Burnout Quotes

“How well I know with what burning intensity you live. You have experienced many lives already, including several you have shared with me- full rich lives from birth to death, and you just have to have these rest periods in between.”
― anais nin

“The entire belief was insulting to many of us, but nonetheless, the term “top trained,” which would come to be regurgitated with great regularity by hospital administration and by Dr. Kowatch, would eventually evolve to become what I would describe as an unhealthy infatuation, one that I now understand represented the developing disconnect between the majority of the Heart Center team and hospital administration, which would ultimately have detrimental effects on the program, which would become visible to all in the near future.”
― DEAN MAFAKO, M.D., Burned Out

“They remained imprisoned in the CICU, kept alive in physicality by mechanical devices and medicinal support, inexorably suffering. I revered their resiliency, though I struggled to understand whether they were truly resilient or if this was a descriptive term I used to assure myself that what we were doing was just. Could they merely represent physical beings at this point, molecular derivatives of carbon and water, void of souls that had moved on months prior once the universe had delivered their inevitable fate, simply kept alive by us physicians, who ourselves clutched desperately to the most favored of our prehistoric binary measures of success: life?”
― DEAN MAFAKO, M.D., Burned Out

“Burnout is nature's way of telling you, you've been going through the motions your soul has departed; you're a zombie, a member of the walking dead, a sleepwalker. False optimism is like administrating stimulants to an exhausted nervous system.”
― Sam Keen, Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man

“Burnout…occurs because we’re trying to solve the same problem over and over.”
― Susan Scott

“Just because you take breaks doesn’t mean you’re broken.”
― Curtis Tyrone Jones

“I sit, tired of reading. I am sick of books. I can't tell where I leave off and the books begin. I'm nobody. I'm a polluted nothing. A confessed sin, an open door, the clutterer in the clutter.”
― Katherine Dunn, Truck

“Dust sleeping on your bookshelf
and all your plants are drying out
you are too busy to save yourself
is your mind heading for burnout?
Coffee rings on your bedside table
anxiety pills under your pillowcase
working round the clock to foot the bill
is there no time for breakfast these days?
Friends haven't seen you in a while
your phone is always out of reach
you're slowly forgetting how to smile
is your silence a figure of speech?
Life can sometimes seem to be unfair
but hoping is better than you think
send the message in a bottle if you dare
is it so hard to not force yourself to sink?”
― Akash Mandal

“I'll always choose a teacher with enthusiasm and weak technique over one with brilliant strategies but who is just punching the clock. Why? An enthusiastic teacher can learn technique, but it is almost impossible to light a fire inside the charred heart of a burned-out teacher.”
― Dave Burgess, Teach Like a PIRATE: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator

“I'm getting old, thought Eileen Calder. Old and worn out and cynical. And being cynical is a lot worse than being old or worn out.”
― Charles Sheffield, Brother to Dragons

“As helpers, we often feel the need to see our impact in tangible, measurable ways. We allow negative language into our head about the “broken system;” we look through a lens of “it doesn’t matter, I can’t make a difference”. These ideas are surely contributing to our burnout.”
― Jenn Bruer, Helping Effortlessly: A Book of Inspiration and Healing

“Relaxing brings weakness, when done by a muscle; but brings strength, when done by a person.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“You can appear calm, capable, even high-performing — and still be burning energy on thought loops no one else can see.”
― Karien Van Zyl, Trapped In Thought: The Hidden Link Between Thoughts, HRV, and Burnout - How The Surfing System™ Can Help

“Thought surfing isn’t about stopping thought. It’s about learning to ride it — without getting pulled under.”
― Karien Van Zyl, Trapped In Thought: The Hidden Link Between Thoughts, HRV, and Burnout - How The Surfing System™ Can Help

“These times are urgent. Let us slow down.”
― Bayo Akomolafe

“The world only notices when you collapse — not when you fall apart quietly.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“Mental health became a luxury.
Pain became ‘drama.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“Burnout can feel like the end, but it’s a warning light, the sign to begin a powerful journey back to balance, purpose, and renewal. You have the strength to reclaim your energy, nurture your well-being, reignite your interests, and flourish with greater clarity and peace.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Healing from Emotional Burnout: A Practical Guide to Reclaiming Your Energy, Focus, and Passion

“Emotional burnout isn’t about doing too much; it’s about not getting the reward you need. You can’t pour from an empty cup. Recognizing burnout is the first step to refilling that cup and reclaiming your energy.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Healing from Emotional Burnout: A Practical Guide to Reclaiming Your Energy, Focus, and Passion

“Burnout isn't just about being tired; it’s a profound exhaustion that infiltrates every aspect of your life.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Healing from Emotional Burnout: A Practical Guide to Reclaiming Your Energy, Focus, and Passion

“Healing from burnout is a deeply personal journey, and what works for one person may not work for another.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Healing from Emotional Burnout: A Practical Guide to Reclaiming Your Energy, Focus, and Passion

“Burnout doesn’t happen all at once—it builds over time, often so gradually that you don’t even realize how much it’s affecting you.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Healing from Emotional Burnout: A Practical Guide to Reclaiming Your Energy, Focus, and Passion

“That’s the cruel paradox of burnout: The very thing you need to heal, rest, can feel dangerously wrong.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Healing Your Simpsons Syndrome: Unhook from Your Inner Chaos Characters with CBT, ACT, and a Little Humor

“But here’s the thing: burnout often blooms in isolation. And resilience? It grows in connection.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Healing Your Simpsons Syndrome: Unhook from Your Inner Chaos Characters with CBT, ACT, and a Little Humor

“You are allowed to rest before you're exhausted. You are allowed to say no without a spreadsheet of justification. You are allowed to matter, even when you’re not productive.”
― Ronen Dancziger, The Therapist's Handbook for Healing Your Simpsons Syndrome: Unhook from Your Inner Chaos Characters with CBT, ACT, and a Little Humor

“Smiling in meetings.
Crumbling in the bathroom.
Saying ‘Good morning’ with a steady voice
and a silent wish to disappear
before the sentence ends.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“Mental health became a luxury.
Pain became ‘drama.’
And emotional collapse?
It became a trend — dressed up as a lifestyle.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“It’s not burnout.
It’s the silent collapse
of someone still breathing
only because the body
hasn’t figured out
how to stop on its own.”
― Phoenix Moon, Emotional Roller Coaster: Confessions of a soul reborn from the ashes

“Signs that you are approaching burnout include trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, and taking longer than usual to complete tasks, as well as feeling drained, overloaded, irritable, or withdrawn.”
― Anna Barnes, How to Tidy Your Mind: Tips and Techniques to Help You Reduce Mental Clutter and Find Calm

“In short: there are limits. Morality plays a big role in a rich and full life, but it's not everything. And if your inner fire burns bright, no need to stoke it hotter. In any case, don't let yourself be fuelled by a sense of guilt or shame, but rather with enthusiasm and a lust for life. Be ambitious, not perfect. There comes a point when you're fine just the way you are.”
― Rutger Bregman, Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference