How long does a burnout last?

Hi Roy I'm sorry your experiencing this. I've had burnout and it isn't pleasant one bit. Your mind races and you can't focus or do anything because your exhausted. I always imagine it like I'm an engine and I've just overheated and exploded. This happened to my dads classic car which is how I picture me, smoking excessively when I'm fried an in burnout.

I find it is different each time I experience this. Sometimes it lasts hours and other times it can be days, weeks or months. The longest was about 3-4 months.. that was terrible I was like a zombie. It was caused after my mum suffered a heart problem.

All you can do to help yourself is to try to stop worrying and calm down. Let your body and mind recover and get all the rest you can and try not to let pressure and stress get to you. I know that's easier said than done.

I wish there was another way which could get you out of it straight away.

Hugs ️

There are remedies for burnout, and worth googling and learning about things that might help.

My advice is work towards having healthy thoughts and mindset, take your mind off troubles and focus only on tasks you need to. Mindfulness is useful, but just distracting yourself can help, as can living in the present is really important - go for a walk and focus outside your mind, no judgements of anything around including people.  Being at one/peace with yourself and things is good generally, so worth working towards.

Excess focus-on-self (and your worries/trauma) is not good, it can trap you in a negative thoughts/feelings - anxiety alone can be crippling, but it can all lift if you are able to live in the moment and think healthily/positively and only about what you need to.

Thoughts from the past can come to you and some might be useful to help you see something in a different light, but others painful, don't dwell on those at all, but appreciate the helpful ones and spend a bit of time thinking about what is revealed.

I would say selling your house is a last resort as the added thinking and stress might not be a good idea, explore other options that are less challenging.  If you work on healing then your mind will be clearer and work better, you might be less desperate, and more productive also.

If you have trouble managing thoughts that is worth seeing a psychiatrist about, they can help with medication for that kind of thing, but it also helps to manage thoughts as best you can as well, otherwise you are dependent on the medication and whilst not always addictive, it just means if you want to stop, or feel its time to stop, you will just go back to not managing well again.

Hm, my last burnout was about 6 months long, and I had about 4 weeks off work during it. I remained completely unmotivated and lost for almost 2 years after it. I still don’t think I’m 100%.

Antidepressants aren’t really helpful for it, but CBT and lots of self care can improve matters. It’s about finding how much you can do, and how much down time you require to function at your own ‘best’ setting. It’s a long orocess!

Hi Roy,

I see what you mean. It sounds like downsizing would make sense - not having a mortgage is definitely a big stress reducer. We’ve always been in a similar position of only just managing money wise - it’s not a lot of fun is it?! I sympathise with feelings of low self-worth too - when so many aspects of life feel like hard work it’s hard not to feel bad about yourself. I try to remind myself that I try - and my family try - our absolute best and we can’t do more than that. We need to be kind to ourselves, forgive ourselves, and give ourselves credit for what we do achieve - even if it’s small by other peoples standards. 

I hope you find ways to improve your life, so you can be happier. We are working on this too at the moment after the most dreadful few months. We are struggling too. But life really is too precious not to keep trying. 

best wishes to you x 

Hi Kate, Thank you for your kind reply. I’ve messaged my GP to get an idea of how long the waiting list is in my area. It’s just the not knowing that affects me. The house to be honest is now too big for us , the children have grown up and moved out and I have always struggled to make enough money to pay all the outgoings. It seems to take me twice as long to do anything, I never charge  enough, I always have this feeling of low worth. If we slightly downsize we can live mortgage free which would make my life a lot less stressful. I think you are right that I’m still trying to process the last 50+ years. Finally knowing that there are other people out there who are the same as me has been a help and a shock. I hope that being able to work less and being a bit kinder to myself will help me. The last 50 years have been like running a marathon and all you see is people running past you. Thanks for listening.

Kind Regards Roy.

Hi Roy,

From your message it is clear that your mind is racing with trying to process this. 
In essence nothing has changed - you are still the same person, the idea of diagnosis and diagnosis itself does not fundamentally change who you are. I do understand though that the thought of this is changing how you view yourself and your life. I think you need to slow down, take a breath and don’t make any sudden decisions about selling your house. 
Getting a diagnosis more quickly is unlikely to provide with much in many ways. I think the security of owning your own home will provide you with more comfort that a diagnosis will. Nothing massively changes in any practical terms with a diagnosis. 
I would strongly advise you against selling your family home to go to a private therapist. Bear in mind you might not even GET a diagnosis. And then you would deeply regret selling your home.

I think you need to give yourself time to slow down and to think. Practice whatever soothing and reassuring measures you can to get yourself to a calmer, more considered state of mind. Put off making any important decisions. Rest. 
Do you have support from family or friends? Is there someone you are close to who can help you work through this?