Burnout is more than just feeling exhausted or overwhelmed—it’s a complex, progressive condition. Burnout can happen during any stage of our life and it may happen to anyone who does not take actions to protect their mental health. Though many of us understand burnout as fatigue from work, it often follows a series of stages before reaching a critical point – and let’s face it – there are many factors at play. According to psychologist Herbert Freudenberger and colleagues, burnout develops through 12 distinct stages. Recognising these can help you intervene early before burnout seriously affects your well-being and impacts those you love the most.

Phase 1: Compulsive Ambition

Burnout typically starts with an intense drive and passion for your work. While ambition is often praised, an overwhelming desire to prove your worth can become toxic. The more you push yourself, the more you feel the need to take on more, continuously seeking validation through achievement. This insatiable drive can be the first sign of trouble.

Phase 2: Working harder

As you accept more tasks, your work begins to overflow into your personal life. Suddenly, long hours and weekend work become the norm. You find satisfaction in being recognised for your commitment, but the lines between personal time and work start to blur. Even when you’re off the clock, mentally disconnecting becomes difficult.

Phase 3: Neglecting Self-care and Personal Needs

In order to meet the demands of compulsive ambition and working harder, self-care takes a back seat. You may start skipping meals, sacrificing sleep, or withdrawing from social activities as work consumes more of your attention. Your health begins to suffer, leading to issues such as weight changes, sleep problems, and mental fatigue.

Phase 4: Avoiding Conflict and Personal Issues

With work dominating your focus, you may start ignoring problems outside of your professional life. You know something’s off, but addressing it feels too overwhelming, so you bury your concerns and throw yourself deeper into work. Instead of looking what you could do differently or consinder implementing changes in your life, you start avoiding your stress response to your circumstances, and this avoidance only further increases stress and anxiety. You are avoiding to admit that you are burning out, but you start to accept that you are feeling overwhelmed.

Phase 5: Reevaluating Your Values

At this stage, work becomes your sole focus, and relationships or hobbies are dismissed as less important. Your self-worth is entirely tied to your productivity, leaving little room for anything else. You are altering you personal values in order to meet work obligations or your ambitions.

Phase 6: Denying the Problem

As burnout progresses, you may begin to see colleagues or clients as the problem rather than recognising the internal changes you’re experiencing. Patience runs thin, and you may become cynical or unempathetic. Rather than acknowledging burnout, you blame external factors like time constraints or workload.

Phase 7: Withdrawal

Withdrawal sets in as you retreat from personal connections. You start withdrawing away from family and friends and your conversations revolve solely around work. Your social life becomes virtually nonexistent. You might find solace in escapism, whether through binge-watching, unhealthy habits, or other distractions.

Phase 8: Behavioural changes noticed by others

At this point, burnout impacts your relationships and your loved ones notice your irritability and detachment, and it becomes clear that burnout is no longer just affecting you. Forgotten responsibilities or emotional distance from family members are common. I’ve found this stage extremely heartbreaking.

Phase 9: Depersonalisation or Losing Your Sense of Self

In this phase, you start feeling detached from your life. You no longer identify with the person you used to be, and everyday actions feel like a series of mechanical steps. What once excited you now leaves you feeling indifferent or drained. Anything you try and do seems to make no difference in your life. You start to lose sense of self. Who am I? Why am I this way? I can’t even recognise myself – these are just some questions that may start repeating in your head.

Phase 10: Feeling Sense of Emptiness

Here you start to feel very empty inside as you begin questioning your value and purpose. You may start thinking about leaving your job or making drastic life changes – but mostly you leave it at this. At this stage you feel very vulnerable, and with no joy or motivation, you might turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to fill the void.

Phase 11: Depression

Everything feels heavy and gray. Emotional and mental exhaustion become overwhelming. Life loses its vibrancy, and you may feel utterly lost and disconnected, questioning whether anything matters anymore. What;s the point> Whatever I try and whatever I do does not make a difference.

Phase 12: Complete Burnout

Reaching the final stage means you’ve hit rock bottom. Physical or mental collapse can occur, requiring medical intervention. Recovery often involves stepping away from work entirely to regain balance and begin healing. Professional help from a doctor and mental health professionals might be necessary to prevent further damage. Trust me, you want to do everything you possibly can to improve your wellbeing as soon as possible so you don’t experience this stage.

Where Do You See Yourself?

If you can identify with any of these stages, it’s time to take action. Burnout isn’t a straightforward process, and everyone moves through these phases differently. Taking the time to recognise where you are can help you seek support before things worsen.

Recovery Is Possible – Ask for Help & Implement Self-care

You can recover from burnout completely, but the prevention through self-care is a much better approach than reaching the last stage of burnout that carries with it serious consequences, that can lead to mental or physical collapse. Recovering from these has been quite intense for me. The key to my transformation included adding mind-body approach to conventional care – something to keep my mind occupied, make me feel like an active participant in my care and help me downregualte my nervous system.

Don’t push yourself past any stage of burnout – it is not worth it. As soon as you recognise the earliest signs of burnout, seek help and start playing an active role in your self-care.

No job, not title, no money in this world is worth your health. When you are suffering, those you love the most suffer with you too. Think of them and the positive impact you’ll have on your family when you make yourself a priority and practice self-care.

With Love and Gratitude,

Larisa Sipek

Mind-Body & Reiki Practitioner | HeartMath Certified Mentor