Suddenly we can find ourselves waking up to a particular cycle or pattern in our lives. We might hear ourselves saying ’here I go again’, ‘I know what’s going to happen, and it’s not good’, or simply an overwhelming sense of the unwelcome familiar and the sinking feeling that accompanies it. At other times it takes question or comment from a friend, family member or colleague who has noticed something and is checking how we are.  

Burnout can be one of those patterns, and it might be the first time we have noticed how utterly exhausted or disconnected we feel. It might be new to us, and as a result we can struggle to make sense of what’s going on. Even when we do make sense, we may not want to acknowledge what’s happening, even to ourselves. It can feel intensely lonely. And yet when we are able to acknowledge it, it is often a rapid discovery that ‘I am not alone’. In a meeting of Oasis practitioners late last year as we were exploring our most recent reflections on this are, it was a positive reminder just how many of us have experienced or are experiencing burnout.  

The insights and resources on these pages result from friends, colleagues and clients encouraging us to share more about the experiences of burnout we encounter, how it differs from anxiety, stress and depression, and how the Whole Person can be impacted. We outline what might create the conditions for burnout, how to respond to it and what individuals and organisations can change to help move beyond what some refer to as the burnout crisis. 

Let us know if the resources help and what might be missing. If we can offer more, just let us know, but for now there are some insights and resources on burnout below.