Ah yes, burnout. That delightful cocktail of exhaustion, apathy, and the sudden urge to just… never come back.
Let me be clear: burnout nearly broke me.
Like, “crying into a half-eaten piece of toast at 2am while googling hermit jobs in Iceland” kind of broke me. The country, not the supermarket.
But — it also kind of saved me.
Saved me from the overachiever hamster wheel. From saying yes when I meant “oh absolutely not.” From the deeply-held belief that self-worth is earned through productivity and sacrifice. From blindly continuing without stopping to think what truly makes me feel good.
Burnout did what I would never have voluntarily done: it made me stop. Slam-on-the-brakes, nothing-left-in-the-tank, can’t go any further stop.
And in that wreckage? Turns out, some weirdly helpful things grew.
Here’s how:
It Showed Me What Was Unsustainable
Spoiler: it was everything.
Not just work. Not just the 14 tabs open in my brain. But also how I talked to myself.
How I only rested if I’d earned it (and even then, usually while folding laundry).
How my work only had value if there was some element of suffering or sacrifice involved.
How I said “yes” with a polite smile while my insides screamed, “Please no, I want to lie down.”
Burnout didn’t whisper, it shouted:
“This isn’t working.”
And honestly? It was right.
It Stripped Away the Noise
When your body is like, “Cool cool, I’ll be over here melting down,” you have no choice but to get brutally honest.
What do I actually need?
What matters?
What am I doing out of obligation, not desire?
Suddenly the to-do list didn’t matter. Showering, eating in peace, and maybe not crying during a meeting? Those became the new metrics of success. And I had to listen.
It Broke the Illusion of Being “Fine”
You know what burnout doesn’t allow?
Pretending.
It pops your “I’m fine!” bubble like a toddler with a safety pin. And yeah, it’s terrifying. But also?
Kind of liberating.
I stopped performing okay-ness.
Started saying things like:
“I’m not okay. But I’m not disappearing.”
Progress.
I started to understand what ‘not fine’ really meant but also what ‘fine’ looked like. I had space to define what ‘fine’ actually meant to me and start to take tiny, and I mean tiny, steps towards that.
It Taught Me Boundaries — Real Ones
Not the cutesy Instagram kind with pastel templates and eucalyptus.
The “I can’t” kind.
The “I’m logging off now, and no, I’m not available later” kind.
Burnout taught me that sacrificing myself on the altar of helpfulness is not noble. It’s also not a choice.
Boundaries aren’t something you intermittently consider, put to the back of your mind for a bit or better, completely ignore.
I realise now boundaries are essential. Essential to my wellbeing, my mental health and to my future.
Oh, and also?
The right people don’t need you to self-destruct to prove you care.
It Reintroduced Me to Myself
There’s a version of me who isn’t just a job title or a reliable worker. Isn’t just the uniform or ‘that nice Paramedic girl’.
She’s funny. Tired, but funny.
She likes writing. And snacks. And not waking up exhausted.
She’s excited by adventure, passionate about the outdoors and caring.
The journey to burn out made those memories foggy but burnout itself made room to remember her. Respect her for how far she’s come and kind enough to give her a break.
(Hey girl. Sorry it took a breakdown to say hi.)
It Gave Me a New Kind of Strength
Not the kind that powers through like a caffeinated bulldozer.
The kind that pauses.
That says, “Nope.”
That picks softness over martyrdom.
That honours limits instead of bulldozing past them for the applause.
Turns out, real strength sometimes looks like going to bed at 9pm and ignoring emails with unholy satisfaction.
Look, I wouldn’t recommend burnout.
Zero stars. Do not try this at home.
But also? I wouldn’t be here — writing this, resting more, living differently — if it hadn’t happened.
So if you’re in it, just out of it, or dragging yourself through with the grace of a soggy crisp… please know this:
One where you get to choose what stays, what goes, and what absolutely needs to be on fire for you to get involved.
–Duty of Care
Duty of Care 
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