Today's Fearcast: 100% Chance of Burnout
Your 7th installation of your go-to guide for navigating burnout & burnout recovery.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage.” – Dale Carnegie
As someone that has picked up writing for fun as a creative outlet, I’m going to give you a quick peak behind the curtain on what my writing sessions look like.
Before every writing session, I look back on what I’ve already published in order to avoid writing too much about one topic… Duh. So as I was scrolling through The Burnout Diaries archive, something stopped me.
For all the stories I have shared about burnout, burnout recovery, boundaries, and the emotional spectrum we may experience during the healing journey, I haven’t actually written about fear. Well, not directly at least.
And honestly, that surprised me, because fear has been a big part of my life lately.
Not just fears like failure, change, or rejection. But the more subtle fears.
The fear of slowing down. The fear of being judged. The fear of letting people down if I stop showing up in the ways I always have in the past. These fears have followed me through burnout and into recovery, showing up as negative self-talk that sound logical but they are just survival tactics.
I’ve briefly shared how fear affects self-trust, which in turn affects confidence. But I haven’t really explored how deeply it affects burnout and burnout recovery.
Fear is funny because it convinces us to push through, stay silent, and ignore what we need until our bodies and minds finally hit a breaking point.
So as we head into a short work week (Juneteenth if you’re in the US), I want to slow down and talk about it.
In this entry, we’ll explore what fear really is, how it works behind-the-scenes, and why fear plays such a big role in burnout. At the end, I’ll give you a 5-step framework to help you tackle fear directly to help you build a more sustainable path to healing.
The Nature of Fear
We experience different types of fears, like the classic fears of loss, failure, rejection, change, and the unknown. But fear isn’t always as direct. Sometimes, fear is disguised as procrastination, as avoidance, or even as perfectionism.
Fear is one of those emotions we all know too well, even when we try not to think about it. It influences our decisions without us even realizing it. And there are moments when fear serves a real purpose. That instinct helps keep us safe by warning us when something is truly dangerous.
But more often than not, fear keeps us stuck, holding us back from trying new things, speaking up, or simply slowing down and caring for ourselves. It can trap us in old ways of thinking and acting that no longer fit who we are or who we want to become. When fear controls us without awareness, it becomes a barrier instead of a guide.
The first step to changing our relationship with fear is recognizing these different roles it plays. From there, we can choose to meet fear with curiosity and understanding, instead of resistance. By pausing to ask what fear is trying to tell us, we create space to learn from it rather than be controlled by it.
This shift in awareness helps transform fear from a barrier into a guide for helping us actually heal and grow.
How Fear Works in Our Brain
Before we can change our relationship with fear, we first need to understand what happens behind-the-scenes.
Fear shows up in our habits, in the stories we tell ourselves, and in the way we react without even realizing it. And sometimes, fear takes over before we’ve had a chance to name it.
When we start to notice how fear operates in the background, we give ourselves more agency in how we respond. So let’s take a closer look at what actually happens in the body when fear shows up, because the more we understand fear, the less power it has over us.
Here’s a simplified 5-step overview of how fear operates in the background.
You Notice Something Feels Wrong
It starts with a feeling that something is off.
Maybe it’s a sudden noise, a tense conversation, or a stressful thought. Your body registers this as a potential threat, even if your conscious mind isn’t fully aware yet. This is the very first sign that fear is beginning to take hold.Your Brain Sends an Alert
Almost instantly, your brain sends a signal that danger might be near.
This alert sets off a fast, automatic response in your body designed to keep you safe. It happens so quickly that you might not even realize your brain is on high alert. This is your body’s way of preparing to handle whatever is coming.Your Body Prepares to Respond
Once the alert goes off, your body springs into action.
Your heart starts pounding to pump more blood to your muscles. Your breathing speeds up to bring in extra oxygen. Your muscles tighten and your senses sharpen. All of this happens so you can react quickly if you need to. It’s your body gearing up for a fight, flight, or freeze response.You Feel the Urge to React
At this point, your body pushes you toward action.
You might feel the need to run away from the situation, fight back, or freeze and stay completely still. This is your nervous system’s way of protecting you. Sometimes the reaction feels physical, other times it’s more emotional, like feeling overwhelmed, angry, or shutting down completely.Fear Either Passes or Lingers
If the situation resolves itself relatively quickly, your body will start to calm down and return to normal. But if the threat sticks around or if fear is linked to ongoing stress or past experiences, it can linger. When that happens, fear might show up as anxiety, hesitation, or self-doubt in everyday moments without you fully realizing why.
Fear and Burnout
When you’re dealing with burnout, it’s not unusual that fear can feel more intense and more overwhelming than usual.
Simply speaking, when you’re burned out, burnout compromises the way your brain manages stress and regulates emotions.
When your brain is low on energy and resources, even small triggers can cause a strong fear response. Your nervous system remains on high alert because it struggles to tell the difference between real dangers and everyday stress. This causes your brain to interpret more situations as threats even when they are not.
When your brain is already running low on resources and fear shows up, it hits harder and sticks around longer. Because of this decisions that once felt manageable now seem overwhelming. Worries multiply quickly because your brain is stuck in survival mode. Everything feels more intense: decisions become tougher, worries spiral faster, and even small challenges can feel like big threats.
This heightened sensitivity keeps you caught in a cycle of fear and makes it harder to step back and respond thoughtfully. That is why understanding how fear works and learning to face it differently is an important part of recovering from burnout.
Using Fear as a Compass: The PAUSE Framework
Fear is like a compass pointing toward what matters most. It shows us where we might be holding back, where we need to pay attention, or where change is calling us.
The key is to meet fear with curiosity instead of resistance. Here’s a simple 5-step PAUSE framework to help you turn fear into a powerful tool for growth and progress.
P – Pause
Stop whatever you are doing and take a deep breath.Give yourself at least 10 seconds to pause.
This breaks the automatic reaction cycle and lets your brain switch from “panic mode” to “thinking mode.”A – Acknowledge
Identify exactly what you are afraid of.
Say it out loud or write it down in a sentence.
For example, “I’m afraid of failing,” or “I’m worried about what others will think.” Naming your fear reduces its power and helps you face it honestly.U – Understand
Ask yourself why this fear is showing up now.
Is it warning you of a real risk? Or is it highlighting a place where you want to grow but feel stuck?
Journaling or talking it out with someone else can help provide more clarity on what fear is trying to communicate.S – Small Step
Pick one very small action you can take that moves you toward facing this fear.
It could be sending a short email, speaking up once in a meeting, or simply writing down your feelings.
Taking tiny steps builds momentum without overwhelming you.E – Evaluate
After your small step, check in with yourself.
How did it feel? What went well? What felt hard?
Use these insights to plan your next step.
Celebrate progress no matter how small and remind yourself this is a process.
Each step is designed to help you respond with intention rather than reaction.
By practicing the PAUSE framework, you can transform fear from a barrier into a powerful guide for growth.
If there is one thing to remember, it’s that the goal of facing your fears is not about eliminating fear completely but acknowledging how fear influences the way you act, respond, and move forward.
El Fin
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read this entry.
My hope is that in reading this, something resonated. Maybe it gave you a bit of clarity or maybe it reminded you that you’re not the only one feeling this way.
If you know someone who’s struggling with burnout, please consider sharing this newsletter with them. My goal is to build a community where we can openly share honest thoughts, reflections, and practical tools to support each other.
Stay tuned for Thursday’s post, where I’ll share more guidance and actionable steps to help you beat burnout.
Progress > Perfection. Always.