Burnout and chronic stress: recognising it and recovering
Burnout is not ordinary tiredness. It is what happens after months of demand without recovery: exhaustion that rest does not fix, growing cynicism about work you once cared about and a sense that you are no longer any good at it.
The three signs of burnout
Why it happens
Sustained overload, no control over how you work, unfair treatment, absent recognition and values that clash with what you are asked to do. Common among doctors and nurses, teachers, junior lawyers, call-centre and tech workers and unpaid family carers.
When to speak to a professional
If exhaustion has persisted for more than a few weeks after rest, if you are making uncharacteristic errors, if you are relying on substances to get through or if burnout has slid into depression, flat mood and hopelessness beyond work.
How we treat burnout
Burnout is treated as a systems problem as much as a personal one. Coping skills alone, in an unchanged workload, do not work.
Recovery structuring
Rebuilding sleep, boundaries and genuine recovery periods, the non-negotiable first phase, before anything else is attempted.
Cognitive work on perfectionism and guilt
Targeting the beliefs that make rest feel like failure and saying no feel like betrayal.
Values and role clarification
Deciding what is actually changeable in your role, what is not and what that means for your next decision, including changing jobs.
Screening for depression
Burnout and depression overlap heavily. We screen at intake so the right condition is treated.
What a course of treatment looks like
Usually 6 to 10 sessions. Most clients see the largest gains once sleep and boundaries stabilise, generally within the first month.
Start the check-inburnout self-check
Over the last two weeks, how often has each been true? This is an educational screen, not a diagnosis, a clinician confirms anything it suggests.
1. I feel emotionally drained by my work
2. I have become more cynical or detached about my work
3. I doubt the value and quality of what I do
4. Rest and holidays no longer restore me
5. I am irritable with people at home in a way I never used to be
Key takeaways
- Burnout is what happens when stress goes on for too long without a break.
- Signs include feeling drained, irritable and unable to switch off.
- Therapy helps you set boundaries and get your energy back.
- You don’t need to quit your job or studies to start feeling better.