What Is Burnout in Recovery?
Feeling overwhelmed when you start to address your mental health is not only understandable; it’s incredibly common. And I wish I had known that sooner.
About Recovery Burnout
Recovery burnout is a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion that can occur when someone feels overwhelmed by the work of healing. In eating disorder recovery, burnout may show up as low motivation, isolation, missed appointments, hopelessness, frustration or thoughts about returning to eating disorder behaviors.
At Eating Recovery Center (ERC), our clinicians often remind patients that burnout is not a sign of failure. It is often a signal that additional support, coping strategies or adjustments to treatment may be needed.
When I started my recovery journey, I was one of the first people I knew with serious mental health concerns. The isolation was real. And it played a major role in the burnout I would later experience.
Treatment became part of my life early on, delaying milestones like college. I traded in social and superficial relationships for ones that were far more intimate, vulnerable and, at times, deeply therapeutic. For a long time, this made me feel like I was the only one struggling with my mental health.
But today, I am grateful to see so many people opening up about their recovery experiences. Visibility matters. People often enter treatment believing they are alone in these experiences. At Eating Recovery Center, patients frequently share concerns about feeling exhausted by the recovery process, especially during periods of transition, relapse prevention work or stepping down from higher levels of care. Recovery burnout is more common than many people realize.
Before going any further, I want to be clear about something.
I am not “done.” I have not arrived at some final destination of healing.
What I have arrived at is a set of tools, mindsets and values that help me navigate the ups and downs of life, including burnout. Just like my physical health is never a constant, neither is my mental health.
Recovery didn’t give me perfection. It gave me a relationship with myself.
Much of what I know now about burnout, healing and mental health is due to hindsight. It is only possible because of the struggles I went through.
And the phrases you hear often in recovery spaces? They are not clichés to me.
“Easy does it”
“Progress not perfection”
“One day at a time”
These were actually lifelines for me, but I didn’t fully understand until I needed them.
Recovery is overwhelming, especially at the beginning
For many of us, recovery is a radical shift in how we live, how we relate to others and how we understand ourselves. And often, it happens in the midst of tremendous emotional pain, confusion and shame.
I felt enormous pressure to get better and resume my life before I “missed out” on any more of it. That pressure was rooted in a belief that my value came from my ability to perform, achieve and do.
What I didn’t know yet was that recovery would ask me to learn something entirely different. I had to learn how to be. To trust. To let myself heal.
The tension between how I had learned to cope with my thoughts, feelings and beliefs and what healing actually required created its own set of intense emotions and stressors.
Addressing my mental health wasn’t just hard because of what I was facing. It was hard because I was unlearning everything I thought made me worthy.
The mindset of “needing to get better” versus allowing myself to heal was monumental. And that tension became one of the quiet contributors to my burnout.
Common Signs of Recovery Burnout
Recovery burnout can look different for everyone, but common signs include:
Feeling emotionally exhausted
Losing motivation for recovery
Missing therapy or treatment appointments
Feeling isolated from support systems
Increased hopelessness or discouragement
Comparing your recovery to other people's
Feeling pressure to recover "perfectly"
Thoughts about giving up on treatment
These signs do not necessarily mean recovery is failing. They may indicate that you need additional support, rest or treatment adjustments.
What burnout looked like for me in recovery
When people talk about burnout, they often talk about work or productivity. We don’t talk enough about what burnout looks like inside recovery.
Eating Recovery Center alum Maddy M. shares what burnout looked like in eating disorder recovery. “Burnout for me looked like wanting to give up, canceling healthcare appointments and doing the bare minimum to stay afloat. When I was burned out in recovery, I was very depressed, physically exhausted and isolating myself. Anxiety, anger and panic attacks often followed.”
Maddy continues, “When I was burned out, I didn’t want to keep fighting my eating disorder. I didn’t care about my reasons for ‘why’ recovery was worth it. During these times, I didn’t even feel like recovery was real. I was in treatment multiple times and providers would say to me, ‘See you in a few months’ and ‘You’ll never get better’ because they thought I would just go right back to my eating disorder behaviors.”
For me, burnout didn’t show up as wanting to quit.
It showed up as:
Exhaustion
Pressure
A constant internal sense that I should be further along by now
This all came from the expectations I had, including the ideas that:
Recovery was supposed to be linear
If I was doing the work, things would steadily improve
Healing meant fixing myself
But I wasn’t broken..
Burnout crept in when recovery started to feel like another performance. Another place where I was measuring myself against expectations. Another arena where perfectionism loudly took over.
From “getting better” to actually healing
One of the most important shifts in my recovery was letting go of the idea that addressing my mental health meant I was missing out on my life.
The truth is, I have always been in my life.
Even when I was in treatment
Even when things were hard
Even when progress felt slow or invisible
Burnout helped me see that so much of my exhaustion came from trying to rush my own healing. I believed that there was a version of my life waiting for me on the other side of recovery and that I needed to get there as quickly as possible.
But true healing asked something different of me. It asked me:
To slow down
To soften
To let go of timelines
To challenge perfectionism
To question old ideas rooted in shame
To explore play, rest, connection and grace as foundational, not optional
Maddy also found ways to deal with burnout when eating disorder recovery became exhausting. Says Maddy: “I didn’t want the people who doubted my ability to recover to be right. This still motivates me to this day.”
How to manage eating disorder recovery burnout
Here is what helped Maddy prioritize recovery on the hardest days:
Taking each day minute by minute
Starting off with very small goals and even doing the bare minimum if necessary
Going to therapy and learning about dialectical behavior therapy
Putting sticky notes everywhere with very blunt, supportive messages
Remembering that “food is fuel.”
Having food delivered or keeping something in the freezer that’s easy to eat
Letting others help with food prep and planning when needed
“I told myself ‘I don’t have to want to get better AND I know that I still need to reach out for support.’ Another big thing that helped me, and I would suggest to anyone who may have a younger sibling, a niece or nephew, or anyone who looks up to you, is to spend more time around them. My niece became the age where she knew what was going on. I wanted to be a good role model for her. I wanted to be there for her. Hanging out with or even FaceTiming her helps me to this day,” says Maddy.
How I understand burnout now
Today burnout in my mental health is no longer something I fear or judge. It is information.
Burnout is a reminder to let go. It is an invitation to ask for help. It asks me to check in with myself and reach out when I feel burdened or isolated. It invites questions like:
Am I prioritizing rest and reset?
Am I comparing myself to others?
Am I placing unrealistic expectations on my healing?
Am I giving myself grace while doing hard things like setting boundaries, addressing trauma, or building trust and vulnerability in relationships?
Burnout doesn’t mean I am failing.
It means that something needs care and attention.
What burnout taught me about recovery
There was a tipping point in my recovery where I realized that burnout wasn’t the “problem.” The expectations I placed on myself were. Letting go of the idea that recovery had to look a certain way changed everything. So did releasing the belief that progress had to be visible, measurable or impressive.
Maddy shares, “It’s totally normal and OK if you are dealing with burnout in recovery. It’s OK to struggle to find motivation. And you still can’t give up on recovery! Recovery doesn’t have to be perfect.”
Burnout helped me understand that healing is not about fixing what is wrong.
It is about attending to what is tender. Recovery doesn’t promise me a perfect life. It gives me a more honest one. And that has made all the difference.
This content is reflective of the author’s lived experiences. It is intended for informational purposes only. It does not provide medical advice, nor is it a substitute for professional medical diagnosis or treatment. If you are struggling with an eating disorder or your mental health, we invite you to call us at 866-622-5914 or fill out this form to set up a free introductory call with a member of our team.
FAQS
Is it normal to feel burned out during recovery?
Yes, feeling burned out during recovery is incredibly common. Recovery often requires a complete shift in how you think, cope and care for yourself, and that kind of change takes time.
Many people feel pressure to "do recovery right," make constant progress or get back to life as quickly as possible. Over time, those expectations can become exhausting. Burnout doesn't mean you're failing. It may simply be a sign that you need more rest, support, or self-compassion.
If you're feeling overwhelmed or struggling to keep it all together, you don't have to face it alone. Reach out to a trusted friend, family member or mental health professional. There's nothing wrong with needing extra support.
How do I know if I'm experiencing burnout during recovery?
Recovery burnout looks different for everyone, but here are a few common signs our alumni have shared with us:
Lack of energy
Feeling negative or hopeless
Feeling drained, depressed or down
Missing the eating disorder, or the comfort and control it gave you
Pressure to be "perfect"
Feeling like you're behind
Wanting to quit
Not caring if you relapse
Everyone experiences burnout differently. Whether it looks like exhaustion, isolation or simply not caring anymore, you aren't the only one. It might not feel like it right now, but the progress you've made is worth holding on to, even if it's just one small step at a time.
How can I manage burnout during recovery?
Managing recovery burnout starts with recognizing how burned out you are and whether it's something you can work through on your own or if you need extra support. There comes a point where burnout can start to overlap with relapse or depression, and it's important to recognize when that happens.
A few things that may help include:
Allow yourself to admit how you're feeling.
Distance yourself from stressors, if possible.
Focus on rest and taking care of your health.
Reevaluate your goals and expectations.
Ask for help from a trusted friend, family member or treatment team.
Continue therapy or seek professional support if you need it.
Try our virtual 2-week recharge program
Recovery isn't about doing everything perfectly. Taking small, manageable steps, practicing self-compassion and letting other people support you can make recovery feel much more sustainable.