Overcoming Burnout With Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (ACT)
When work (or life) becomes unbearable, even the smallest tasks can feel like climbing a mountain. If you’ve ever sat at your desk staring blankly at the screen, too drained to start, you’ll know the heavy weight of burnout. It’s more than just being tired — it’s a deep depletion that affects body, mind, and spirit.
But there is hope. In this article, I’ll share how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an evidence-based approach, can help you gently reconnect with what matters most — and slowly rebuild a sense of energy, meaning, and balance.
🌪 What is Burnout?
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. It doesn’t happen overnight — it creeps in gradually when demands outweigh resources, and when our effort is no longer balanced by rest or meaning.
Common causes include:
Ongoing workplace pressure, deadlines, or high expectations.
Lack of control or unclear boundaries at work.
Conflicts between personal values and workplace culture.
Emotional demands of caring roles or long-term responsibilities.
Chronic stress without enough recovery or self-care.
Signs and symptoms may include:
Constant tiredness, low energy, or sleep difficulties.
Feeling detached, cynical, or unmotivated.
Irritability, impatience, or a sense of failure.
Difficulty concentrating or memory lapses.
Physical issues such as headaches, muscle pain, or digestive problems.
📖 Case story: Sarah, a nurse in her late 40s, described feeling “like a hollow shell.” She loved helping patients, but after months of understaffed shifts and little time to recover, she became detached and cynical. She no longer recognised herself. For Sarah, burnout wasn’t about weakness — it was about being human in a system that asked for too much without giving enough back.
How ACT Helps With Burnout
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) doesn’t promise to eliminate stress. Instead, it helps us change our relationship with stress. The aim is to build psychological flexibility — the ability to stay present, open up to difficult emotions, and move in the direction of what matters most.
The Six Core Principles of ACT, Applied to Burnout:
Present Moment Awareness (Mindfulness): Learning to pause and notice what’s happening here and now, instead of being lost in worries about the future or regrets about the past.
Acceptance: Allowing space for feelings like exhaustion, fear, or frustration — instead of battling them or pushing them down.
Cognitive Defusion: Stepping back from unhelpful thoughts (“I can’t cope,” “I’m failing”) and seeing them for what they are: thoughts, not absolute truths.
Self-as-Context: Remembering you are more than your burnout or your job. You are the observer of your experiences, not defined by them.
Values: Clarifying what truly matters — both at work and in life. These values can act as a compass when everything feels overwhelming.
Committed Action: Taking small, achievable steps towards those values, even when stress is present.
📖 Case story: Tom, a software engineer, felt trapped in endless deadlines. Through ACT, he realised one of his core values was creativity. Although he couldn’t change his workload overnight, he started small: carving out 20 minutes each day to sketch. This act of honouring his creativity restored a sense of energy and reminded him he was more than just his productivity.
Practical ACT-Inspired Strategies for Burnout
Here are some small but powerful exercises to try. Each one is designed to be flexible — you can adapt them to your needs and energy.
1. The “Leaves on a Stream” Exercise (Defusion)
Close your eyes and imagine sitting by a stream. Each time a stressful thought arises, picture placing it on a leaf and letting it float by. Notice the thought without engaging in it.
Take-away: You don’t need to fight or suppress thoughts — you can simply notice and let them pass.
2. The 5-Minute Pause (Mindfulness)
Set a timer for five minutes. Sit comfortably, focus on your breath, and notice the sensations in your body. If your mind wanders, gently return to your breath.
Take-away: Burnout thrives on autopilot. Mindful pauses create space for recovery, even in small doses.
3. Values Clarification
Ask yourself:
“What do I want to stand for, even in difficulty?”
“What matters most in my work/life beyond just getting through the day?”
Write down your top 3 values. For each, identify one small action you could take this week to honour them.
Example: If you value connection, you might reach out to a colleague for a genuine conversation.
4. Acceptance Through Self-Compassion
When you notice exhaustion or irritability, instead of criticising yourself, try silently saying:
“This is hard right now. Anyone in my position would feel this way. I’m doing my best.”
Take-away: Acceptance is not resignation. It’s acknowledging your reality with kindness, which frees up energy for change.
5. Energy Audit (Committed Action)
Make a simple list with two columns:
What drains me?
What restores me?
Commit to one small shift this week (e.g., reducing one draining activity, or adding one restorative practice like walking, stretching, or talking to a friend).
6. Behavioural Activation
Even in burnout, small actions matter. Try breaking tasks into micro-steps. Instead of “I have to finish this report,” reframe it as: “I’ll write the first paragraph.”
Take-away: Progress builds momentum — even the tiniest step is valuable.
Moving Forward
Burnout can make life feel empty, overwhelming, and hopeless. But ACT offers a gentle, practical way to realign with what matters and take back some control. You don’t have to wait until everything feels perfect before moving forward. By taking small, values-based actions, you begin to rebuild energy, purpose, and resilience.
✨ With time and practice, it is possible to shift from exhaustion towards renewed direction — and even find deeper fulfilment along the way.
References & Further Reading
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111.
Gloster, A. T., et al. (2020). The empirical status of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Clinical Psychology Review, 77, 101826.
Reibel, D. K., Greeson, J. M., Brainard, G. C., & Rosenzweig, S. (2001). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health-related quality of life in a heterogeneous patient population. General Hospital Psychiatry, 23(4), 183–192.
West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2018). Physician burnout: Contributors, consequences, and solutions. Journal of Internal Medicine, 283(6), 516–529.
Suggested further reading:
Russ Harris (2009). ACT Made Simple.
Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoski (2019). Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.
