When you think of someone who’s burnt out, you probably picture a person who is fatigued and unproductive, constantly ill, dropping the ball at home or work and hitting the wall emotionally.
But, would you recognise burnout in someone still on top of deadlines, with a clean house, full diary and soaring career?
Probably not – but “high-functioning burnout”, as it’s known, is a reality, and the better you seem to be doing in life the greater the risk you might suffer from it.
Shorts
“I work with a lot of clients who experience this kind of burnout – they’re often very successful leaders, entrepreneurs or even athletes,” says Sophie Scott, a psychotherapist and author of You Are Not Alone In This. Scott went through burnout herself in her previous career as the head of a start-up.
