20/11/2025
I’ve been noticing lately how many people are living much closer to burnout than they realise. Not the dramatic, falling-apart kind you read about, but the quiet version that creeps in without much fuss. It’s more like a slow drifting away from yourself, and your body usually starts whispering long before anything actually feels “wrong.”
There are some early signs that show up, and most of us brush them off as normal life. Things like waking up tired even after sleeping, feeling more irritable or touchy than usual, overreacting to minor things, forgetting words or simple tasks, or catching yourself breathing shallowly for long stretches without noticing. There’s also that strange mix of feeling wired and flat at the same time, or the pressure behind the eyes that doesn’t really go away. A lot of people start reaching for sugar, coffee or screens just to keep going, and it becomes part of the routine without thinking too much about it.
The trouble is, these little signs tend to stack up. We all adapt so quickly and just keep pushing on, and before you know it, you’re several steps further down the road than you meant to be. None of this means you’re doing anything wrong; it’s just the body trying to get your attention in the only ways it can.
The encouraging bit is that you don’t need to overhaul your entire life to interrupt that drift. Sometimes it’s as simple as a slow exhale, standing outside in the cold air for a minute, leaving your phone behind on a walk or just softening your shoulders when you realise they’ve crept up again. These tiny resets really do help bring your system back to a steadier state.
If any of this sounds familiar, you are definitely not on your own. Your system is probably just asking for a little space. I’ll share a bit more about this over the next few days because there are some really simple things that make a big difference once you start noticing them.
