgot
what day it is. You're juggling deadlines like
flaming chainsaws, trying to meet expectations that were
clearly drafted by someone who'snever heard of the concept of
(19:39):
time or mortality. The requests just keep coming.
Projects, side tasks, favors, quick asks, check insurance, and
just circling back emails that make you want to gently walk
into the sea. And it's not just tasks, it's
(19:59):
emotional labor too. You're the team therapist, the
group cheerleader, the crisis manager, and the one expected to
just handle it without losing your cool.
Your Co workers vent to you. Your boss leans on you.
Your group texts are filled withpeople asking for advice,
(20:20):
support. Or your last scrap of sanity.
You are everyone's safety net, but no one's checking if you are
fraying. The pressure is relentless, the
hours blurred. You start answering emails at
midnight, not because you're ambitious, but because if you
(20:40):
don't, the next morning we'll eat you alive.
Lunch becomes a granola bar inhaled while typing.
You lose track of your own needsbecause your brains default
setting has become urgency mode.And the support?
What support? You keep hearing about this
(21:03):
mystical teamwork concept, but in reality it feels like you're
stuck in an endless group project where you're doing 98%
of the work while everyone else is somehow busy making Canva
graphics or emotionally spiraling.
And yet you're still the one expected to smile through it and
(21:25):
respond promptly and carry it all with grace.
You know it's. Not graceful crying in a Staples
parking lot because you just remembered you forgot something
else. You are one group project, one
last minute request, one. Can you just away from a full
(21:49):
existential unraveling in front of your coworkers?
Possibly during a Zoom call, possibly while muted?
But. Very visibly dead inside Work
Overload is Burnout's favorite breeding ground, and the worst
part it tricks you into. Thinking.
(22:10):
You're the problem. Like if you just managed your
time better, were more productive, worked faster,
optimized harder, you wouldn't be drowning.
But the truth is, you're not failing.
You're being asked to carry too much with too little for too
long. Then there's the soul crushing
(22:35):
joy of lack of control, also known as the psychological
equivalent of being buckled intothe passenger seat of a clown
car driven by someone who's never read a map and thinks
brakes are optional. You know the feeling.
You're technically awake, technically working, technically
(22:57):
functioning, but it all feels like it's happening to you
instead of. With you.
Your calendar is full of meetings you didn't schedule,
your time is chewed up by priorities you didn't set, and
every day feels like playing whack emotional whack A mole
with problems you didn't create but are somehow expected to
(23:20):
solve. Maybe it's a boss who
micromanages so aggressively youhalf expect them to pop out of
your closet and critique how youbrush your teeth.
Or maybe it's an unpredictable work schedule that shifts more
than a reality TV shows villain.Reality TV villains loyalties
(23:42):
just stable enough to give you hope, but chaotic enough to ruin
your plans, your sleep, and yourwill to meal prep.
And it's not just about work. Lack of control bleeds into
every area of life. Maybe you're caring for others,
navigating systems that don't care.
(24:04):
You're human, or stuck in a cycle of just getting through
the week with no time to pause or ask yourself if any of this
actually feels OK. You become a passenger in your
own existence, strapped into theemotional roller coaster while
(24:24):
someone else holds the controls and DJ Khaled is screaming
another one every time a new crisis appears.
The emotional. Result A.
Cocktail of anxiety, helplessness and good old
fashioned resentment. You're not just tired, you're
(24:45):
edgy. You start snapping at printers,
traffic lights, and possibly your toothbrush for being too
aggressive. Everything feels like too much.
Because you never get a say in any of it.
Your choices feel limited, your voice feels silenced, and your
(25:09):
autonomy is on a long, mysterious sabbatical.
And you want to scream. Not at any one person.
But at the whole damn system. The system that keeps saying
you're in control of your life while stacking your To Do List
(25:31):
like a game of Jenga with missing pieces and 0 safety net.
Lack of control is insidious because it makes you doubt your
own power. It convinces you that this is
just how it is. That asking for more flexibility
or fewer responsibilities or actual breathing room is too
(25:53):
much. But let me be clear, being a
passenger in your own life is not a vibe.
It's a red. Flag and until you start
reclaiming even tiny bits of choice.
Your time, your space, your boundaries.
(26:15):
It'll keep sucking the oxygen out of your soul.
And Next up, there's unclear expectations.
AKA trying to win a game where no one.
Told you the rules. The goal posts.
Keep moving and half the time you're not even sure what sport
you're playing. Is this soccer?
(26:37):
Is this chess? Is this emotional?
Dodgeball. With yourself worth, no one
knows, least of all you. You're showing up, working hard
and trying. But there's this.
Constant underlying feeling of Am I doing this right?
(26:58):
Is this enough? Should I be posting?
More. Replying faster, saying fewer
just checking insurance in emails.
You start second. Guessing everything from how you
worded that Slack message to howmany exclamation points make you
(27:19):
sound enthusiastic but not unhinged.
The correct answer, by the way, is unknowable.
And because no one's giving you solid feedback or clear
direction, your brain fills in the blanks with its worst case
scenario generator. You assume you're screwing it
(27:39):
up, that everyone else gets it and you're the only one winging
it through adult life with a panicked smile and a color-coded
planner you stopped updating 3 weeks ago.
You're out here. Trying to perform, produce and
prove yourself in a system that keeps saying.
Just do your best while. Quietly judging you for not
(28:03):
reading minds. Sometimes you get praise out of
nowhere. Sometimes you get silence,
sometimes you get. We need to talk.
With no context and your nervoussystem immediately packs a
suitcase and flees. The lack of clarity turns into
(28:27):
constant vigilance. You start working longer hours
over preparing people, pleasing and rewriting emails 7 times
just to feel safe. Not even to succeed, just to
avoid invisible failure. You pour yourself into tasks
(28:49):
without knowing whether they matter, and then wonder why you
feel like a ghost in your own career.
Unclear expectations don't just cause stress, they cause self
erasure. Because when you never know
where you stand, you start performing instead of existing.
(29:10):
You become a shapeshifter, trying to be what you think is
wanted instead of what you actually are.
And that disconnect? Exhausting.
It's how burnout quietly worms its way in, not through chaos,
but through confusion. So yeah, if you're feeling like
(29:33):
you're running a race where no one told you the distance, where
the finish line teleports every few minutes and the judges are
mysteriously silent, that's not you being dramatic.
That's what happens when expectations are made of fog and
vibes. Let's not forget insufficient
(29:54):
rewards. The emotional equivalent of
busting your ass, pulling off a miracle with duct tape and a
deadline, and being handed a participation trophy.
It's broken and misspelled your name.
You've given it your all. Your energy, your creativity,
(30:17):
your emotional labor. And when do you get in return
crickets or worse, a vague good?Job said through a yawn while
someone else takes the credit inthe meeting.
Whether it's low. Pay that doesn't come close to
matching your effort. Lack of acknowledgement from
(30:40):
your boss. Or just the?
Gut wrenching sense that no one actually sees you.
This kind of soul level neglect chips away at your motivation.
You start asking why am I tryingso hard?
(31:01):
What's the point in going above and beyond if beyond?
Gets. Treated like the bare minimum.
This is when. You enter the emotional ROI
crisis. You're doing emotional calculus
everyday giving 110%. But the return feels like a.
(31:23):
Sad coupon that expired last week.
You're putting in energy, heart and probably more hours than
you're being paid for and the. Reward.
A vague e-mail. A meaningless badge.
We really appreciate your hard work.
(31:44):
Said in the same tone someone might use to complement a paper
towel brand. It's demoralizing.
It's draining. It's the psychological
equivalent of doing a triple backflip into a Shark Tank while
juggling flaming swords, only tobe met with a slow clap from
(32:08):
someone scrolling Instagram, clearly only half aware you
exist and it doesn't. Just hurt your ego.
It warps your sense of self worth.
You start wondering if you're actually not doing enough, even
though you're barely hanging on.You start believing your.
(32:32):
Value is invisible unless you break yourself to prove it when
effort. Isn't met with recognition,
monetary, emotional, or otherwise.
It creates a silent resentment that builds in the background.
(32:53):
It's Burnout's favorite sidekickdemotivation.
You don't even want to try anymore because deep down you've
learned that trying doesn't change anything.
So yeah, insufficient rewards aren't just disappointing.
They're demoralizing. They tell your brain this effort
(33:15):
doesn't matter until eventually you stop making it and finally
imbalance the silent assassin ofyour sanity.
It's that slow, creeping erosionof joy that happens when your
(33:37):
entire life becomes 1 long checklist of obligations.
You spend all your time doing, working, caretaking, fixing,
performing, planning, problem solving, mood managing,
appointment scheduling and. Emotionally triaging everyone
around you. You become the unpaid CEO of
(34:01):
Keeping It Together TM, and you do it so well, so consistently,
that no one, including you, remembers.
The last time you actually had fun.
Eventually, your days blur into an endless cycle of output.
(34:22):
Wake up, work, care for others, handle the emergencies, chase
the deadlines, maybe eat something, collapse, repeat.
And somewhere along the way you start to notice you haven't felt
anything in a while. Not joy, not curiosity, not even
(34:47):
a good laugh from a dumb meme. Just static Gray survival mode.
Burnout thrives in this imbalance.
It loves when there's no room for recovery, no space for
(35:10):
silliness, no buffer between youand your obligations when rest
becomes lazy. And joy becomes a luxury for
people who don't have real responsibilities when your
downtime is just collapsing in front of a screen while
scrolling. Past other people's highlight
(35:32):
reels. And wondering why you feel like
a potato with anxiety. This isn't just exhaustion, it's
an entire system malfunction. You're running a high intensity
schedule on a low battery body with 0 updates and no off
(35:52):
switch. And the worst part?
You blame yourself. You wonder why you're so
irritable, why your motivations gone, why your creativity dried
up, why you feel like a husk with a haircut.
You start to believe you're the problem.
(36:14):
But you're not. This is not a personal failure.
This is the math, not mapping. It's your brain and body weaving
tiny white flags screaming in Morse code made of exhaustion,
apathy, caffeine shakes, and that weird twitch in your eyelid
that started 3 weeks. Ago and won't quit.
(36:36):
The truth is. You're not broken, you're
imbalanced. You've been living in output
only mode without input. Rest Joy.
Or. Softness and no system, human or
machine can run like that without eventually glitching.
(36:57):
So if you're. Sitting here wondering why you
haven't laughed in forever or why getting out of bed feels
like a high stakes mission. Please hear this.
It's not just you. It's the system.
And it needs to change before your personality fully gets
(37:18):
replaced by a burnt toast emoji with commitment issues.
So you've hit the wall. Fallen through it and now you're
lying in the rubble wondering how to human again.
First of all, welcome. You're not alone and you're not
(37:42):
broken. You're burned.
And no, the fix is not. Just.
Power through it, unless your goal is a full on mental
combustion. If you want to actually recover
and maybe, just maybe not end upback in the burnout pit of
(38:07):
despair in three weeks, here's what needs to happen.
Step one, Recognize that you arenot a robot.
Seriously, You are not a machine.
You are not a productivity app with legs.
(38:29):
You're a messy, miraculous, beautifully breakable human
being with limits. And pretending otherwise is how
we all end up sobbing into our tote bags over out of stock
frozen dumplings while someone plays the succession theme song
in the distance. Rest is not optional.
(38:52):
It is not a reward you earn by completing an impossible.
To Do List or by surviving one more week of high functioning
misery. It's not the prize you get after
grinding yourself into dust for the approval of a boss, a
parent, a spouse, or your inner perfectionist.
(39:12):
Rest is not a nice to have. It's survival.
It's maintenance. It's the part.
Where your body and brain hit control, alt delete and beg for
a reboot. But we've been.
Sold this capitalist fever dreamthat says rest must be
justified. That you have to deserve it.
(39:35):
That you can only nap if you've already conquered your e-mail
inbox, emotionally supported everyone in your orbit, cleaned
out your fridge, and somehow stop spiraling about your
entire. Future.
And even then. Rest comes with a side of guilt
like you're. Failing some invisible.
Test. By letting yourself.
Exist without producing something that's not REST.
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That's internalized hustle culture with a sprinkle of
burnout seasoning. Real rest means building in
breaks before your body taps out.
Actual weekends, not ones where you secretly try to get ahead
while gaslighting yourself into thinking it's self-care.
(40:24):
Screen free evenings where you let your brain wander instead of
doom scrolling until your eyes glaze over.
Naps that you take in the middleof the day like some European
icon. Vacations that don't include
your work e-mail, just in case. Because guess what?
(40:45):
The world won't stop spinning ifyou miss a Slack notification
you are not morally obligated tobe on all the time.
You are allowed to do less to step back.
To rest without first earning itthrough suffering.
(41:09):
Because here's the truth, if youdon't choose to rest, your body
will force you to. And that rest.
Won't be peaceful, it'll be a breakdown in a parking.
Lot. A panic attack mid meeting.
Or a full. On shutdown, we're even brushing
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your teeth feels like climbing Everest in flip flops.
So let's skip the meltdown and start with the basics.
You are human. You need fuel.
Not just food, but peace, silence, laughter, sleep that
(41:52):
doesn't start with collapsing. Rest isn't weakness, it's
wisdom, and it's your first stepout of the burnout inferno.
Step 2. Learn the magic word.
No, let's just RIP the Band-Aid off.
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If you're burnout, chances are you have a complicated
relationship with the word no. Maybe it feels rude.
Maybe it feels selfish. Maybe you've been conditioned to
believe that you are worth is directly tied to how useful you
are to other people, which is how you ended up emotionally
(42:40):
multitasking yourself into the fetal.
Position in the first place, burnout thrives in people
pleasers, perfectionists and recovering overachievers who
treat boundaries like optional bumper stickers instead of life
saving guardrails. You keep saying yes because you
(43:00):
don't want to disappoint anyone,except you keep disappointing
yourself. And let's be real, That slow,
internal, betrayal, it adds up. Here's the truth, unfiltered.
(43:21):
Every time you say yes to something that drains you,
distracts you, or demands more than you've got to give, you're
saying no to your own peace, your energy, your healing, your
basic human need for downtime and dignity.
(43:45):
And sure, it it feels easier in the moment to just agree,
because then you don't have to explain, defend, or sit with the
guilt. But that ease is a lie.
Because afterward, you're fried,you're resentful, you're
(44:07):
exhausted and spiraling. Wondering why you're always the
one carrying the emotional groupproject and that unpaid
therapist role you keep falling into?
Retire it immediately. If someone treats your
compassion like an emotional ATMwith unlimited withdrawals, it's
(44:33):
not noble to keep showing up. It's masochistic.
You're not selfish for protecting your peace.
You're not a bad friend, partner, Co worker, or human for
preserving your sanity. It's time to flex that Nope
muscle. Even if it's weak and trembling
(44:55):
like a newborn deer at first. Start with the low hanging
fruit. Decline the event that you don't
want to go to. Say no to that extra shift.
Let the call go to voicemail. You do not owe everyone your
time just because they asked. And the guilt.
(45:21):
Oh it'll, it'll show up, it always does.
But you can survive it. Let it ride shotgun if it must,
but don't let it drive. Eventually, that no will stop
feeling like a crisis and start feeling like a gift, a tiny
(45:44):
rebellion against burnout, a boundary wrapped in a full
sentence. So say it with me.
No, not today, not this time, not at the expense of myself.
(46:04):
You are allowed to disappoint others to avoid abandoning
yourself. Step three, Remember what the
hell you care about. Burnout doesn't just drain your
energy, it erases your compass. Everything starts feeling the
(46:27):
same. Bland.
Obligatory Gray You wake up, go through the.
Motions, maybe answer some emails, maybe feed yourself
something that isn't sadness. But nothing feels like anything,
and that's the scariest. Part It's not just exhaustion,
(46:50):
it's emotional amnesia. You forget what you love.
You forget what lights you up. You forget that you were ever
more than a calendar full of tasks and a brain full of tabs.
This step is about reversing that.
It's not about finding your passion in a Ted Talk kind of
(47:13):
way. It's about crawling back to your
own humanity through whatever tiny weird wonderful thing still
sparks even the faintest flickerof joy.
It's about reconnecting to the why underneath all the
performing. What makes you feel alive, not
(47:37):
just useful? What reminds you that you're a
full ass person with wants and needs and feelings Not.
Just a burnout shaped productivity puppet.
It could be anything, painting, baking.
Writing terrible poetry under the moon, gardening, lying on
(48:00):
the floor listening to sad musicand staring at the ceiling like
you're in an A 24 film screamingParamore lyrics alone in your
car with the kind of emotional intensity that scares nearby
drivers. Whatever it is, do more of that.
This isn't about being productive.
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This is about feeling like you again, and if you don't know
what you even means anymore, that's OK.
That's part of it. Start by asking real, grounding
questions. What do I want, not just what's
(48:47):
expected of me? When do I feel most like myself?
What would I? Do if no one was watching,
judging, or expecting anything. And please understand, these are
not cute journal prompts. They're survival questions.
(49:10):
Because when you lose touch withwhat matters to you, burnout
fills in the blanks with noise, guilt, and obligation.
But. When you start realigning your
life, even in tiny ways, with what actually feels meaningful
to you, that's when things shift.
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That's when healing starts. Not the kind you perform for
Instagram, but the real kind. The kind that's slow and private
and sometimes messy. The kind where you remember
you're not just here to work, achieve, and hold everyone else
(49:54):
together. You're here to live, to feel, to
want things, to find joy again, even if it's in tiny,
ridiculous, sacred moments that make no sense to anyone but you.
(50:14):
And when you start building a life around those things,
burnout doesn't stand a chance. Step 4.
Delegate or ask for help. You're not a one person cult.
Look. I know independence has been
(50:36):
marketed to you as a personalitytrait.
Somewhere along the way you absorb the message that asking
for help equals weakness, that needing support equals failure,
and that being self-sufficient to the point of collapse is
somehow virtuous. But let me.
(50:56):
Lovingly remind you this isn't acompetition for most emotionally
overexerted human. You don't win anything for doing
everything alone. Accept exhaustion, resentment,
and possibly a neck cramp from holding up the weight of the
world. You are not a one person cult.
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You don't have to recruit yourself into a lifestyle of
over functioning and solo suffering.
That I'll just do it myself. Energy it's.
Admirable until it's self-destructive.
If you're juggling blaming swords while riding a unicycle
across a tightrope and wonderingwhy you.
Keep getting burned maybe? Just.
(51:44):
Maybe it's time to hand off. A sword or two.
Start delegating. Ask for help.
And then and. This is the real kicker.
Let people help you. Let your partner do the dishes
(52:04):
and resist the urge to rearrangeeverything after.
Let your Co worker take the leadon a project even if they do it
in a slightly. Chaotic way that makes your left
eye twitch. Let your friends show up for you
even when you're not feeling like the fun one or the strong
one. Or the I swear I'm fine one.
(52:27):
News flash, the world won't implode if you loosen your grip.
Delegation isn't laziness, It's logistics.
It's management. It's survival.
You are not more lovable, worthy, or valuable just because
you did it all on your own and never asked for anything in
(52:49):
return. That's not strength, that's
burnout. And it's Sunday best.
And I get it. Maybe asking for help feels
awkward, vulnerable, messy. But guess what?
People can't show up for you if you never let them see where
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you're struggling. You're allowed to say hey.
I'm drowning a little, can you throw me a life raft instead of
just admiring how well I fake swim?
You don't have to earn rest. By first setting yourself on
fire to keep everyone else warm.You don't have to hit rock
(53:32):
bottom before you're allowed to receive support.
Channel your inner exhausted CEO.
Outsource the chaos. Delegate the nonsense.
Give yourself. Permission to be helped.
Because being strong doesn't mean doing it all.
(53:53):
It means knowing when to say. Actually.
I can't do this alone. And I shouldn't have to Step 5.
Self-care isn't just bubble baths, but also bubble bath
slab. Let's start here. self-care is
(54:17):
not aesthetic. It's not all face maths.
It's not all face masks, teal journals or those Instagram
posts of a sunset with the caption Just breathe.
Love those for you, but no. Self-care is not cute.
It's not curated. It's the often boring, unsexy,
(54:42):
necessary choice to not completely unravel.
It's showing up for yourself in ways that no one else can see.
But that your future self will 100% thank you for.
It's not indulgence, it's maintenance.
And yes, sometimes it is a bath and a latte, but more often it's
(55:07):
doing the hard, repetitive basiccrap that keeps your meat suit
functioning and your soul from slipping into a depressive fog.
Let's. Break it down.
Sleep. You are not a raccoon.
You need more than chaotic naps and caffeine to function.
(55:28):
Sleep is the reset button your brain is begging you to hit, not
something to barter. With.
Like if I finish this spreadsheet.
I'll allow myself to sleep tonight.
No talk. Yourself in like you're someone
you. Love, get off your phone.
(55:49):
Give your nervous system a bedtime, not a negotiation.
You deserve rest. That doesn't come with guilt or
a panic. Hangover food.
You are not a sentient coffee machine and goldfish crackers.
(56:10):
Iconic, but not a food group. Your brain is a needy little
goblin that runs on actual nutrition, not fumes and cold
brew. Feed it something green,
something with protein, something that didn't come out
of a vending machine or your emotional eating spiral.
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Nourishment isn't about being good, it's about giving your
body and mind the literal building blocks to function.
And yes, joy food counts too. Eat the cookie.
Hydrate like it's a hobby. Take your vitamins like you're a
chaotic little plant that needs upkeep.
(56:54):
Movement. Not the punishment kind, not the
earn your carbs kind. We're talking about gentle,
joyful movement. The kind that reminds your body
it's alive and not just a vesselfor stress storage.
(57:15):
Walk outside, stretch like a cat, do bad yoga in your living
room, dance like no one's watching and Beyoncé is watching
your nervous system needs. Physical release.
You don't have to crush a workout, you just have to move.
(57:39):
Show your body. It's part of the team.
Self-care is making choices thatserve your long term Wellness,
not just your short term coping.It's taking your meds, making
the appointment, saying no, logging off, turning on do not
(58:00):
disturb, and actually meaning it.
It's maintenance, boundaries, and rebellion.
Rebellion against the systems that taught you that your worth
is in your output and your burnout is just a vibe.
So yeah, bubble bath. Slap but.
So does going to therapy. So does saying I matter enough
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to eat something that didn't come from a drive through.
So does prioritizing sleep over hustle.
So does showing up for yourself consistently, not just when
everything's on fire. Because self-care isn't
weakness, it's you building the infrastructure that keeps you
(58:43):
whole when everything else is asking you to fall apart.
Step 6. Rethink that chaos schedule.
Babe, let's talk about your calendar.
If it currently looks like a color-coded crime scene where
(59:03):
every hour is booked, double booked, or ominously labeled
catch up, then it's time for an intervention.
Specifically one where you lovingly remind yourself that
you're not a Cyborg who runs on espresso and vibes.
You're a person. A person who deserves more than
(59:24):
a schedule designed by Satan andGoogle Calendar in a joint power
grab. Somewhere along the way, you
started treating burnout like a badge of honor.
Like busy equals important, and a full schedule means you're
doing something right. But babe.
When was the last time you actually enjoyed your day?
(59:46):
Or breathed or. Peed in peace?
If your entire week is packed with meetings, tasks, favors,
emotional labor, and mystery obligations you can't even
remember saying yes to, then yeah, your burnout isn't
mysterious. It's math.
(01:00:08):
It's over capacity with a side of soul erosion.
It's time to rethink the whole thing.
Start with the sacred question is this.
Task aligned with my goals, values and sanity.
Or is it just? Eating my soul like an emotional
tapeworm. Because not everything deserves
(01:00:29):
space in your life. Not every opportunity is worth
the anxiety. Not every invite project.
Or favor is a yes. Sometimes it's just a stress
booby. Trap in a trench coat, and if
your boss, Co worker or client is tossing flaming hot deadlines
at you like they're running a T-shirt cannon at a stress
(01:00:51):
circus, then it's time to set a boundary.
You are allowed to speak up. You are allowed to say hey, this
isn't sustainable. You are allowed to ask what the
priorities actually are. Because if everything is urgent,
(01:01:15):
then nothing is, except maybe your nervous system, which is
moments away from filing for emancipation.
You're not weak for needing space.
You're not selfish for wanting time to eat a sandwich without
multitasking. You're human and humans need
(01:01:37):
breaks. Like real ones.
Ones where you don't check your e-mail on the toilet and pretend
that's self-care. So go into that calendar and
start decluttering. Cancel something, reschedule
something, let something go, block off time for actual
(01:02:00):
breathing. Add in blank space that isn't.
Just recovery from whatever justbroke because you deserve a life
that has room. In it not just for rest, but for
joy, for spontaneity, for doing nothing and not feeling bad
(01:02:22):
about it. Burnout doesn't just come from
doing too much, it comes from believing you have to.
And it's OK to unbelieve that starting now.
Step 7. Make room for fun.
(01:02:45):
Your brain will riot. Listen your inner child.
Is. Pacing in the metaphorical
corner of your soul right now. Clutching a juice box and
whispering. Remember when we used to enjoy
things? When life wasn't just
spreadsheets, coping mechanisms and haunting group chats?
(01:03:08):
Yeah. Kids.
Still in there and they're one more cancelled plan away from
staging a full blown glitter fueled rebellion.
Here's the truth. No one tells you when you're
deep in burnout. Fun is not optional.
It's not a bonus round after you've handled.
(01:03:29):
All your responsibilities and processed your trauma and done a
12 step skin care routine. Fun is functional.
It's what reminds your nervous system that you're alive, not
just surviving. You cannot work, fix, hustle, or
(01:03:51):
heal 24/7 and expect to stay sane.
That's a one way ticket to emotional flatlining.
If your whole life is just cycles of effort and recovery
with no joy in between, your brain will riot.
And the form of that riot? Apathy, resentment, numbness,
(01:04:17):
maybe even rage at people who doseem to be having fun.
Because somewhere inside, you'regrieving the parts of you that
forgot how. So let's unearth them.
Make fun a priority, not an afterthought.
(01:04:37):
Watch dumb tik toks. Play board games where the
stakes are nothing. Rewatch that trashy reality show
you pretend you're above? You're not and it's fine.
Paint something messy. Go roller skating.
Host a living room dance party. Do something just for the hell
(01:04:58):
of it, not because it's productive, marketable, or a
good networking opportunity. Fun isn't childish.
It's healing. It rewires your brain toward
joy. It gives your nervous system a
break from the cortisol flood. It's a form of resistance in a
(01:05:20):
world that profits off your exhaustion.
And don't wait until you have time for it.
Because let's be real. You won't.
Time for fun isn't found, it's made, and it starts by deciding
you're worth more than a schedule that includes only
(01:05:41):
work, chores, and the occasionalbreakdown.
Give yourself permission to enjoy things again, Not later.
Now, before your brain throws A tantrum, your burnout deepens,
or your inner child runs off with someone else who still
knows how to play. Because.
You're not here just to function, you're here to.
(01:06:04):
Live and fun. That's.
The part that makes the rest of it make sense.
Step 8. Reflect like you're the main
character in a self aware sitcom.
Once the burnout smoke starts toclear and you've stopped
(01:06:25):
emotionally malfunctioning everytime your phone pings, it's time
for the awkward, tender, cringy,necessary part of healing.
Reflection not to beat yourself up and question your entire
existence Kind. The honest, loving, slightly
(01:06:48):
salty kind. The kind that.
Starts with you. Squinting at your own life and
saying OK, how the hell did I end up here?
Cue the dramatic zoom. Cue the lo fi soundtrack.
Cue the flashbacks of you nodding yes while silently
screaming. Reflection is where the healing
(01:07:10):
turns from reactive to intentional.
It's where you look back, not topunish yourself, but to piece
together the map that got you sooff course in the first place.
It's asking questions like what boundaries did I not hold and
why? What guilt kept me saying yes
(01:07:33):
when I was screaming please no on the inside?
What version of success was I chasing that wasn't even mine to
begin with? Maybe you said yes because you
didn't want to disappoint anyone.
Maybe you overworked because youthought proving your.
Worth. Meant running yourself into the
ground. Maybe you didn't rest because
(01:07:54):
you were scared of what it wouldmean to slow down and feel the
feelings. Spoiler All of that is valid.
None of it means you're weak. It just means you were
functioning in a system, external or internal, that
wasn't built to support you. It was built to use you.
(01:08:16):
And now, now. You get to rewrite the.
Rules. Redraw the map, clean house,
emotionally burn the blueprint that told you burnout was the
cost of being good enough. Reflection is powerful, but it's
(01:08:37):
not about becoming perfect. It's about becoming clear, about
recognizing the patterns and choosing differently next time.
Not because you have to, but because you can.
This is where you get to become the version of you who sees it
(01:08:59):
coming, who says no sooner, who blocks out rest time like it's a
sacred ritual, who doesn't overextend just to feel valuable
And trust me, future you, They're already clapping.
Probably wearing cozy socks, possibly eating fruit from a
(01:09:22):
basket and sipping tea with boundaries built in.
So take the. Time to look back, do the
awkward analysis, laugh a little, cry a bit, reflect like
the main character in a self aware sitcom who's finally ready
to stop being the comedic reliefand start being the damn
(01:09:46):
protagonist. Step 9.
Sometimes you need backup. Phone a therapist.
OK, real talk, if self-care, journaling, bubble baths, send
interpretive dancing to breakup playlists, haven't moved the
(01:10:06):
burnout needle, it's time to call in backup.
Because while those things help,they can't always unstick you
from the mental traffic jam thatis chronic stress, internalized
pressure, and emotional spaghetti.
Burnout isn't just a time management issue.
(01:10:27):
It's not just too much work or Iforgot to meditate again.
It's a complex, layered tangle of beliefs, behaviors, trauma
responses, and nervous system overload.
And sometimes you need someone trained in decoding that mess to
help you untangle it without setting your entire personality
(01:10:50):
on fire. That's where therapy comes in,
or counseling, or coaching, or whatever flavor of qualified
support fits your needs and makes you feel like a person,
not a project. You don't have to wait until
you're falling apart in the parking lot screaming at your
iced coffee for not fixing your life.
(01:11:13):
If you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, checked out, or like
your emotional bandwidth is one group chat message away from
imploding, that's enough reason to reach out.
You are not weak for needing help.
You are not broken for wanting support.
You are not dramatic for saying,hey, I'm not OK and I don't know
(01:11:37):
what to do about it. Therapy isn't about fixing you,
it's about helping you understand yourself.
It's a space where you can say the messy, unfiltered, ugly
stuff without having to sandwichit between emojis or small.
Talk. It's where you learn how to
(01:12:01):
unlearn the guilt, perfectionism, hyper
independence, and I'll rest whenI'm dead mindset that got you
here in the first place. Because burnout recovery.
It's not just about fewer emailsand better snacks.
It's about radically reimaginingyour relationship to yourself,
(01:12:24):
your worth, your time, your limits.
And sometimes that process needsa guide, a witness, a person
trained to help you say, wait a minute, why am I living like
this and then actually do something about it?
(01:12:48):
So if the. Wheels are coming off and you're
coping tools feel like they've been duct taped together.
Phone a therapist. That's not failure.
That's strategy, because even superheroes have support teams,
and so should you. Step 10.
(01:13:13):
Mindfulness use. Your brain needs a time out too.
Let's be real. Your brain is tired, it's
overstimulated, over committed, and probably halfway through a
meltdown while trying to remember if you paid that bill.
Replied to that. Text or.
(01:13:34):
Just hallucinated doing both. It's been running on autopilot,
caffeine and mild panic. And you know what?
It needs a time out, not a punishment.
Just. A pause.
Mindfulness isn't just for people named Sage, who drink
(01:13:55):
moon water and speak exclusivelyin math affirmations.
It's for anyone whose brain is currently auditioning for the
Mental Chaos Olympics. If your thoughts are racing,
your anxiety is driving, and your internal monologue is a mix
of doom scrolling and disaster planning, Congrats, you qualify.
(01:14:18):
This doesn't mean you need to sit on a cushion for 90 minutes
and chant in Sanskrit. Mindfulness can be weirdly
simple. close your eyes and takethree real breaths.
Notice 5 things around you that don't require fixing.
Sit outside and stare at a tree until you remember you're a
(01:14:40):
human being and not a productivity productivity
algorithm. Feel your feet.
Yes, really wiggle your toes like you're trying to re
establish. Wi-Fi with your body.
That's mindfulness. It's the act of coming back to
(01:15:01):
your body, to the present moment, to something quieter
than the static in your head. It's what happens when you press
pause on reacting to everything like it's defcon one and just
exist for a second. And No, 5 minutes of mindfulness
(01:15:25):
won't cure your burnout or instantly delete your inbox, but
it will give your brain a breath.
Of. Air between the noise.
It. Creates the tiniest wedge
between stimulus and reaction, where peace might eventually
sneak in and say. Hey, maybe you don't.
(01:15:46):
Have to lose your mind today? The world has trained you to
equate worth with output, success with speed and presence
with productivity. Mindfulness gently calls BS on.
All of that, it says. You are allowed to slow down.
You are allowed to be, not just do so.
(01:16:11):
Try it. Breathe.
Pause. Let a moment be.
Just. A moment.
Your brain is more than a task manager.
It's a living thing. And like anything living, it
needs quiet. It needs stillness.
(01:16:34):
It needs you to check in before it checks out.
You deserve peace. Even if it's just for 5 minutes
today. Especially if it's just for 5
minutes today. The bottom line?
Burnout isn't. Just a rough patch.
(01:16:57):
It's not just a little tired or just.
A busy season. Or just need to push?
Through It's not something you can fix with a single nap, a
motivational quote, or a new planner you'll forget to use by
next week. Burnout is your entire body and
brain slamming on the emergency brake, throwing up red flags and
(01:17:21):
screaming in unison. Hey, we are not OK.
It's not subtle. It's not shy, and it is not
something you're supposed to power through with iced coffee,
guilt, and the sheer force of Type A ambition.
This isn't a vibe, it's a crisis.
(01:17:43):
It's a neon sign in your nervoussystem, blinking, recalculating
route in all caps. Burnout is not weakness.
It's not a. Flaw in your character or a
failure of mindset? It's a full body protest against
the impossible standards you've been living under.
(01:18:05):
It's what happens when your lifebecomes one big performance of
being fine while you're silentlyfalling apart backstage.
It's a warning that your currentsetup is unsustainable, that
your calendar, your commitments,your boundaries, and your
beliefs about productivity are draining you faster than you can
(01:18:28):
recover. And it's a loud invitation to
rebuild, to rethink the lie thatrest has to be earned by first
becoming a husk of a person. Spoiler, it doesn't.
Burnout demands real rest. Not just zoning out on a screen
(01:18:50):
until you dissociate, but actualreplenishment.
Sleep, stillness, joy, boundaries that aren't just
Swiss cheese, conversations thatdon't drain you, expectations
that don't eat you alive. It asks you to stop treating
(01:19:13):
yourself like a machine that outputs value on demand and
start remembering that you are aperson with limits, with needs,
and with the right to not constantly be on the verge of
collapse. So if you're running on fumes,
if you're resenting everyone andeverything, if your joy has
(01:19:36):
packed a bag and ghosted you, please.
Take this. Seriously, this isn't a
motivational pep talk. This is your sign to pause, to
rest, to recalibrate. Not someday now.
Because the truth is, you don't have to earn rest.
(01:19:59):
You deserve it simply because you exist.
And the more you listen to your burnout, the more it transforms
from a screen into something softer, something like clarity,
something like peace, something like you.
(01:20:23):
Coming back to yourself. Recovery.
Is an instant and it sure as hell isn't linear.
It's not a glow up montage whereyou wake up one day, do some
yoga, delete some emails and suddenly feel reborn.
It's messy. It's slow.
(01:20:45):
It's 2 steps. Forward one existential crisis
back. It's remembering to eat
breakfast three days in a row and then crying on the 4th
because you forgot again. It's not perfection, it's
persistence. But here's the thing, you can
come back from this not just as your old self, the over
(01:21:09):
functioning, over committed, people pleasing version of you
who confused exhaustion with achievement, but as someone new.
Someone who knows their limits, who doesn't apologize for
needing rest, who looks at a calendar full of chaos and
(01:21:30):
thinks absolutely not. Someone who doesn't say yes just
to avoid guilt, silence, or disappointing.
Someone who wouldn't survive a single day in your shoes.
You don't have to earn peace through burnout.
You don't have to keep proving your worth with suffering.
(01:21:54):
You deserve to live a life that doesn't feel like an endless
performance review, where joy isa side effect instead of a.
Goal. You deserve mornings that start
gently, not with panic, Eveningsthat hold space for peace
instead of playing catch up. Weekends that don't feel like a
(01:22:15):
recovery ward. You deserve joy that doesn't
feel like a guilty pleasure, rest that isn't laced with
shame, energy that actually makes it past noon, and most of
all, you deserve to remember whoyou are beneath the burnout.
(01:22:38):
A whole damn person. Not a robot, not a productivity
machine, not a walking To Do List in cute.
Shoes. So no, burnout isn't the end.
It's not the full collapse of your character arc.
It's the plot twist. The moment where you wake up,
(01:23:02):
look around at the flaming debris of hustle culture, and
say, actually, no more of this. It's the turning point where the
soundtrack kicks in and the lighting shifts and your
recovery montage begins, full ofnaps, boundaries, unapologetic
(01:23:22):
nose, slow mornings and rediscovered joy.
And yeah, you might still be a little crispy.
That's OK. Healing takes time.
But you're not burnt out forever.
You're just in between chapters and what's coming next.
(01:23:48):
That's the part where you start to.
Feel alive again. All right, babes, if you're
still listening. Chances are you're crispy, like
emotionally deep fried with a side of I swear I'm fine sauce.
And listen, if nobody's told youthis lately, it makes sense that
(01:24:11):
you're tired. It makes sense that you're
stretched too thin, checked out,or snapping at your loved ones
because because someone breathedwrong.
Burnout doesn't happen because you're weak.
It happens because you've been strong for too long without
enough support. Without enough rest.
And without enough no in your vocabulary, you're not lazy,
(01:24:36):
you're not dramatic. You're a human being with
limits. And pushing past them day after
day doesn't make you a hero, it makes you a time bomb.
And I say that with love. So here's your homework.
Give yourself some grace. Say no to one thing this week
(01:25:01):
that doesn't serve you. Ask for help without apologizing
for it. Do.
Something wildly unproductive just because it brings you joy.
And maybe, just maybe, put yourself on your own priority
list. High up like top three.
(01:25:27):
Burnout isn't a character flaw, it's a signal, and you deserve
to answer it with care, not shame.
Thanks for spending time with metoday.
If this episode made you feel seen, dragged, or gently called
out in a productive way, share it with someone who needs the
(01:25:50):
same reminder. And if you're.
Craving more support? Don't forget, you can find
transcripts, blog posts, and ourBurnout Recovery cheer squad
over on the O'Neill Counseling app.
The link is in the show notes. And hey, if you're loving the
show, do the things that make the algorithms happy.
Rate it, review it, subscribe, and maybe shout it out in your
(01:26:13):
group chat. Your support helps this little
mental health corner of the Internet keep growing, and I
appreciate the hell out of you for it.
Now go drink some water, turn off your phone for 5 minutes,
and give yourself credit for showing up.
I'll see you next week for our next guided journal entry, and
(01:26:34):
ideally, we'll all be less crispy.
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