The Connection Between Survival Mode and Burnout

Nov 6

The truth is: survival mode and burnout are joined at the hip. Here’s why:

Many people experiencing burnout are in “survival mode”.

Survival mode is the version of yourself that is put into the position to push through, moment after moment, to get through the stressful and challenging seasons of life. Typically when your body is in survival mode, you are alert from the adrenaline that pumps through to help you successfully persevere through a difficult or adverse experience. When survival is the focus, your body may turn down the awareness of feelings such as tiredness, discomfort or even stress to focus on the end goal which is surviving.

Here’s where burnout comes in: when there’s no end to when survival mode starts and stops — if there’s no relief from the pressure that survival mode generates — this mode can become your default setting. Because our bodies were not designed to constantly be in survival mode.

The “survival mode'“ setting, in essence, was created to be the body’s “emergency break”. When your environment, circumstances and/or your conditioning is repeatedly putting you in situations to have to pull on your natural emergency break, we see burnout transform in chronic exhaustion, stress, disconnection and ineffectiveness.

Part of recovering from burnout is understanding the causes of it and unlearning that you must always be in survival mode to “thrive”. During your burnout recovery journey, try your best to notice how often you are pushing through on your “survivial mode” setting. Ask yourself:

What’s happening around me to cause me to “push through”?
Does this season have an end date? How will I know it is safe enough for me to slow down and rest?
What is within my power to pause and reset?
What do I need to turn off “survival mode”?

You deserve ease, rest & relief from all that you’ve survived. Recognizing what you deserve is a first step towards recovery.

To learn more about what causes your burnout, start our 5-day guided journaling experience: Put Out the Flame by clicking here.