I’ve had a few people contact me lately asking the same big question:
How did you recover from burnout?
It’s a hard one to answer, because burnout recovery isn’t linear. It’s not a checklist or a weekend reset. It’s deep, ongoing, and personal. It looks different for everyone.
To be honest, I’m not sure I’m fully recovered. What I do know at the time of writing is this: after five months away from corporate life and five years of doing the inner and outer work, I finally feel like I’m back in control of my life. I feel calm, grounded, and purposeful. And I think – if I had to go back into a corporate role right now – I’d be ok.
But I say that from a place of rest, distance, and clarity.
I acknowledge the privilege of that.
So this post isn’t a one-size-fits-all guide. But it is an honest look at everything I did to get to where I am today. And maybe it can help you shorten the road.
It Started With a Conversation
The very first thing I did – before I even understood what was happening – was talk to someone. I used my employer’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and started seeing a therapist. This was the first time I heard the words:
It’s ok not to be ok.
At the time, I was drowning in self-doubt and guilt. I felt ungrateful, overwhelmed, like I was doing a bad job. I hated how I felt, and I hated myself for feeling it. I was concerned about my drinking, and deep down knew it was related, but I didn’t understand all (or any) of what was going on.
Talking helped. A little. But I stopped going when I got too busy. And things got worse.
Someone Close Noticed
When COVID hit, everything intensified. My husband could see it. He was the only one close enough to really witness the unraveling. His quiet support – encouraging me to get more help, to slow down – planted the seed that I was more than stressed. I was burnt out.
My Doctor Named It
Eventually, I went to see my doctor about it.
I’d seen her for years and she knew my history – including previous episodes of depression.
She looked at me one day and said what I couldn’t:
You’re experiencing burnout induced depression.
You need to take a proper break.
I wanted to argue. I didn’t feel like I could ask for time off.
But I listened.
Sort of.
I Took a Patchwork Break (And Learned From It)
In 2021, after a couple of shorter breaks earlier in the year that hadn’t worked, I pieced together a two month break. Two weeks of sick leave, two weeks of unpaid leave, two weeks of annual leave, and four weeks of long service leave. I should have just taken it all as sick leave. I had plenty accrued. But I was still trying not to be “too much trouble.”
That break – September to October 2021 – was the first time I properly, fully stepped away.
I went offline. I walked in the park. I lay in the grass and listened to music. I read. I rested. At first, I had a list of things I wanted to achieve. But after a couple of weeks, I realised my real goal was just to untangle my brain.
When I came back, it was like nothing had changed. No one had even really noticed I was gone. That told me something important: I could have taken the time sooner.
I Mapped How I Got There
One of the most important things I did – and something I’d recommend to anyone in burnout – was take time to understand how I got there in the first place.
It’s one thing to take a break. But if you don’t understand what led you to the edge, you’ll likely find yourself back there again.
During that first break, I mapped my experience across the 12 stages of burnout. Seeing it laid out like that was confronting – but also clarifying. It helped me spot:
- My longstanding tendency to overbusy myself
- The emotional trauma I hadn’t fully processed
- My pattern of tying self-worth to productivity
- The feeling that nothing I ever did was enough
- And how long I’d stayed in a role where I no longer felt happy or fulfilled
Once I could see those patterns, I could start working on them. And that gave me something I hadn’t had before: a way to navigate my way out. A plan to change the way I worked, lived, and related to myself.
It wasn’t just about recovering from burnout – it was about breaking the cycle.
I Changed Roles (and Managers)
I wasn’t ready to dive headfirst back into the same job, but I did, and that went as you would expect. I needed something different. Then the universe stepped in – someone (in the same company) reached out about a new opportunity. I hadn’t been actively job hunting, but I knew I needed a change.
That new role – and especially my new manager – made all the difference.
He had emotional intelligence. He cared about his team as people, not just headcount. The work felt meaningful. The team felt safe. I finally felt like I belonged again.
I Built My Personal Burnout Recovery Plan
I kept up the work on myself. I:
- Created a mental health recovery plan with my doctor.
- Used our workplace’s V2MOM goal-setting framework to create a detailed personal life plan – heavy on detail for my mental health.
- Started walking regularly again.
- Focused on energy, not just productivity.
- Set clearer boundaries and said no more often.
I Quit Drinking
This one deserves its own space.
Quitting alcohol was one of the most important things I did – not just for my burnout recovery, but for my overall wellbeing.
For a long time, drinking felt like a coping mechanism. I thought it helped me relax, take the edge off, numb the overwhelm. But it wasn’t actually helping. It was just pausing the discomfort – and layering guilt and exhaustion on top of it.
Looking back, I don’t think I ever really developed proper coping skills while I was drinking. Not conscious ones. Not ones that actually moved me forward.
It wasn’t easy to quit. I had a few false starts. The pandemic didn’t help – everyone was drinking more, and it felt “normal” to pour a glass of wine to cope. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t serving me.
When I finally quit for good, the fog started to lift. I had to feel things more clearly, yes – but I could also deal with things more clearly. The emotional detox that came later wasn’t easy, but it was real. And necessary.
I Started Prioritising My Health
Before burnout, I ran regularly. But I also partied hard on the weekends. I wasn’t neglecting my health entirely – but I wasn’t really prioritising it either. Not in a conscious, sustainable way.
Like so many people, I subscribed to the “work hard, play hard” lifestyle. And there’s not a lot of room in that equation for rest, nourishment, or regular health check-ups. It might feel fine in your twenties and thirties, but it catches up with you.
And when burnout hit, I let even the basics slip. My health took a back seat to working and drinking. Everything felt like a blur of stress and coping. The longer that went on, the worse I felt – physically and mentally.
So part of my recovery was about returning to the basics, and this time making them non-negotiable:
- Morning walks became part of my daily rhythm.
- I booked – and attended – all the health appointments I’d been putting off.
- I got back into the gym.
You don’t have to wait until burnout forces you to take care of yourself. The sooner you start, the stronger your foundation will be.
I Found Purpose Through Giving Back
Feeling better gave me energy to support others. I co-founded our workplace mental health group. I trained as a Mental Health First Aid instructor and began running MHFA courses internally.
It helped me reconnect with my values. And it reminded me that healing isn’t just inward – sometimes, it’s in the helping.
Then I Got Tested Again
When my wonderful manager was made redundant, things started to go downhill again. I was shuffled around in restructures, moved into an ambiguous role where I was the only person in Asia-Pacific on a global team that felt disconnected. The work didn’t light me up. I felt unanchored.
To compensate, I threw myself even more into my passion projects. I kept offering MHFA courses. I mentored others. I said yes to anything and everything in the field of employee wellbeing – especially mental health. I also got involved in lots of volunteering initiatives.
I LOVED my passion projects, but I was doing all that on top of my day job – still trying to prove myself in a role that I was struggling to get traction with and didn’t enjoy.
My passion projects were fulfilling, but all of it together was too much.
Add in some ongoing family issues weighing on me, along with the emotional detox on my alcohol free journey – and burnout started creeping back.
I Didn’t Wait This Time
This time, I caught it early.
My husband said it plainly:
And this time, I believed him.
I saw my doctor again and we agreed on another two-month break – all taken as sick leave. I had 90 days accrued by then. I didn’t hesitate this time.
I doubled down on therapy. I prioritised all the medical appointments I’d started to let slide. I cleared my calendar of everything else for a whole month.
And I started writing.
I Found Clarity Through Writing
I began writing my own personal book – something I’d been thinking about for years. It helped me process parts of my childhood and let go of things I hadn’t even realised I was carrying.
Writing became a kind of therapy. It helped me through the emotional detox – the period that came after quitting alcohol, confronting family dynamics, and stopping long enough to actually feel everything I’d been numbing.
That writing led to my blog, which continues to help me reflect, process, and hopefully help others too.
Where I Am Now
At the time of writing, it’s been five months since that second two-month break started – time that included two months of sick leave, then redundancy which included gardening leave.
For the first time, I’ve had real space. I’m not rushing to “bounce back.” I’m building something new – slowly, intentionally, and honestly.
The biggest thing that’s helped me is giving myself the time and headspace to really get clear on what I need and want.
That clarity didn’t come from pushing through. It came from pausing long enough to listen to myself. And now, instead of reacting to life and struggling to keep up, I’m proactively creating a life that fits.
Final Thoughts
Burnout recovery isn’t a one-time fix. It’s a long-term recalibration of how you live, work, and relate to yourself.
There will be moments of progress, and moments where it feels like you’re back at square one. But each time, you’re not starting over – you’re starting from experience.
I’ve had two major crashes. But I’ve also learned to see the signs earlier, to rest without guilt, and to create a life that feels aligned.
And with the benefit of hindsight, here’s what I’d tell anyone who wants to recover faster than I did:
- Do the things I did – but do them sooner.
- Take the sick leave if you have it. You’ve earned it. Don’t feel guilty for using what’s there to protect your health.
- You don’t owe your workplace anything. You owe it to yourself to heal.
- Don’t stay in a role that feels like a loveless relationship.
- Take control of your life. Make a plan that realises your vision for who you want to be, and is aligned with your values.
I read something recently in Mel Robbins’ “The Let Them Theory” that struck me:
Your life and the opportunities ahead of you are far bigger than your current job.
People change jobs all the time. Staying somewhere that drains you just because it’s familiar will only prolong your pain.
We spend so much of our lives in jobs or relationships that aren’t working, hoping they’ll change – hoping we’ll change. And when they don’t, we just feel worse. But the truth is: we have the power to change the situation. We can’t keep hoping that someone or something else will.
Toward the end of my time at work, I knew redundancy was likely. And yes, I was hanging on for it – but I had also made peace with the fact that if it didn’t happen, I would leave anyway. I wasn’t going to wait forever.
In the end, I’m grateful for how it unfolded. But not everyone gets that clean break.
If you don’t, that’s ok too – you can still choose yourself.
You can take back control of your time, your energy, your life.
You can start now.
You can go gently.
And you can come back to yourself – one step at a time.
This journey hasn’t been easy – but it’s been worth it.
Because in the end, it brought me back home to myself.
To the version of me I always had the potential to be – buried under burnout, busyness, and years of coping.
The me I always knew was in there somewhere, but didn’t know how to find.
Now I do.
A Gentle Note
It took me years to work my way through everything I’ve shared here. None of it was straightforward, and I made every mistake along the way. Over time, I started to recognise the patterns and the pieces that actually helped me recover, and I’ve put all of that into a gentle, practical guide.
I created it in the hope that it might help someone else’s burnout recovery feel a little clearer, a little steadier, and maybe even a little faster than mine.
If you’d like support in making sense of your own recovery, you can find it here: Real Life Reset: A 4-Week Burnout Recovery Guide
Join the Conversation