You answer emails from your couch.
You check Slack on vacation.
You scroll at night but never feel restored.

And somehow, you’re still exhausted.

Burnout today doesn’t always look dramatic. It often looks like competence paired with quiet depletion.

What Modern Burnout Actually Looks Like

Burnout is no longer just about working long hours. It’s about never fully switching off.

Common signs include:

• Feeling tired even after sleeping
• Irritability with small requests
• Dreading work that used to feel manageable
• Emotional numbness
• Reduced motivation
• Fantasizing about quitting everything

What makes modern burnout tricky is that it blends into “normal life.”
When everyone is overwhelmed, exhaustion starts to feel ordinary.

Why Constant Accessibility Is Draining

Our nervous systems were not designed for:

• Continuous notifications
• Rapid task-switching
• Endless information intake
• Blurred boundaries between work and home

Even when you are technically “resting,” your brain may still be scanning, planning, anticipating.

True rest requires psychological safety — not just physical stillness.

The Productivity Guilt Trap

Many adults experience guilt when resting:

• “I should be doing something.”
• “Other people are handling more than I am.”
• “If I slow down, I’ll fall behind.”

This guilt keeps the stress cycle active, preventing real recovery.

How Therapy Can Help with Burnout

Therapy isn’t just about venting about work. It can help you:

• Identify perfectionism patterns
• Rebuild internal boundaries
• Reduce over-responsibility
• Reconnect with intrinsic motivation
• Learn nervous system regulation tools

Burnout is not a personal failure. It’s often a nervous system that has been running without pause for too long. You don’t need to quit your life. But you may need to renegotiate how you live it.