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Ever caught yourself daydreaming about a minor car accident just to get a legitimate break from work? That startling thought was my personal wake-up call that I wasn't just stressed – I was experiencing full-blown burnout.

Burnout isn't simply feeling tired after a demanding week. It's a chronic state of physical and emotional exhaustion that the World Health Organization recognizes as a syndrome resulting from unmanaged workplace stress. What makes burnout particularly dangerous for attorneys is how it manifests in contradictory ways: extreme exhaustion paired with insomnia, motivation loss alongside anxiety, emotional numbness mixed with hypersensitivity. For me, it showed up as abandoning my lifelong love of tennis, withdrawing from colleagues, and those troubling commute fantasies about minor accidents that might force a pause in my relentless schedule.

Whether you're trying to prevent burnout or recover from it, the path forward requires courage. Prevention demands boundary-setting in a profession that often rewards constant availability. Recovery begins with acknowledging what you're experiencing without shame – burnout isn't a professional failure but a human response to inhuman levels of stress. Most importantly, you must reach out for support rather than trying to power through alone. Your well-being isn't separate from your professional success; it's the foundation that makes sustainable achievement possible.

As attorneys, we don't have to choose between our ambitions and our health. By implementing micro-breaks, creating white space in our calendars, building support networks, and giving ourselves permission to rest, we can thrive both professionally and personally. If you're struggling right now, remember you're not alone and recovery is possible. Have you recognized any burnout warning signs in your own practice? Taking that first step toward acknowledging it could be your most important case this year.

Find out more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilystedman/.