Burnout: When You Feel Like You’re Drowning — How to Keep Your Head Above Water

24Sep 2025 by alexiamcleod

Burnout Isn’t Laziness: How to Survive It (and Stop the Doom Spiral)

Picture this: your alarm goes off, and you hit snooze… six times. You finally drag yourself out of bed, stare blankly at your to-do list, and think, “Nope. Not today.” Then the guilt sets in. You wonder, “Am I just lazy? Why can’t I get it together?”

Here’s the truth: you’re not lazy. You’re burned out. And the two couldn’t be more different.

Burnout vs. Laziness (AKA Why You’re Not the Problem)

Burnout is what happens when your brain and body have been running a marathon with no water breaks. It’s exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix, motivation that won’t come back no matter how many productivity hacks you try, and a sense that even simple tasks feel like climbing Everest.

Laziness, on the other hand, is a lack of desire to do something. Lazy says, “Meh, I don’t care.” Burnout says, “I care so much, but I literally have no fuel left.”

👉 If you feel guilty about not doing enough, you’re not lazy. Laziness doesn’t come with shame. Burnout almost always does.

What Burnout Can Look Like

Burnout doesn’t wear the same face for everyone, but here are a few common disguises:

  • Permanent exhaustion. You wake up tired, you go to bed tired, you’re tired of being tired.
  • Brain fog. Concentrating feels like trying to read through soup.
  • Irritability. You’re snapping at people you love for asking where the ketchup is.
  • Loss of joy. Things that once lit you up now feel flat.
  • Avoidance. You procrastinate, not because you don’t care, but because you don’t have the gas to start.

If any of this sounds like you, welcome to the club nobody signed up for. You’re not broken—you’re burned out.

Why Burnout Gets Mistaken for Laziness

Society loves hustle culture. We glorify being busy, pulling all-nighters, and “grinding” like it’s the only path to success. So when your body says “no more” and forces you to slow down, the world often labels it as laziness.

But here’s the kicker: burnout usually happens to people who are the opposite of lazy. It hits the hard workers, the over-givers, the perfectionists, the people who keep pushing long after they’ve run out of gas.

You don’t burn out by doing nothing. You burn out by doing too much for too long.

How to Survive Burnout (and Re-Engage with Life)

Here’s the thing: if you let burnout sit too long, it can slide into a doom spiral—where disconnection and exhaustion turn into hopelessness. That’s why recovery isn’t just about resting, it’s also about reconnecting with life in small, doable ways.

1. Rest Without Guilt

Stop equating rest with failure. Rest is not a luxury; it’s a survival need. Your brain needs downtime as much as your body does. Permission granted.

2. Shrink Your To-Do List

Instead of “clean the house,” change it to “wash three dishes.” Instead of “reply to all emails,” aim for “answer one person I actually like.” Small wins prevent the doom spiral of “I’m useless because I did nothing today.”

3. Audit Your Energy Drains

Ask yourself: What’s sucking me dry? Maybe it’s your workload, a friend who only calls to vent, or the endless ping of notifications. Whatever it is, cut back where you can. (Yes, “Do Not Disturb” mode absolutely counts as self-care.)

4. Re-Engage Through Micro-Joy

Burnout makes life feel gray. To keep from spiraling, sprinkle in tiny doses of joy—even when you don’t feel like it.

  • Listen to a silly podcast.
  • Step outside and feel the sun for five minutes.
  • Try a new snack or recipe.
  • Rewatch your comfort show.

Joy doesn’t have to be huge to shift your brain out of “everything is meaningless” mode.

5. Move Your Body (Gently)

We’re not talking marathons here—just movement that signals life is still happening. Stretch in bed. Take a slow walk. Dance badly in your kitchen. Motion helps remind your brain and body that you’re still here and still capable.

6. Reconnect with People (Even Briefly)

Isolation feeds burnout. You don’t need to host a party—just send a “thinking of you” text, call a friend for five minutes, or sit in a coffee shop where life is buzzing around you. Connection is an antidote to doom spirals.

7. Practice “Low-Lift” Creativity

Burnout kills motivation, but dipping into creativity (without pressure) can reignite a spark. Doodle. Journal one messy page. Try a new playlist. Bake cookies from a box mix. Creation reminds you that you’re more than just exhaustion.

8. Say No More Often

Every time you say “yes” to something that drains you, you say “no” to your recovery. Boundaries aren’t selfish—they’re life preservers.

The Bottom Line

Burnout isn’t a character flaw—it’s your body and brain waving a giant red flag. You’re not lazy, weak, or failing. You’re human. And humans need rest, joy, connection, and boundaries to survive.

The goal isn’t to “bounce back” overnight—it’s to slowly rebuild a version of life where you can engage with the world without emptying yourself in the process.

So the next time your burnout brain whispers, “You’re lazy,” clap back with: “Actually, I’m healing. And I’m allowed to take it slow.”

Take the nap. Send the text. Wash the one dish. Laugh at the dumb meme. These little re-engagements with life are how you stop the doom spiral before it takes root.

Because you don’t have to live as a ghost in your own life—you deserve to feel alive in it.

✨ Bonus: If you’re deep in burnout, make a list of five tiny things that help you feel human (a walk, a snack, a song, a shower, a text to a friend). Keep it handy. On the hard days, don’t think—just pick one.

Written by Sophie Limbourg