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You could be burning out soon…or now

Dealing with the stress of work, family demands, health, community responsibilities, social change and many other stresses can lead you to burn out over time.

It’s common to get stuck in a cycle where you aren’t motivated by life, but you feel like you don’t have the energy to make positive changes.

You’ve taken the first step and have recognized that you could be burning out. It might be challenging, but from here, there are things you can do to overcome this and feel better.

If you aren’t enjoying parts of life, think about what’s working and what isn’t, and how you could improve them. For example:

  • Work Does your work feel rewarding? You could chat with your manager about what you could do to make your work more enjoyable or to decrease the pressure on you a bit while you figure out what’s going on
  • Relationships Are you getting enough meaningful social interaction? Connect with friends and family members you trust – just a simple chat can sometimes help you feel a bit better
  • Hobbies Are you doing activities outside of work that you enjoy? Try to schedule time for hobbies that you enjoy every week
  • Lifestyle Are you getting enough time to relax and recharge? If there are commitments that take up time and are draining, you could put them on pause to give yourself more time to yourself.

What are the signs and symptoms of burnout?

Long-term stress is exhausting and can prevent you from taking part in activities that you normally really enjoy or find meaningful. This is emotional burnout. Some of the signs of burnout include:

  • Feeling exhausted and unable to perform basic tasks
  • Losing motivation in many aspects of your life, including your work, hobbies or relationships
  • Feeling unable to focus or concentrate on tasks
  • Feeling empty or lacking in emotion
  • Losing your passion and drive
  • Being easily irritated by small problems
  • Experiencing conflict in your relationships with co-workers, friends and family
  • Emotionally withdrawing from friends and family.

Essentially, when you’ve reached the point of burnout, it can feel like you’ve had the life sucked out of you. You no longer feel capable of caring about what’s important to you, or making any effort, or staying motivated.

What causes burnout?

Burnout often isn’t caused by just one thing, such as a stressful job or too many life responsibilities. It’s often the result of a combination of things, including how you’re spending your downtime and how you view the world. Causes of burnout can include:

  • Working in a high-pressure or disorganized environment
  • Doing work that you don’t find exciting or challenging
  • Having unrealistic expectations placed on you
  • Not being recognized or rewarded for your good work
  • Feeling like you have little or no control over your work

  • Taking on too many responsibilities, including carer responsibilities
  • Not getting enough sleep
  • Not having enough time to relax and recharge
  • Not having enough close, meaningful relationships
  • Not meeting your own unique needs (e.g. you’re spending too much time socializing, when you really want more time alone)

  • Perfectionist tendencies
  • Always wanting to be in control
  • Feeling unable to set boundaries and to say ‘no’ to things you don’t want to do

What’s the difference between burnout and depression?

Burnout and depression have some similar symptoms, so it can be tricky knowing how to tell the two apart. For example, both involve having less energy and motivation, and feeling more negative. Here are some tips to help tell the difference between burnout and depression:

  • Being burnt out is generally associated with being too busy and overworked
  • If you feel negative about work or study, but positive about other areas of your life, this is probably burnout, not depression
  • Depression can happen at any time, and there isn’t always a clear reason why
  • Someone who is depressed feels low on more days than not for at least a couple of weeks
  • Symptoms like thoughts of suicide are more likely to be a sign of depression.

Keep in mind that these resources can’t give you a diagnosis. If you’re still unsure or you think you may have depression, you need to get more information and advice from a medical professional.

What’s the difference between burnout and stress?

  • Stress puts a lot of pressure on the body. This can be manageable in the short term, and may even be beneficial in small doses
  • However, if the stress is constant, it can be bad for both your physical health and your emotional wellbeing
  • Eventually, too much stress on your body over a long period of time can cause you to burn out
  • Burnout is a state of complete mental, physical and emotional exhaustion.

What can I do about burnout?

If you’ve recognized that you’re burnt out, or on your way to burning out, you’ve taken the first step. The next step is to undo some of the damage and start managing your stress levels.

Lean on others for support

Talking to people you trust can be a great way to start figuring out what you’re going through. They could be a friend, family member, religious or spiritual leader or teammate. Whether it’s to talk through how you’re feeling, or just to connect with a loved one and take your mind off things, talking to someone can help you to start feeling better.

Of course, you could also talk with a health professional such as your doctor or a psychologist.

Prioritize your physical health

It’s easy to forget to do some basic things that can make a world of difference to how you feel. Keeping yourself physically healthy can help you to think more clearly and to manage stress better. Try these ways to improve your physical health:

The amount of sleep that works best for you will depend on your needs and lifestyle.

When you get busy, it’s easy to resort to living on takeout or microwavable foods. You could try preparing meals in advance or learning to cook a few simple dishes that you can fall back on. Eating healthily doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself! It just means that you’re more conscious of what your body needs in order to feel well.

Being physically active can recharge you, help you to sleep better and improve your overall wellbeing. Exercising doesn’t mean that you have to spend hours on a treadmill – you can find an activity that you enjoy! This could be hiking, a team sport, a gym class or even a home dance workout.

Identify your early warning signs

After you’ve reversed some of the effects of burnout, you could try to figure out what your early warning signs for burnout are. That way, you can get ahead of it in the future and minimize how much it impacts you.

  • Were there any hobbies that you let go of when things got busy?
  • Did you experience any physical signs of stress, such as trouble sleeping or concentrating, or forgetting things?
  • When you first started feeling drained, what areas of your life suffered first? Maybe you weren’t motivated to perform with your work or study, or did you have trouble keeping up with texting friends?
  • Were you more pessimistic or more easily irritated by small things?
  • Did you have increased conflict with friends, family or co-workers?

Lawyer Burnout: Self-Assessment & Planning Workbook

Feeling Drained, Disconnected, or Just Not Yourself? You’re Not Alone.

Download our Lawyer Burnout Self-Assessment & Planning Workbook—created by Dazychain in partnership with Reach Out—to identify signs of burnout, understand its impact, and take the first steps toward feeling better.

This practical, judgment-free resource is designed specifically for legal professionals facing the pressure of demanding workloads and long hours. Inside, you’ll find:

  • A copy of the self-assessment quiz to reflect on your current state of wellbeing
  • Clear signs and symptoms of burnout to look out for
  • Simple, effective strategies to regain motivation, set boundaries, and recharge
  • Insightful comparisons between burnout, stress, and depression
  • Actionable worksheets to help you reset your priorities and reclaim your time.

Whether you’re just feeling off or fully burnt out, this guide is here to help you recognize where you’re at—and how to move forward.