Burnout Isn’t What You Think It Is—And That’s Why It’s So Dangerous
Weekly Dose of Work Recovery Vol. 2.25.25
Burnout isn’t just about stress. It rewires your energy, health, & sense of self.
If you think burnout is just about feeling tired or overworked, think again. Chris Bailey, in How to Calm Your Mind, explores how burnout is far worse than we assume, because it doesn’t just drain us in the moment, it fundamentally alters our relationship with work, rest, and even ourselves.
Psychologist Christina Maslach, whose research forms the foundation for modern burnout studies, defines burnout as having three key elements:
Emotional Exhaustion: The feeling of being drained, depleted, and beyond capacity. It’s not just about working long hours—it’s about the ongoing emotional and mental toll of work that offers no restoration.
Depersonalization (Cynicism): When you start feeling detached from your work, your colleagues, or even yourself. You go from being engaged to just going through the motions, often developing a hardened, cynical outlook.
Reduced Personal Accomplishment : The worst part: burnout makes you feel like you’re not good at what you do anymore. You might still be performing well, but you no longer feel effective, which makes motivation collapse.
When all three of these elements are present, burnout becomes more than a rough patch - it turns into a chronic state that rewires your brain and body. It drains your life force, alters your stress response, and can take years to recover from if left unchecked.
Work wounds™ is how we at Executive Unschool describe the emotional and psychological scars of work with burnout being the number one work wound. It's so important to understand it's insidious patterns to catch it before it fully strikes.
The Subtle Ways Burnout Hijacks Your Health and Energy
Unlike a simple case of exhaustion, burnout doesn’t just go away with a weekend off. It embeds itself into your nervous system. You might notice:
You don’t recover from rest: Even if you sleep more or take time off, you still feel drained.
Your focus & memory decline: You struggle to stay present, and tasks that used to be easy feel overwhelming.
Your body protests: Chronic headaches, gut issues, muscle tension, or an overall sense of being off creep in.
You stop caring about things you once loved: Work, hobbies, relationships, it all feels like too much effort.
These signs often creep in slowly, making it easy to dismiss them as "just a busy season" - until that busy season becomes your new normal.
Are You on the Path to Burnout?
Take a moment to reflect:
Are you constantly pushing through exhaustion, assuming rest will “fix itself” later?
Do you feel increasingly disconnected from your work or find yourself resenting it?
Are you questioning your abilities more than usual—even if external success hasn’t changed?
If you answered yes to even one, your body and mind might be warning you that burnout is setting in. And trust me, it’s easier to make small changes now than to recover from full-on burnout later.
The Cost of Ignoring the Signs
A few years ago, a beloved client ignored these exact signs. I watched as she kept telling herself, it’s just a busy period, it'll slow down soon. Months passed. Then a year. Then two. She was constantly exhausted but convinced that if she just worked harder, she could OVERCOME the stress.
Then her body forced her to stop. Chronic fatigue, brain fog, and a complete loss of passion for her work hit like a brick wall. It's taken years of recalibrating her habits and priorities to recover—and from her experience, I know firsthand that checking in before burnout takes over is the only real way to prevent it.
If this resonates, take this as your permission slip to pause and recalibrate.
Small changes now = avoiding years of recovery later.
Burnout isn’t what you think it is… it’s worse. But the good news? You can stop it before it stops you.
P.S. I have two spots for private mentorship beginning in March. If you need burnout prevention support so that you can stop it before it sets in fully, let's chat.
This Week's Did You Know?
Musk sent federal employees an email on Saturday demanding they justify their jobs by listing five tasks they completed last week - failure to respond would result in termination. He also stated that AI would review their answers, presumably to assess their “value” to the government. Just like a former colleague who said, “You say you're working a lot, but I don’t see it.” It reeks of a egomaniacal belief that if I don’t perceive it, it must not be true.
The problem: Musk, just like my former colleague, have no visibility into the work.
A better approach: Get curious. Ask questions to understand, not for a “gotcha” moment to terminate and make life miserable for people doing their jobs. Understanding > Being right.
Source: Musk's “What Did You Do Last Week” Email Hits 1M Replies
Links & Resources We Love Right Now
A listen: It may be old but I cannot stop jamming to Connor Price's These Days. The sun is shining, my energy is flowing, and I'm stepping into a new era. Never stopping!
A learn: My favorite business intuitive Kleine Leonard shared an awesome energy reset practice: to release the weight or heaviness of something triggering or activating, she said to make a list of all the positives that came from that thing. It helps to reduce the negative charge and see the whole of the issue more clearly and neutralize impact.
A shoutout: It's no secret that I love journaling and getting my thoughts on the page. For anyone new to it, Allie Mirosevic of Bliss Co is offering Stress Less readers 50% off her course Magic Moments Manifestation Journaling Course with code Bree50.
Something I love: This quote is sitting on my soul “Don't let people pull you into their storm. Pull them into your peace.” In turbulent times, how can I be the peace?
