How much can you give?
Burnout & Exhaustion: How Much Can You Give?
We live in a society that rewards doing more, faster, better. But we’re not machines. When pressure piles up without space for rest or recovery, exhaustion creeps in until you find yourself running on empty.
Burnout is more than tiredness — it’s a deep depletion of your physical, emotional, and mental reserves. It’s when “pushing through” stops being an option and life begins to feel like survival mode. Recognising burnout isn’t weakness; it’s the first step toward finding balance again.
At a glance
- Burnout goes beyond tiredness — it’s a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion when demands consistently outweigh resources.
- Common signs: Constant fatigue, cynicism, struggling to focus, irritability, and a sense that nothing you do makes a difference.
- Burnout often stems from workload, caring for others while neglecting yourself, perfectionism, and imbalance between giving and receiving.
- It can affect mood, body, relationships, and sense of self-worth if left unaddressed.
- Ways forward: Rest, boundaries, reconnection, balance, and therapeutic support can help restore energy and resilience.
Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental depletion. It often shows up when you give more than you receive — at work, in caring roles, or in life generally.
Common signs include:
- Waking up tired, no matter how long you’ve slept.
- Feeling detached, numb, or cynical.
- Struggling to focus or make decisions.
- Irritability or low patience with others.
- A sense that nothing you do makes a difference.
Why burnout happens
Stress itself can be useful — it sharpens focus and helps us rise to challenges. But when there’s no pause, the stress system stops working as intended. Cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, stays elevated, and the nervous system can’t reset.
Burnout often grows from:
- Workload. Too much to do, not enough time or support.
- Caring. Looking after others while neglecting yourself.
- Perfectionism. Feeling nothing is ever good enough.
- Imbalance. When rest, fun, or connection are consistently sacrificed.
Stress says: too much.
The difference between stress and burnout is stress feels like running too fast for too long — your system is overactivated. Whilst burnout feels like the engine has stalled — emptiness where energy used to be.
Burnout says: nothing left.
The impact of long-term exhaustion
Burnout doesn’t only affect mood. It can also show up in the body: headaches, digestive issues, lowered immunity, or chronic fatigue. Left unaddressed, it can erode self-worth and relationships too.
Steps toward recovery
Steps towards Overcoming
Here’s a few things you can do to overcome burnout/exhaustion
Rest. Not just sleep, but intentional downtime where you’re not “on call.”
Boundaries. Saying no, delegating, or limiting draining commitments.
Connection. Talking about your feelings instead of holding them in.
Balance. Reintroducing things that energise — creativity, nature, laughter.
Professional support. Therapy offers space to explore both causes and coping strategies.
What can we do…
In therapy, we can look at the patterns that contribute — perfectionism, people-pleasing, or systems demanding too much. Together, we can explore what’s in your control, where boundaries can be set, and how to reconnect with what restores you.
Burnout isn’t permanent, even if it feels endless in the middle of it. With care, patience, and support, recovery is possible.
Safe Spaces Therapy offers a place to slow down, reflect, and begin again. Not with quick fixes, but with steady steps towards renewal — so life can be lived, not just endured.
