This year, Mental Health UK reported that 1 in 5 workers needed to take time off due to poor mental health caused by pressure or stress in the past year.

Poor mental health and stress, combined with pressures in the workplace and the ongoing cost of living crisis, has led to many people experiencing burnout. 

The NHS says: “Burnout is the result of a prolonged period of stress which negatively affects your wellbeing. The signs and symptoms may be subtle at first, but can progressively deteriorate and become overwhelming.”

Some of the symptoms can include emotions feeling blunted, helplessness/hopelessness, being tearful, irritable, numb and underappreciated. 

While burnout is common, it can be hard to see a way of out such a dark hole.

However,  Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, Harvard physician specialising in stress, burnout, mental health and resilience, believes that doing an audit of your burnout and subsequent roadmap out of it can make all of the difference.

How to recover from burnout

Dr Nerurkar explained: “Sometimes, the best way to combat feelings of burnout or stress is to break down big goals into smaller, more manageable steps.

“That’s where the MOST goal-setting technique comes in, and why I recommend using it for your own roadmap - ultimately helping you achieve your goals effectively.”

He recommends breaking it down into these parts:

• M is for motivating. Does your goal feel energising and motivating?
• O is for objective. Is your goal objective, easy to track and measurable?
• S is for small. Is your goal small, within reach and doable?
• T is for timely. Can you reach your goal in a timely fashion within the next 2-3 months?

Then, he says, put it into practice using these steps:

 Step 1: Write down your MOST goal at the bottom of the page. Because we’re going to work backwards to set your roadmap.

Step 2: Think about the final step you imagine taking right before achieving your MOST goal. Write that down. Just above your goal.

Step 3: Now, you’ll work backward up to the next line. What’s the step you need to take right before getting to that one? Let’s move up another line, can you imagine the step you’ll take here?

Step 4: Keep going line by line until you get to the top of the page. This might take you ten steps or twenty. That depends on your MOST goal. You also don’t want to put any definitive dates next to each of the steps because the process moving forward should feel relaxed as you’re moving through it.

 Dr Nerurkar said: “The important thing is to create a step-by-step backward plan that feels concrete, tangible and within reach. Best of all, it’s all on one piece of paper for you to reference back to easily.

 “If you can, put that paper somewhere in your home where you can glance at it every day. Because, when you visually see your journey laid out before you, it will help you realise your goal is within your reach! Believe it, because it is.”

Help and support:

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.