Unperform with Tiffany Han (formerly Raise Your Hand Say Yes)

Ep. 345: The 12 Stages of Burnout and How to Get Out of It

·25 min·2 clips

Psychologists have identified 12 progressive phases of burnout, starting with excessive ambition and ending in mental collapse.

Tiffany Han opens the episode by explaining she's replaying a vintage episode on burnout because the topic feels especially relevant this year. She mentions that burnout was officially classified by the World Health Organization when she first recorded this. Tiffany introduces the 12-stage burnout framework she learned from an episode of the Hurry Slowly podcast, which interviewed Jocelyn Gley. She clarifies that burnout often involves continuing to work while feeling empty inside, not total collapse. Tiffany then reads through all 12 stages: excessive ambition, pushing yourself harder, neglecting personal care, displacement of conflict, changes in values to validate self-worth, denial of problems and blame, withdrawal, odd behavioral changes, confusion of identity, emptiness, depression, and mental or physical collapse. She focuses on the early stages, noting many high-achievers get stuck there because they still appear productive externally. Tiffany discusses the conflict between moving big ideas forward and avoiding burnout, introducing her 'slingshot effect' concept: you must pull back to gain forward momentum. She references Tara Brock's book 'Radical Acceptance' and the 'sacred pause' tool for combating the 'trance of unworthiness.' Tiffany shares personal strategies, like deleting the YouTube app from her Apple TV to prevent exhausting scrolling. She compares social media numbing to her past alcohol use, both of which increased anxiety. Tiffany argues burnout isn't about willpower but about systems working against us, and she encourages listeners to stop blaming themselves. The episode concludes with a call to identify burnout stages in daily life and back away from early phases to avoid collapse.

As heard by us

A clear map of how outwardly productive momentum can quietly turn into burnout before collapse.

Burnout is framed as something that gathers force over time, not as a single dramatic break. The progression moves through withdrawal, numbness, identity confusion, emptiness, depression, and eventually mental or physical collapse, with the strongest focus on the quieter warning…

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Why you'd press play

You might recognize your own burnout before it reaches withdrawal, emptiness, or collapse.

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