Before we experience the full force of burnout, we often find ourselves in a confusing space. A place where we are feeling the exhaustion and depletion seeping in, but yet, where we are continuing to function. 

We are still showing up and holding everything together, but we can sense that something within us has begun to fray, to erode, to empty. 

If you have been feeling this way, you might be standing at the edge of burnout. 

In our always-on society, where slowing down is perceived to be a personal failing, we keep pushing past our limits, overriding our body’s needs, and powering through fuelled by survival energy. We can sense that something needs to shift, but we don’t feel we have the time to pause, explore alternative ways, and recalibrate. Perhaps we are disillusioned about there being any other possible way.

So while we double down to make sure that the veneer stays put on the outside, on the inside, our heart races for no clear reason, our sleep doesn’t seem to restore us in the same way, our thoughts are often stuck in infinite loops. 

We feel wired and tired as if we were pressing the accelerator and the brake at the same time.

Our body has been riding the wave of chronic stress for a while and it’s starting to press pause on our behalf.