Yes, it happened – I burned out. On the weeks leading up to December 2024, I had been stressed for a while, but I ignored the signs until I couldn’t ignore them anymore. As many of you know, I am a pre-qualified psychologist, and yes, even psychologists experience burnout. Health professionals are, actually at a higher risk for burnout due to the demands of their jobs and the emotions strain their jobs carry with them. But luckily, as a pre-qualified psychologist, I also know a lot about stress and burnout, so I took the right steps that allowed me to recover from it. I have decided to share all of it in a blog post hoping that I might help others in similar situations.

How I Realised I Was Burned Out

The first signs that I was leading towards burnout were given to me by my Oura ring, that alerted me that I was experiencing one stressful day after another. However, I only realised that I was burned out as I was preparing a video on burnout for my YouTube Channel after a request from one of my subscribers. As I began researching about burnout, the more I read about burnout symptoms, the more I recognized them in myself. That’s when it hit me: I was burned out.

Why Did I Burn Out?

The first thing I did was try to understand why I burned out, to get to the root of the problem. The short answer? I had too much on my plate. I had just submitted my doctorate application, I was preparing a course and a webinar, I was managing my Youtube Channel all of his whilst helding two parti-time jobs.

In hindsight, it was obvious that burnout was inevitable. I was trying to do too much, and when I couldn’t finish everything on my to-do list, I’d feel even more stressed.

My Symptoms

When experiencing burnout, everyone would present with different symptoms. I experienced: constant fatigue despite sleeping 7-8 hours a night, changed in appetite with alternation between hunger and no appetite at all, and mood changes (I was a bit of a cranky pants).

In case you are trying to figure out whether you might be burned out, bear in mind that other symptoms to watch for include:

Feeling drained or overwhelmed.
Detachment from work or people at work.
Difficulty concentrating.
Reduced creativity and productivity.

Why Is Stress Dangerous?

Once I realised that I was burned out, I knew I had to do something about it, because while brief or moderate stress can enhance performance and even boost your immune system, prolonged stress can have severe consequences. Stress activates two key systems:

Sympathetic Nervous System (Fight-or-Flight): This prepares your body to react to danger through a fight or flight response. This system evolved from our ancestors as it enabled them to react to life-threatening dangers. Our brain cannot distinguish between real threats and everyday stressors, so it still activates those same ancestral mechanisms even if we don’t really need them.
HPA (Hypothalamus, Pituitary Gland, Adrenal Cortex) Axis: This system releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which increase metabolic activity and elevates blood sugar and other nutrients (to make our body ready for possible action). When the HPA axis is stimulated for too long, it can impair memory, focus, and emotional regulation. High cortisol levels have been linked to damages to the hippocampus (our brain’s memory centre), that could impact our memory over the long-term and cause conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Prolonged stress can also weaken the immune system, leaving you more susceptible to illnesses.

How I recovered

1. Problem-Solving

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The first thing I did was identifying and resolving the root cause of my stress: overworking. Instead of trying to do too much everyday, I started focusing on just a couple of tasks each day. To plan my days, I used ChatGPT to organise my deadlines and tasks. While I didn’t follow its plan exactly, it helped me structure my time more effectively.

2. Exercise

Physical activity is one of the best ways to combat stress. Emily and Amelia Nagoski, authors of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, explain that physical action can help “close the stress cycle.” For me, exercise is essential. I work out 4-5 times a week and focus on activities I genuinely enjoy, making it easier to stay consistent. Exercise was a crucial part of my recovery from burnout.

3. Rest

Before we talked about how stress activates the fight or flight system in our brain. The opposite of fight or flight is rest and digest. Without rest, my recovery from burnout would have been impossible. I made an effort to take breaks, engage in all the seven types of rest, spend more time away from screens, and incorporate yoga into my routine for active physical rest.

4. Connect with Others

Social support is one of the most powerful tools for managing stress. Studies show that even simple acts, like holding a loved one’s hand, can reduce stress responses. Spending time with my loved ones (including my partner, my friends and calling my family members more often) definitely boosted my mood, and helped me feeling happier and less stressed.

5. Mindfulness

As part of my recovery from burnout, I tried to incorporate more mindfulness in my routine. Whether it was though meditation, journaling, or even swimming, mindfulness helped me staying present, which helped reduce my anxiety about the past and the future. Mindfulness also helped me tune into my body’s signals, which allowed me to be better identify stress and slow down.

Lessons learned

Listening to the signs your body sends you is crucial to avoid burnout and other physical and mental illnesses.
Doing too much every day is a one ticket to burnout. Organise your calendar to make sure you are focusing your energies only on a couple of things every day and, if necessary, reconsider your priorities.
You can’t go about achieving your goals if your health is compromised. Taking care of your physical and mental health will pay off over the short and long-term.

What I Did to Recover from Burnout