3 Steps to healing your body from burnout

One of the questions we get most frequently is: How long will it take for me to recover from burnout? When your body has been operating in survival mode for months or years, recovery requires more than just rest—it needs to rebuild your biological resilience. This process varies for everyone and can take as short as a few weeks or as long as a few years. The signs of burnout might look different for everyone, but common symptoms include sleep disruption, persistent fatigue, digestive distress, chronic pain, and being more susceptible to infections like the common cold. Many people also report a kind of cognitive fog that settles over their thinking, making complex decision-making more challenging. As healthcare professionals, you likely already understand the body's complexity; now it's time to apply that understanding to your own recovery.

step 1: stabilize

The first phase of recovery focuses on stopping the damage and creating basic physiological safety. For most people, going back to basics with sleep, nutrition, exercise, connection, meditation and other foundational health behaviors is a critical step before the deeper work around unpacking beliefs and values and creating action steps can take place. 

step 2: repair

Now that you’ve created a solid foundation to recover, you can focus on recovering some of the mental clarity and focus that you may have lost while experiencing burnout. Regardless of your work situation, everyone can find ways to begin rebuilding. Some of our favorite ways to do this involve exploring values, engaging in and scheduling pleasant activities/ hobbies, connecting more with loved ones, and gratitude journaling; anything that allows you to focus and add moments of joy in your life help here! If you are working, it's also really important to begin setting some boundaries that will better serve you in the future - so consider scheduling breaks, regular time off, or defining your work hours. 

step 3: build resilience

As your body begins to heal, the focus shifts to creating sustainable patterns that will protect you from future burnout. This phase isn't just about maintaining recovery—it's about building a stronger, more resilient system that can better handle the demands of your work. Learning mindfulness techniques, creating sustainable routines and boundaries, and even exploring and reframing some of your limiting beliefs and false assumptions around your relationship with work are all critical in this phase. This is also a time when you may start to consider connecting with new meaning in your life and in your work. 

finally…a reminder!

The quality of care you can provide others is directly related to the quality of care you provide yourself. Your recovery is not self-indulgent—it's an essential investment in your capacity to serve.