I could not conceive how the triggers had produced such a response in me. Trying to understand myself was clear as mud. After many months of deep work, I began to see how the situation brought up issues of my identity.

In healing a physical burn, initially you need to run it under cold water to stop the burn from getting worse and it is no different with burnout. Here are five things to do right away once you have recognised the three symptoms of burnout.

It was like the candle had finally come to the end of its wick and as my wife says, “at the end of the wick there is some dynamite”. One Friday afternoon, negativity bubbling under the surface completely overwhelmed me. The burdens I was carrying crushed me under its weight. My normal level-headed temperament became an out of control roller coaster of mixed emotions and confusion. I was completely unable to function like my usual self. My first response was genuinely the thought, “I think I’m going crazy, I have finally lost my mind!”. But with hindsight I think it’s safe to say I was experiencing burnout.