Burnout: The Psychology Behind Emotional Exhaustion and Recovery
In today’s fast-paced, hyperconnected world, burnout has become a widespread and pressing psychological concern. When talking amongst friends and family burnout symptoms are widespread. More concerning, burnout symptoms are normalised and expected. One could argue, a signpost of today’s working generation.
Burnout however is not a new term, coined in the 1970s by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. Burnout refers to a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion, often accompanied by cynicism and a sense of reduced personal accomplishment. While it is often discussed in the context of the workplace, burnout can affect anyone exposed to prolonged stress—students, caregivers, health professionals, and more.
Understanding Burnout Through a Psychological Lens
From a psychological standpoint, burnout is not sufficiently explained by "tiredness" or feeling overworked. Although these are main characteristics, burnout is a complex, multidimensional syndrome rooted in emotional dysregulation (or fragility), sustained stress, and a breakdown in the alignment between a person’s values, expectations, and reality. Our window of tolerance narrows, and our general healthy habits decline. Where self-care becomes a luxury.
Three hallmarks of burnout, as defined by Maslach and Jackson, are:
1. Emotional Exhaustion: Feeling emotionally drained and depleted of emotional resources.
2. Depersonalization: Developing a detached, cynical attitude toward one’s job, clients, or coworkers.
3. Reduced Personal Accomplishment: A perceived decline in competency and productivity, often accompanied by feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, and low self-esteem.
According to the Black Dog Institute, common factors affecting people experiencing burnout include; irritability/anger, decreased life satisfaction, procrastination, sleep disturbances, lack of motivation or passion, difficulties with concentration, and somatic complaints (e.g., headaches, body aches, low libido).
Psychological Causes of Burnout
Burnout is not a clinical diagnosis although it is associated with major depressive episodes, anxiety, and higher levels of distress. Furthermore, burnout does not develop overnight. Instead, burnout develops gradually as a result of prolonged exposure to stress without adequate psychological recovery. Several psychological factors contribute to burnout:
Chronic Stress: Repeated activation of the stress response system wears down mental and physical resilience. This can be likened to the body’s emergency button being held down, releasing a constant alarm signal. The body continually responds to the alarm by releasing cortisol activating the sympathetic nervous system and disrupting regulatory mechanisms (parasympathetic system) such as digestion, immune response, and mood.
Perfectionism, Overcommitment, and Procrastination: Some are more vulnerable to these traits and behaviours, such as high-achievers and those with rigid self-expectations. Our temperament, genetics (for example, perfectionism is a common compensatory trait for people with ADHD), experiences, core beliefs, and thinking styles such as “I should” statements, all influence our vulnerability to perfectionism. While perfectionism is a driving force that predicts achievement, in excess it can hinder progress. That is, high expectations create a fear of failure that see delay or avoidance of tasks (hence its relationship with procrastination).
Lack of Control: A sense of powerlessness or lack of autonomy is a key driver. This can often be described as feeling like a hamster on a wheel, or cog in a machine moving through the motions daily tasks based on protocols and routine, but without pausing or choosing behaviours that matters most to us.
Value-Conflict: When our work contradicts our personal values or identity, it creates psychological dissonance. This creates inner conflict that is only resolved through changing our beliefs to match our behaviours or changing our behaviours to match our beliefs. When we feel we are unable to change either, we experience discomfort (regret, anger), dissatisfaction, and reduced autonomy.
Inadequate Support: Absence of perceived support reduces an individual’s ability to cope with stress and demands. Social support comes in four main forms: instrumental (tangible support such as help with groceries, transportation, financial); informational; emotional (empathy and comfort); and appraisal (feedback, validation, and encouragement). We may experience some but not all of these at any given time, moreover different contexts will demand different types of support.
Environmental causes include feeling unrecognised, under stimulating work, or unmanageable workloads, deadline pressures, and poor communication with line managers.
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The Neuroscience of Burnout
Burnout is associated with measurable changes in brain function. Chronic stress can lead to:
Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis impairs the body’s ability to manage stress and disrupts the release of hormones.
Decreased levels of dopamine and serotonin, contributing to low mood and motivation.
Structural and functional changes in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, affecting decision-making and emotional regulation. This is often experienced as ‘decision fatigue’ where we may find ourselves staring at the grocery shelf unable to decide what to make for dinner, or which movie to watch.
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Differentiating Burnout from Depression
While burnout shares symptoms with depression—such as fatigue, hopelessness, and withdrawal—they are distinct conditions. Burnout is typically context-specific (e.g., job-related) and improves with changes in that situation. Burnout may be recognised by disengagement and dissatisfaction within that situation, contrasted with uplifted mood outside that situation. Depression is more pervasive, affecting all aspects of life and often requiring more intensive clinical intervention.
That said, untreated burnout can evolve into clinical depression, making early recognition and intervention essential.
“I’m burnt-out, what can I do?” Here are some strategies for recovery:
Rest and Recovery: Psychological detachment from stressors, quality sleep, and restorative activities are crucial. This may seem obvious and impossible at the same time. If so, you’re in the right place. Read on for how to overcome the barriers to rest and recovery.
Cognitive Restructuring: Challenging perfectionistic thinking such as, “I must ….”, “I should [say yes]”, “If I can I should…”, can be achieved by asking questions such as, what would be the worst thing to happen if I say no? What has happened before when I have been unable to commit? What other truths are there? Am I considering my own wellbeing? For example, “I should can say yes AND I need to take care of myself”. Challenging thoughts can also be helpful in reappraising stress and setting realistic goals.
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: These practices help individuals become more present, reduce rumination, and treat themselves with kindness rather than criticism. These practices do not need to happen in isolated still moments, we can be mindful on a walk, or eating food, sipping your morning tea or coffee, or listening to music. Mindfulness is about connecting with your body and only takes a few minutes for the nervous system to calm in response. Self-compassion sounds something fanciful, yet it is a simple practice that most of us show others.
Therapeutic Support: Seeking professional help with trained psychologist or counsellors that offer empirical-based interventions such as Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) can be helpful. Alternatively, seeking support through groups or personal networks can help individuals overcome burnout.
Boundary Setting: Learning to say no and establish personal limits can reduce overwhelming demands and promote autonomy. Many people find it difficult to set boundaries, due to ingrained thought processes. Therefore, cognitive restructuring is likely helpful/ required to overcome such barriers.
Preventing Burnout
Prevention lies in fostering resilience and creating environments that promote psychological well-being:
Job Crafting describes adaptations made by a person to fit their work for example, “changing aspects of their job, choosing tasks, negotiating work content, or assigning new meanings to their work”. Job crafting encourages autonomy, task variety, and meaning in work that can increase engagement and reduce emotional strain.
Make a habit of scheduling work recovery time: Instead of wanting for when you ‘really need it’ try scheduling opportunities to detach from your situational demands and actively unwind, recharge, and recover. This will interrupt the stress cycle, with research suggesting ‘micro-breaks’ during the day such as going for a walk, and having lunch away from the desk, can attenuate stress levels.
A Self-Care plan: is a reflective tool that helps reconnect with values and identify self-care needs for the purpose of reviewing existing practices. Focusing on increasing practices that rejuvenate you and decreasing those that are harmful. See the Black Dog Institutes guide to a self-care plan here.
Conclusion
Burnout is more than just feeling tired—it's a complex psychological response to prolonged stress that impacts our emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being. Rooted in both individual vulnerabilities and systemic challenges, burnout reflects a deeper misalignment between our values, environment, and sense of control. Recognising the signs early and implementing thoughtful recovery strategies can help you regain a sense of balance and purpose. Importantly, burnout recovery is not a one-size-fits-all process, and it requires both personal and collective action to foster resilience, connection, and sustainable well-being in our daily lives.
Resources:
https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Importance-of-selfcare-planning.pdf
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/work/burnout
References
Martínez-Díaz, A., Díaz-Fúnez, P. A., Salvador-Ferrer, C. M., Hernández-Sánchez, B. R., Sánchez-García, J. C., & Mañas-Rodríguez, M. Á. (2023). Mediating effect of job crafting dimensions on influence of burnout at self-efficacy and performance: revisiting health-impairment process of JD-R theory in public administration. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1137012–1137012. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1137012
Morse, G., Salyers, M. P., Rollins, A. L., Monroe-DeVita, M., & Pfahler, C. (2012). Burnout in mental health services: a review of the problem and its remediation. Administration and policy in mental health, 39(5), 341–352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-011-0352-1
WebMD Editorial Contributor. (n.d.). Burnout: Symptoms and Signs. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/burnout-symptoms-signs
Wiens, K. (2024, April 23). How burnout became normal - and how to push back against it. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2024/04/how-burnout-became-normal-and-how-to-push-back-against-it
