8 genuinely helpful tips for dealing with burnout

What does it mean to be burned out?

Despite its very real impact on your physical and mental health, burnout isn’t technically classified as a medical or mental health condition. Instead, the World Health Organization’s International Disease Classification (ICD) classifies it as an “occupational phenomenon” and defines it as a syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

But even though the ICD limits its definition to workplace burnout, mental health experts are exploring the other ways it can impact your life, like caregiver burnout, emotional burnout, autistic burnout, and more. Taking this broader approach, many mental health professionals describe burnout as the result of any kind of chronic stress that outpaces a person’s ability to recover.

“Your nervous system shuts down when the demands of your circumstances exceed your resources,” says Britt Frank, a licensed psychotherapist and author of The Science of Stuck.

More colloquially, people often use the term “burnout” to describe feeling completely drained or overwhelmed by stressors. “People are needing a bigger word than just ‘tired’ that captures the combination of physical and emotional exhaustion,” says Maddy Brener, PsyD, licensed clinical psychologist at Thriveworks.

What does burnout actually look like?

Burnout is highly individualized, so it doesn’t always look the same in everyone. That said, here’s how burnout tends to show up across various areas of your life, according to the experts:

• Physical: Struggling to get out of bed, extreme fatigue, frequent headaches, changes in sleep, or other stress-related symptoms
• Mental: Increased negativity, cynicism, difficulty concentrating, feeling ineffective, or a sense that nothing you do makes a difference
• Behavioral: Checking out of your responsibilities, falling behind on tasks, withdrawing from social commitments, procrastinating more than usual
• Emotional: Feelings of emptiness, hopeless, despair, or existential dread

“You feel beyond tired, disengaged, and powerless,” Frank explains. “A lack of autonomy on top of exhaustion is a core component of burnout.”

7 practical tips for addressing burnout

Before anything else, manage your expectations. Burnout isn’t just stress, and recovering from it often means navigating systemic factors that are genuinely out of your control. Progress tends to be slow. Keeping that in mind matters, Frank says, because without that perspective, it’s easy to get discouraged, give up, and end up right back where you started.

1. Start with a list of your burnout contributors.

It’s important to get specific about the factors keeping you trapped in a cycle of chronic stress. Maybe you’re expected to do more work than you can realistically fit into your day, your manager is constantly shifting priorities, or you’re juggling caregiving, household labor, and work with little to no support.

When you get granular like this, you can develop a better understanding of what’s within your control and then brainstorm possible next steps, Dr. Brener says. Not to mention, sometimes it’s validating to see it all listed out—like, yes, of course you’re burned out.

2. Tend to your most basic needs first.

Whether you’re figuring out how to spend a rare hour of free time or even an extended mental health break, Frank and Dr. Brener agree to prioritize biology first and foremost. “You can’t manage burnout when your body is starved for sleep or nutrients,” Frank says.

You might be tempted to push through in the name of addressing the causes of your burnout more directly—applying for new jobs, having difficult conversations, or trying to overhaul your situation ASAP. But Dr. Brener emphasizes that you can’t run on empty. “Get the sleep first. Hydrate. Feed your body. Go for a walk. Touch grass. Put fuel in your tank so you can effectively tackle those bigger pursuits.”

3. Don’t skimp on small acts of self-care.

Speaking of refilling your tank, remember that you can do it one splash at a time, even if it feels small in the grand scheme of burnout. Dr. Brener emphasizes the importance of self-care—put on your comfort show, call a friend who makes you laugh, or spend even a few minutes on a hobby you enjoy.

“It’s like with real gas—sometimes when you’re on empty, you have to stop at the closest gas station and put in five gallons so you can make the drive to Costco where it’s 30 cents cheaper,” Dr. Brener says.

4. Make a map of your options.

Lack of autonomy is a cornerstone of burnout, Frank explains, so taking the time to lay out the different choices you have (even if it seems like there aren’t any good or viable ones on the table) can help you feel less trapped.

For instance, quitting your job may not seem like an option if it means you wouldn’t be able to afford rent, but it’s still an option (just not a very appealing one). Jot it down on the page along with other variations or consequences of that choice, like moving in with your parents, finding roommates, dipping into savings, or taking a part-time job while you look for something more sustainable. Then think about other specific options that could help address some of those burnout contributors. Can you ask for help, even if it’s at the expense of your pride or independence? Could you reduce your hours, take a leave of absence, postpone a commitment, or start making an exit plan?

Even if you don’t like your choices or have no intention of acting on them, writing them out can still be a buffer against the sense of helplessness that can make burnout worse, Frank says.

5. On that note, you could look into your options for a leave of absence.

If your burnout is triggering or worsening a mental health issue, you might be able to take a mental health leave of absence from your job, which would allow you to step away from the role for a while without losing your benefits or being fired.

Your options will depend on your employer and location, but there are a few avenues you can explore. One is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a federal law that allows eligible employees to take up to a combined 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain medical and family reasons a year, including serious health conditions that interfere with your ability to perform at work. Since burnout isn’t recognized as a medical condition, you and your provider would need to discuss whether you’re experiencing a covered condition, such as depression or anxiety, says Dr. Brener.

In general, you’re eligible for FMLA if you’ve worked for a covered employer for at least a year and work at least the minimum required hours. The process begins with notifying your employer, usually through HR, that you need to take leave. If you’re eligible, your employer will likely request an additional certification form that can be filled out by a health care provider like your primary care physician, therapist, or psychiatrist.
Another option (depending on your employer, state, or insurance plan) is short-term disability benefits, which can provide partial income replacement when you’re unable to work due to illness.

If you’re thinking about taking leave, consider talking with your therapist or health care provider before initiating the formal process. Navigating the paperwork can feel complicated, especially when you’re already burned out, but many clinicians are familiar with the process and requirements and can help you understand what might be appropriate for your situation.

6. Be ruthlessly selective with your commitments.

In all likelihood, your plate is overflowing and you have to clear some room for meaningful rest or change in your situation. So when deciding what to cut or how to use your limited resources, Dr. Brener encourages running a cost-benefit analysis.

Whether you’re deciding if you can put off tonight’s dishes or turn down a professional request, she recommends asking yourself: Is the positive outcome of a task—whether feeling better or avoiding a consequence of not doing it—genuinely worth the time and energy it will take?

If the answer is no, you have our permission to skip it in the name of being too burned out.

7. Take advantage of community.

You’ve probably heard this a lot, but that’s because additional support is essential when your bandwidth is extremely limited. Depending on your needs and the source of your burnout, community can help in a few ways, according to Dr. Brener:

• Literal help: Crowdsourcing support—like a babysitter, a ride, a meal train, or a hand with errands—can take pressure off your day-to-day load in concrete ways.
• Impacting change: In some cases, such as within a workplace or group, community can help you push back on the conditions driving burnout, whether that means aligning on unrealistic expectations, advocating for clearer boundaries, or even organizing collectively around workplace issues.
• Feedback and perspective: When you’re deep in burnout, it can be hard to tell what’s contributing. Checking in with trusted people can help you reality-test questions like, “Is this environment the problem?” or “What are my choices here?”

8. Rule out any potential underlying causes.

It’s also possible that the real reason you’re feeling so burned out is that you’re dealing with a physical or mental health condition. Dr. Brener recommends anyone experiencing exhaustion get bloodwork done to check their vitamin levels, plus anything else their doctor suggests based on their symptoms.

On the mental health side of things, Frank notes that depression and ADHD both have hallmark symptoms that can look like burnout, including fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and lack of engagement. Whether you’re dealing with burnout or a mental health condition, a mental health provider can help you figure out next steps.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How do I know if I’m burned out or just tired?

General tiredness usually improves with rest, sleep, or a break, while burnout tends to feel more persistent and tied to ongoing stressors like workplace demands, caregiving, or other responsibilities. Burnout also tends to come with emotional and mental shifts like detachment, disengagement, and negativity, not just physical fatigue. That said, it’s important to rule out underlying physical causes like vitamin deficiencies or other health conditions that could be contributing to your symptoms by checking in with a physician.

What’s the fastest way to recover from burnout?

Recovering from burnout can be a slow and incremental process. In many cases, burnout happens when demand outpaces your resources—too many responsibilities, too little support, or too little control over your time and workload. Because of that, recovery often starts with getting honest about what’s driving the burnout and what realistically can be reduced, delegated, or changed, even in small ways so you can truly refill your tank.

Can I recover from burnout without quitting my job?

If you suspect your job is the leading cause of your burnout, it’s important to understand that the environment may be getting in the way of your recovery. But it may be possible. If you don’t want to or can’t quit, it can help to get very specific about what exactly is driving the burnout—hours, workload, expectations, lack of support, interpersonal stress, general chaos—and then explore what your options are within your control. That might be requesting accommodations or a shift in responsibilities, taking leave, or building an exit plan over time.

Is burnout a medical condition—can I take leave for it?

Technically, the World Health Organization categorizes burnout as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition, so the route to getting leave from work or other accommodation isn’t always clear. However, many clinicians recognize burnout as a serious, impairing syndrome and can write letters documenting symptoms or related conditions like depression or anxiety when appropriate. Depending on your workplace and location, this documentation may support options like FMLA, short-term disability, or other accommodations, but the process and eligibility can vary significantly by employer and policy.