I had a full-blown temper tantrum — I am embarrassed to say this. But it’s true and worth discussing.
I was having a pretty typical work day. No better or worse than most. Then, for no obvious reason that I could see, I absolutely lost my temper with a fellow nurse. Full out yelling. It was pretty awful.
We were both shocked! Where on Earth did this come from? This is not my normal behavior.
We stood there in that hallway — two people who had given everything to everyone else. After apologies and many tears, we came to the same conclusion — we were both burned out.
In that moment, something became very clear. This was more than simply being tired. And it was going to take more than a day off to fix. I know now that this is what burnout looks like. Not just feeling lazy.
What I learned since that incident in the hallway is that burnout isn’t weakness. It’s your nervous system — overloaded, overwhelmed, and running on empty.
This is why I was so tired all the time.
We all have a part of our brain — the amygdala — whose job is to scan for danger. During times of chronic stress it becomes hypervigilant. It stops turning off, keeping us on edge and on guard. And that leaves us in a constant state of exhaustion and overwhelm that sleep simply can’t fix.
So now what? How do we start to fix this?
If you’re a nurse, a first responder, a teacher, or anyone who spends their days caring for others — you already know this feeling. The exhaustion that follows you home. The inability to switch off. This is why we find ourselves so tired so much of the time.
The simplest way is to pause and acknowledge what you are feeling. Notice the sensations in your body. Notice what your mind is telling you — and remind yourself that you are safe.
This is simply your brain’s safety system trying to help. And knowing that — really knowing it — makes it a little easier to be kind to yourself.
Burnout doesn’t always look like collapse — sometimes it looks like irritability, numbness, or feeling nothing at all. And healing from it takes more than one breath.
But this is where it starts.
If any of this feels familiar — you’re in the right place. There’s more here when you’re ready.