Feeling “burnt out” isn’t always what people assume.

When someone says, “I’m burnt out,” it’s easy to think they’re just overworked, that a good night’s sleep or a weekend off will fix it. And sometimes, that’s true.

But burnout can run deeper than exhaustion. It’s not just physical fatigue; it can be emotional and psychological, too. It can come from prolonged stress, pressure, responsibility, or even things happening behind the scenes that no one else sees.

It’s worth recognizing that burnout is complex. And recovery often requires more than just rest.

And if you’re not careful, burnout can lead to depression. Because you aren’t just tired, you are worn out, trying to be everywhere at once, trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good coworker, someone people can lean on, can call, can look to you for reassurance, and before you realize it, you left nothing in there for yourself.

The hardest part of it all is trying to feel understood. Because for me, I could communicate how I feel and tell someone I’m burntout, but their first question always starts with “why,” like they are trying to solve the problem. When the truth is, there is no solution. And trying to fix our problems can come from a place of love, but it leaves me feeling more misunderstood. Because I’m not even sure why I feel this way in the first place…I feel like when someone asks me why what’s got you down? All I hear is “Oh, so what are you planning to do to fix it?” That’s not why I opened this conversation with you… I thought when you reach out for help, you’re supposed to receive advice, not be the one to come up with it.

I’ve been struggling with burnout all month. It’s really hard to ground yourself, even if you know what might be causing it. This time, I knew it was because I put way too much on my plate, and unfortunately dealt with a lot of things that drained me. This past week, I thought that if I just slept in a little more, booked a massage, and took a few hot baths, I’d be back on my feet for next week. But I’m not.

If I could explain how I feel in one sentence, I feel like I need to cry a river, but my eyes are dry. Bottled up. Because even though my brain is ready to keep going, my nervous system isn’t. And the hard truth is accepting that healing will take time. Even if you do all the wellness remedies and try to advance the situation, it doesn’t always work like that.

If you broke your foot, you can’t just ice it for a week and then rip the cast off. Healing takes time, and if you try to jump back into it too early, you could find yourself injuring yourself over and over again, leaving you more frustrated and more burntout. So while it is still important to prioritize your mental health, you need to adjust your expectations to a realistic standard. Understand that this will take time, and it’s okay to gently test the water, but don’t jump into Monday thinking you’re all fine now when you know you’re not.

Start saying no, take time alone, carve time in your schedule to heal, and think about what is weighing you down right now, and what you can put off until you are feeling 100% better.

The sooner you can accept that, the sooner you can start your road to recovery. I thought I could shake this off within a week, but I’ve been reminded that I can’t, I don’t have superpowers, I’m a regular person.

So, here I am…

Acknowledge that how you’re feeling could be a result of you working too hard or a result of giving your time to others. And to realize that your burnout is a result of you trying to be an incredible person to others, and more!

Has it ever crossed your mind that you just happened to be a hard-worker that pushed themselves a little too hard?

That

is

okay.

It’s how we decide to move forward that matters MOST;

Recognize that your burntout, make peace with it (aka accept it, welcome it), identify the ROOT of it (understand why it happened), slow down (remove what is not a priority right now), and respect the time your body needs to come back to center (be kind, compassionate, and patient with yourself and don’t keep going back on Monday like everything is back in order because it takes more than the weekend off to reset from a real burnout).

And this is easier said than done. Trust me, I know. I happened to be sitting on my living room floor blogging away about a topic that might be my current situation. 🙂

Okay?