Signs of Burnout You Shouldn’t Ignore

Last year, I finally accepted that I was burned out — a realisation that ultimately led to leaving my full-time corporate job to pursue a self-employed life.

I ignored the signs for too long. Every time I caught myself becoming overwhelmed, I promised to cut back, swearing to always take lunch breaks, log off at 5:30 every day, and stop going above and beyond for people who wouldn’t do the same for me.

Eventually, I realised that the job itself wasn’t the problem. It didn’t matter how much I loved my team and the work I was doing, the reality was that I would never be able to disconnect my self-worth from my job. If I worked for someone else, burnout was inevitable.

Here are the signs of burnout I spent too many months and years ignoring; learn from my mistakes and catch them early.

Constant Overwhelm

Once upon a time, I was confident at work, with my biggest stressors being the occasional tight deadline or big presentation. However, as my responsibility grew, those stressors started to multiply, seeping into my daily tasks before eventually infiltrating my whole life.

Before long, the simplest tasks like clearing down my inbox became incomprehensible. If I couldn’t handle even that, how could I be expected to keep on top of everything outside of work that kept my life running?

What to notice: If it feels like handling work and home life in tandem is becoming too much, it could be the first sign that you’re on your way to burnout.

Exhaustion

It didn’t matter how consistent my sleep schedule was or how many hours I was down for, my brain felt foggy and my eyelids were drooping by lunchtime every day without fail.

Eventually, all hope of doing anything after work was lost. Happy hours, dinner dates, and exercise classes were all off the cards. Instead, I had to go straight home, whip up whatever dinner I could muster the energy for (the microwave became my best friend), go to bed, and hope I was a little more awake the next day.

What to notice: Start keeping track of your sleeping habits and notice if your energy levels don’t seem to match up to the amount of sleep you’re getting.

Loss of Interest in Hobbies

During the lowest points of my burnout cycles, I could barely bring myself to do anything that brought me joy, let alone focus on work.

Not only were hobbies that involved socialising or exercise a no-go, some days I couldn’t even bring myself to read a book or play a video game — even the new releases I’d been looking forward to for months.

What to notice: When “I’m too tired, I’ll do it tomorrow” becomes a daily mantra, it’s time to make a change.

Strained Relationships

For me, the final wake-up call came when I realised how lonely I was.

Being stuck in burnout had led me to neglect my romantic, platonic, and familial relationships. It ranged from feeling too overwhelmed to text back for weeks, to letting exhaustion get the better of my emotions and blowing up at people over the most insignificant things.

What to notice: Ask yourself: is the job, project, or lifestyle you’re burning yourself out for worth the loss of your relationships?

What Comes Next?

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for curing burnout.

The standard advice is to rest — my road to recovery started with two weeks of almost non-stop sleep following the last day at my job.

If it’s viable, professional help is also invaluable. Spending time with a therapist is what ultimately led me to my acceptance of burnout and supported my journey to recovery.

Of course, these options might not be possible depending on your current work, home, and/or financial situation. Whatever comes next for you, just know: recovery and a fulfilling life after burnout is possible.