Emotional exhaustion: 10 tips to relieve emotional burnout
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, CDCES, MBA
Learn what emotional exhaustion is, including its symptoms, causes, and long-term impacts. Plus, 10 ways to treat emotional exhaustion and relieve burnout.
If you’ve ever felt so drained and depleted that even the simplest tasks can feel overwhelming, you may know a thing or two about emotional exhaustion. Unlike ordinary tiredness, which can be resolved with a good night's sleep, emotional exhaustion saps your energy, enthusiasm, and passion. It’s a signal from your body and mind that life is out of balance and can have profound implications for your overall wellness.
What is emotional exhaustion?
Emotional exhaustion is feeling overwhelmingly tired or worn out — and not just in the physical sense. It's an emotional and mental fatigue that accumulates over time, often resulting from prolonged exposure to stress or emotional strain. This condition can make you feel like you're just going through the motions of your daily life, disconnected from the experiences and activities that once brought you joy and satisfaction.
While sleeping more or taking a break might alleviate normal physical tiredness, it’s unlikely to work for emotional exhaustion. The root causes are deeper and more complex, typically linked to ongoing stress, unresolved emotional issues, or unrelenting demands in your personal or professional life.
Ignoring emotional exhaustion can cause symptoms to worsen, affecting your mental health, physical health, relationships, and quality of life. By understanding what emotional exhaustion is and recognizing its signs, you can take steps to manage it and help prevent it from becoming more severe.
10 tips to treat emotional exhaustion
To overcome emotional exhaustion, it’s important to have strategies that offer both immediate relief and long-term stress management. When you create a balance that supports your mental and emotional health, you can begin to thrive even in the face of life's challenges.
1. Prioritize rest and sleep
Ensuring you get adequate, quality sleep each night allows your mind and body to heal and recover from the day's stresses. Develop a relaxing bedtime routine and create a sleep-conducive environment to improve your sleep quality, so you can support your mental and emotional wellbeing.
💙 Add a Sleep Story, like the Amsterdam Canals, into your bedtime routine to help calm your mind and drift off with ease.
2. Establish healthy boundaries
Learning to say no and setting limits in both your personal and professional life can prevent overcommitment and reduce stress. Understand your limits and communicate them clearly to others to protect your emotional wellbeing and energy.
💙 Listen to The Daily Trip’s A Secret to Better Boundaries for tips on setting and maintaining healthy boundaries.
3. Get moving
Participating in regular exercise can provide a productive outlet for releasing stress and tension as physical activity may release natural mood-lifting chemicals in the body.
💙 Shake Off Your Tension, with the help of Jay Shetty, by taking regular movement breaks to combat stress, or follow along with Mel Mah in A Mindful Run.
4. Enjoy a balanced diet
Focus on a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins to nourish your body and mind and support your energy levels and mood.
💙 Looking for some motivation to give mindful eating a try? Press play on our session on the Benefits of Mindful Eating.
5. Practice mindfulness and meditation
Help center your thoughts, calm your mind, and reduce stress. Even a few minutes of mindfulness or meditation a day can make a significant difference in managing stress and enhancing your emotional resilience.
💙 If you’re new to meditation, try the 7 Days of Calm series to start your practice.
6. Seek social support
Talk about your feelings with friends, family, or a support group to feel understood and less alone in your experiences.
7. Take breaks during the day
Regular short breaks can help prevent burnout by giving your mind a chance to rest and reset. Whether it's a brief walk, a moment of quiet, or a different change of pace, pause during the day to help maintain your emotional energy.
💙 If you’re on your computer (or other devices) all day, take a short break to Step Away from Your Computer with this meditation.
8. Pursue hobbies and interests
Keep up activities you enjoy — they can offer a break from routine, provide a sense of accomplishment, and bring joy, which can all help you combat emotional exhaustion.
9. Limit exposure to stressors
As much as possible, minimize your exposure to known triggers to significantly reduce stress. This might mean setting limits on your news consumption, avoiding toxic relationships, or learning to delegate tasks at work.
💙 Learn more tools for dealing with your stress during the Overcome Stress and Anxiety series.
10. Consider professional help
If your emotional exhaustion feels overwhelming or persistent, seek help from a mental health professional. Therapists can offer strategies to manage stress, address underlying issues, and provide support through your recovery process.
10 symptoms of emotional exhaustion
Recognizing the signs of emotional exhaustion in yourself or others can help you take steps to address the issue and seek support.
Persistent tiredness that doesn't improve with rest
Irritability or frustration at small annoyances, or feeling disproportionately upset over minor issues
Feeling disconnected from your surroundings, activities you used to enjoy, or people you care about
Difficulty concentrating and making decisions.
Tasks that once seemed straightforward may now feel overwhelming and much harder
Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach issues, muscle tension, or a general sense of being unwell
Loss of motivation for work or hobbies, which may now feel unimportant or too challenging
Increased cynicism or negativity in your outlook on life, your job, or your relationships
Trouble sleeping, possibly due to racing thoughts, anxiety, or an inability to relax
Feeling hopeless about the future
What causes emotional exhaustion?
Emotional exhaustion is often the result of an accumulation of stressors and pressures over time. Identifying the specific factors causing your emotional exhaustion can help you find ways to reduce these stressors and bolster your emotional resilience.
High-stress jobs
Workplaces with high demands, constant pressure, and tight deadlines can lead to chronic stress, a significant contributor to emotional exhaustion. This can be particularly common in roles that involve emotional labor or caregiving duties.
Lack of work-life balance
When work consumes most of your time and energy, leaving little space for relaxation or personal activities, the risk of emotional exhaustion increases. Being unable to disconnect from work-related stress can cause a cycle of exhaustion.
Personal life challenges
Persistent difficulties in personal relationships, health issues, financial stress, or caregiving responsibilities at home can also contribute to emotional exhaustion.
Insufficient social support
Without reliable social support, stress can feel worse, leading to feelings of isolation and increased vulnerability to emotional exhaustion.
Personality traits
Perfectionism or a high need for control can increase the effects of external stressors, making emotional exhaustion more likely.
Lack of autonomy
Feeling like you have little control over your work or personal life can lead to frustration and helplessness, contributing to emotional exhaustion.
Unresolved conflict
Ongoing conflicts in the workplace or personal life can erode emotional energy over time.
Chronic exposure to stressful situations
Continuous exposure to stressful environments, whether at work or home, can drain your emotional resources.
6 long-term impacts of emotional exhaustion
Neglecting emotional exhaustion can lead to significant consequences on your mental and physical health as well as your social and professional life.
1. Deteriorating mental health
Continuous emotional exhaustion can cause more serious mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, or severe stress. The persistent feeling of being overwhelmed can make it harder to cope with daily stressors.
2. Physical health decline
Chronic emotional exhaustion can contribute to a weakened immune system, making you more susceptible to illness. It can also lead to physical symptoms like headaches, muscle pain, gastrointestinal issues, and sleep disturbances.
3. Impaired relationships
When you're emotionally exhausted, your capacity to maintain and nurture relationships can suffer. You might find yourself withdrawing from social interactions, or feeling irritable or less empathetic. This can strain relationships with friends, family, and colleagues.
4. Reduced work performance
Emotional exhaustion can significantly affect your productivity and efficiency at work. It can lead to decreased motivation, increased absenteeism, a higher likelihood of mistakes, and a general decline in job satisfaction.
5. Compromised quality of life
The cumulative effects of ongoing emotional exhaustion can lower your overall quality of life. You might experience a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, feel a persistent sense of pessimism, or struggle to find joy in your daily life.
6. Increased risk of burnout
If left unaddressed, emotional exhaustion can lead to burnout, a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Burnout can make it feel like your efforts are no longer producing meaningful or satisfying results.
Emotional exhaustion FAQ
Can emotional exhaustion affect my physical health?
Emotional exhaustion can have a significant impact on your physical health. While it originates as a mental and emotional issue, the stress and fatigue it causes can bring physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, stomach issues, and changes in appetite or sleep patterns. Over time, emotional exhaustion can contribute to more serious health concerns like weakened immune systems and cardiovascular issues. It can even exacerbate chronic conditions.
How can I differentiate emotional exhaustion from depression?
While emotional exhaustion and depression share some symptoms, such as fatigue and loss of interest in activities, there are key differences. Emotional exhaustion is often directly tied to specific stressors, especially from your environment or circumstances, and might improve when those stressors are reduced. Depression, on the other hand, is a clinical mood disorder that can have a broader range of causes, including biological, psychological, and environmental factors, and often requires a more comprehensive treatment approach, including therapy and possibly medication. If you're unsure whether you're experiencing emotional exhaustion or depression, seek a professional evaluation to get the appropriate support.
Are there specific exercises that help with emotional exhaustion?
Certain exercises can be particularly beneficial in combating emotional exhaustion. Physical activities that reduce stress, such as yoga, tai chi, or gentle aerobic exercises like walking or swimming, can be very helpful. These exercises not only improve physical health but can also have a calming effect on the mind, helping reduce stress hormones and increase the body's natural mood-elevating hormones. Choose activities you enjoy and can make a regular part of your routine. Try mindfulness exercises, such as deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation, to help reduce immediate stress and enhance emotional resilience.
How can I prevent emotional exhaustion in the future?
Preventing emotional exhaustion involves managing stress and creating a lifestyle that supports your mental and emotional wellbeing.
Establish boundaries: Learn to set and maintain healthy boundaries in both your personal and professional life to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Prioritize self-care: Regularly engage in activities that rejuvenate your mind and body, like exercise, hobbies, and relaxation techniques.
Develop healthy coping strategies: Identify and practice effective stress management techniques that work for you, such as mindfulness, meditation, or journaling.
Cultivate a support network: Maintain strong connections with friends, family, or support groups who can provide emotional support.
Seek balance: Strive for a balanced lifestyle that includes work, play, social activities, and rest.
Be mindful of early signs: Recognize and respond to early symptoms of stress and exhaustion before they escalate.
Consider professional guidance: Seek help from a mental health professional if you're struggling to manage stress, or if you notice signs of emotional exhaustion.
Calm your mind. Change your life.
Mental health is hard. Getting support doesn't have to be. The Calm app puts the tools to feel better in your back pocket, with personalized content to manage stress and anxiety, get better sleep, and feel more present in your life.
Images: Getty
