I'm Running on Fumes: Burnout Symptoms & Therapy for Career Depletion
- ✓I used to power through 12-hour days, now answering one email feels impossible
- ✓Weekends used to reset me, now they barely make a dent — I'm tired before Monday hits
- ✓My partner says I'm 'checked out' even when I'm home, but I have nothing left to give
You're not lazy or broken — your battery is depleted, and recovery is possible.
According to the WHO, burnout is an occupational phenomenon affecting millions of workers globally. If you're running on empty, you're in company, not alone.
Burnout isn't a moral failing — it's a physiological response to prolonged workplace stress (WHO, 2019). The exhaustion, cynicism, and sense of inefficacy are signals, not character flaws. If you're unsure whether it's burnout or something else, our [career direction guide](/topics/career/career-direction/) helps distinguish depletion from misalignment.
Why Burnout Happens (And Why It's Not Your Fault)
Burnout isn't about weakness — it's the result of chronic workplace stress that outpaces your ability to recover. The WHO defines it as unmanaged occupational stress leading to energy depletion, mental distance from work, and reduced efficacy (WHO, 2019). Your nervous system stays in a low-level threat state, making even small tasks feel monumental. This is a [load problem](/topics/career/career-burnout/), not a mindset issue, which is why conventional advice often fails.
Signs You're Dealing With Burnout, Not Just Stress
- •**Exhaustion Doesn't Lift:** Sleep, weekends, even vacations don't restore you — the fatigue is bone-deep and chronic.
- •**Cynicism Creeps In:** You feel detached, irritable, or negative about work you once cared about deeply.
- •**Professional Efficacy Drops:** Tasks that used to feel meaningful now feel pointless, and your performance is suffering.
- •**The Shame Spiral:** You criticize yourself for 'not being able to handle it,' which only deepens the depletion.
Something to try
The Physiological Downshift (Mindfulness-Based Reset)
Take 10 breaths where your exhale is twice as long as your inhale. This mindfulness-based practice activates your parasympathetic response, helping shift your nervous system out of the chronic stress state that fuels burnout. It's a simple way to signal safety to your body when you feel overwhelmed.
This is an emergency brake — to truly recover from burnout, you need support that addresses the chronic stress load and rebuilds your capacity to recover.
What to expect in therapy
Therapy for burnout focuses first on stabilizing your nervous system and restoring your capacity to recover. Using CBT for boundary-setting, ACT for values clarification, and mindfulness-based interventions for regulation, a therapist helps you identify load factors and build sustainable patterns. You won't be asked to 'just think positive' — you'll develop a recovery plan that fits your actual work context.
With the right support, you can move from surviving on fumes to feeling engaged and energized again.
Ready for support that fits?
If 'self-care' advice hasn't worked and you're wondering whether therapy can actually help with burnout, we match you to clinicians who specialize in workplace depletion. You don't need to figure out which approach works — we do that for you.