Burnout: How to Recognize It, Prevent It, and Swim When the Waves Come

Burnout is a word we hear often, but its true meaning only becomes clear when we experience it ourselves.

I know this because I have lived through several burnouts, some of them quite severe. It took me years to even recognize what was happening. At first, I thought I was simply tired, overwhelmed, or going through a demanding phase of life. Only later did I understand that burnout is not just exhaustio, it is a complex state of emotional, mental, and physical depletion.

Burnout rarely arrives alone. It is usually a package of many layers: life circumstances, social conditioning, lifestyle and work rhythm, emotional wounds that still need healing, transitions and life phases we are moving through...

Because of this, burnout is deeply individual. What burnout feels like for one person may look completely different for another.

So when I speak about severe burnout here, I am speaking from my own experience.

When Burnout Comes With Full Force

Two people may have similar schedules, similar responsibilities, and yet experience their inner world completely differently. Burnout is therefore not something that can always be measured from the outside.

Sometimes people observe our lives and offer advice. Recently, a dear friend commented on how fast my life seems and how it could lead to burnout.

At the moment, I did not like the comment. It felt like unsolicited advice. But later, while reflecting on it, I realized that there was also an important message hidden in those words.

Even though I have spent years learning to listen to my body, through journaling, meditation, and emotional awareness, movement...I still sometimes move too fast. And yes, even with all that awareness, I still experience phases of burnout.

One of the most important skills is recognizing burnout before it becomes severe.

Sometimes, however, burnout arrives like a wave that cannot be avoided.

Even when we are mindful. Even when we take care of ourselves. Life can simply become too intense for a period of time.

For me, this has happened before, and it is happening again now during phases when life becomes very full with a demanding work schedule, frequent work travel, raising my puberty son, caring for family, continuing my creative work and artistic path, navigating the emotional weight of the world’s crises, building new life in a new country...

When many responsibilities overlap, the nervous system can become overwhelmed. In those moments, burnout is not a personal failure. It is often a signal of how much life we are carrying.

What Helped Me in Difficult Burnout Phases

When I reflected on my friend’s comment, I asked myself an important question: What would actually help me in this moment? What I realized surprised me.

I did not need someone pointing out the problem. I was already aware of it. What I needed most was encouragement.

Words that remind me: that I am still doing well, that this phase will pass, that solutions will appear, that I am learning to build a new rhythm of life...

Sometimes the most healing words are simple ones: “You are doing your best.”
“This will pass.” “You will find your way through.”

Why Encouragement Matters

Encouragement is not denial. It is not ignoring burnout or pretending everything is perfect.

It is emotional fuel that helps us keep swimming while we search for real solutions.

When we are exhausted, harsh self-criticism or constant problem-analysis can deepen the collapse. Gentle reassurance can instead create space for recovery.

For me, hearing that everything will be okay brings comfort when I most need it. For someone else, something different may help. Again, burnout is deeply personal.

Sometimes it is perfectly okay to tell ourselves: “Everything will be fine.”

This is not blindness. It is not escape. It is a small medicine for the heart. A reminder that we are not broken. And that like every difficult season in life, this one will also pass.