Practical strategies, resilience building, plus compassionate guidance. To help you either recover from burnout or prevent it from happening altogether . . .
Burnout Recovery and Prevention
This page explores how burnout recovery and prevention programmes using CBT and hypnotherapy can help you restore balance and resilience.
Burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Both burnout recovery and burnout prevention programmes are essential for lasting wellbeing.
It often stems from prolonged stress, but it’s not the same as stress. Stress is usually short-term. You can often still engage with work and life, even when sleep, mood, and energy are affected.
Burnout feels different. It can leave you detached, drained, and unable to function as you once did. Recovery takes time. You may feel hopeless, as if you’ll never regain your motivation or energy.
Obviously, prevention is better than recovery but, with an effective management programme, recovery can happen more rapidly.
In short: Burnout is a deeper, longer-lasting form of exhaustion than stress. It affects your energy, motivation, and ability to function, requiring focused recovery and prevention strategies.
Burnout Is Not Just About Work
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises burnout as an occupational phenomenon rather than a medical condition. Burnout Syndrome was officially listed as a diagnosable condition in 2019. Although it appears in the same manuals as anxiety and depression, it remains work-related—defined by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional performance.
However, new research suggests burnout isn’t always about work. Life’s challenges—relationships, family responsibilities, or financial pressure—can also cause burnout. Work may simply be where the symptoms are most visible.
Burnout is complex. It may not be a mental health diagnosis, yet it can trigger anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion. A multi-modal approach often works best. This is where CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) and hypnotherapy for burnout play an important role.
In short: Burnout isn’t always caused by work. It can result from life pressures too, and while not a mental health disorder, it often leads to anxiety, depression, and emotional fatigue.
Hypnotherapy for Burnout
Hypnosis is a natural state of focused relaxation. It feels similar to daydreaming or being absorbed in a good book. In this state, the unconscious mind becomes more open to positive, goal-focused suggestions.
Studies show that hypnotherapy supports both burnout recovery and burnout prevention. It helps reset your system, restore balance, and boost energy. It can also improve sleep, calm the nervous system, and renew your sense of control.
In short: Hypnotherapy helps with burnout by promoting deep relaxation, restoring balance, and supporting the mind’s natural ability to recover from stress and fatigue.
CBT for Burnout
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective approaches for managing burnout. It works by identifying unhelpful thoughts and replacing them with more balanced, constructive beliefs.
The approach I use – Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) – targets the beliefs that lead to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Research suggests that REBT builds emotional resilience, helping you manage pressure and adapt to challenges at work and in life.
In short: CBT for burnout focuses on changing the thoughts and beliefs that keep you stuck. It builds resilience and helps you handle pressure in a calmer, more balanced way.
Combining CBT & Hypnotherapy
CBT and hypnotherapy complement each other well. I’ve used both successfully with clients in hospital and occupational health settings, as well as in my own life.
Stress is part of being human. Yet, with the right tools, it doesn’t have to become chronic. I’ve learned how to bring myself back from the brink of burnout, and I can help you do the same.
To learn more, see the Mental Health UK report on burnout and how it affects overall wellbeing.
In short: Combining CBT and hypnotherapy offers a balanced approach to burnout recovery. Together they help you rebuild resilience, restore energy, and prevent future exhaustion.
