How Do You Recover from Burnout? 6 Steps to Rest and Reclaim Your Energy

Burnout isn’t just tiredness; it’s 'full-body and mind depletion'. Burnout is the kind that no amount of sleep, coffee or quick energy drink fixes can truly mend. It’s bone-deep exhaustion where your motivation (if you have any left) doesn't matter the energy to execute! Your self-patience and tolerance with others thins, and even small decisions feel overwhelming. Basically you are emotional but haven't got the energy to be emotional! It can feel worrying, helpless and the worst thing is feeling judged for being lazy or 'not trying' to do some exercise.

As a counsellor, I see this with many women in midlife as they hit peri-menopause or menopause. Women who have for too long given and stretched themselves too much, and adapted and accommodated until there’s simple very little left for themselves.

I’ve experienced it too, particularly toxic with a vitamin issue and menopause in a trauma sandwich! I remember the feeling of running on empty and knowing I had to make changes. Drastic changes.

How do you begin to recover from burnout – and more importantly, how do you prevent it from becoming a recurring pattern?

Step 1: Recognise Where You Are

Burnout rarely announces itself with a single dramatic moment. It creeps in quietly, layer by layer. Look for these common signs:

Emotional exhaustion: feeling flat, detached, or numb.
Physical fatigue: a tiredness that sleep doesn’t seem to touch.
Brain fog: decision-making, memory or focus feel harder than they should.
Heightened sensitivity: small things irritate or upset you more easily.
Disturbed sleep: either struggling to fall asleep or waking unrefreshed.

Awareness is the first act of care. If this feels familiar, it’s time to pause.

Step 2: Interrupt the Cycle

Burnout thrives when we override our limits: over-giving, overcommitting, and rarely saying no. The first step is permission – permission to slow down, to do less, to protect your own energy.

Say no or not yet to extra demands.
Create breathing space in your week – even 10 minutes counts.
Notice your “yes” reflex – pause and ask: Do I truly have the capacity for this right now?

These are not selfish acts. They are boundary-setting acts of survival. As we age, we are naïve to believe the body has the same fast engine abilities. It simply does not. We need to take account and if necessary bring kindness to the changes of the body through ageing.

Step 3: Prioritise Deep Rest – Not Just Sleep

Burnout recovery is about the quality of rest, not just the quantity.

True rest isn’t scrolling or background TV. It’s nervous-system resetting rest: slow, quiet, unhurried. Rest is a rest from social, from noise, from visual stimulation, from communication, responsibility, planning, thinking etc, not just doing...
Yin yoga is one of the most effective tools I recommend. Just 10–15 minutes of legs-up-the-wall, child’s pose or a supported butterfly before bed can calm a frazzled system. I love it so much I'm training as a yin teacher to support my clients.
Yoga nidra (non-sleep deep rest) or Mindfulness can help if you wake exhausted or find sleep elusive. It gently guides your body into a state deeper than ordinary rest but you don't need to feel a pressure to sleep.

(If you’d like guidance on this, I offer tailored sessions and resources for clients working through burnout.)

Step 4: Nourish, Don’t Deplete

When we’re burnt out, we often try to “fix” ourselves with quick energy: sugar, caffeine, distraction. Instead, think about what genuinely replenishes:

Gentle movement – a slow walk or stretching in bed. There has to be movement that doesn't cross the boundary back into chronic exhaustion or fatigue. Just enough to get the system moving not to deplete it again.
Nature – even a few minutes outdoors can rebalance your system. Breathing in fresh air sitting in a blanket in your garden if you have one with a cup of tea is very restorative.
Warming, simple foods – soups, stews, root vegetables and eating regular meals little and often so as not to overwhelm the digestive system.
Supportive connection – time with people who energise, not drain you and those whom you do not feel judged but instead understood by is again very protective and helps your nervous system to relax and rest more deeply.

Ask yourself each morning: What feels nourishing today?

Step 5: Reset Your Stress Response

Burnout isn’t just about doing too much – it’s about staying too long in fight-or-flight. To recover, your parasympathetic nervous system (your “rest and digest” mode) needs regular activation.

Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique:

Inhale gently through the nose for 4 counts
Hold for 7
Exhale slowly through the mouth for 8Repeat for 3–5 rounds. This is one of the quickest ways to signal to your body: You are safe. You can soften.
If this doesn't work there are other types of breathwork to try. I've written another blog which you may find helpful.

Step 6: Reclaim Joy – in Small, Real Ways

Burnout empties joy from life. Part of recovery is adding back the moments that light you up, even briefly:

Music that stirs you
A hot cup of tea in silence
Ten minutes with a book you love
Crafting, gardening, dancing in the kitchen

Joy doesn’t have to be grand or planned. It just needs a little space to breathe. And what gives me joy is to say to myself 'least I don't have tooth ache!' That always makes me smile. I think about ladybirds and koalas and sit with my dogs and I can't help but feel a smile on my face and feel positive.

The Mindset Shift: Rest Is Not a Reward

One of the hardest lessons – and the most healing – is this: you do not have to earn your rest.

Rest is what allows you to function.
Slowing down is not lazy; it’s essential.
Your worth is not measured by your productivity.

When you embrace this truth, the cycle of burnout begins to loosen.

Recovery Takes Time – And Compassion

Healing from burnout is rarely linear. There will be good days and setbacks. That’s normal.

Start small. Rest more. Move gently.
Honour your limits – they are your wisdom speaking.
Trust that your vitality can return, slowly and surely.

If you recognise yourself in this, or if burnout has been a quiet companion for too long, you don’t have to navigate it alone. As a counsellor, I help many women untangle these patterns, rebuild their energy and learn to live with less pressure and more presence.

Sometimes, the first step is simply to talk. Please contact me via my website and we can connect and have a chat. Changing the exhaustion is worth the time in my view and experience even though I still am working through fatigue and sorting my vitamins! I'd love to support you.