How to Recognise Burnout in Midlife Professional Women (Before You Implode)
Picture this: You’re staring at your computer screen with the enthusiasm of a wet dishcloth. The emails keep pinging, your to-do list is breeding like rabbits, and someone’s asking what’s for dinner… again. You fantasise about running away — not to Bali or anywhere exotic — just to a quiet Premier Inn room with blackout curtains and no responsibilities.
Sound familiar?
Welcome to burnout, my friend. And no, you’re not lazy, ungrateful, or weak. You’re fried. And you’re not alone.
Sound familiar?
Welcome to burnout, my friend. And no, you’re not lazy, ungrateful, or weak. You’re fried. And you’re not alone.
What Burnout Really Is (Spoiler: It’s Not Just Stress)
Burnout is chronic physical and emotional exhaustion, usually from prolonged stress, and often paired with cynicism, detachment, and the nagging suspicion that you're failing at everything. (You’re not — but burnout lies.)
It’s what happens when you keep giving, pushing, fixing, and doing… without enough rest, recognition, or actual recharging.
For many women in midlife — juggling careers, kids, ageing parents, partners, or lack thereof — burnout isn’t a maybe. It’s a frequent flyer.
It’s what happens when you keep giving, pushing, fixing, and doing… without enough rest, recognition, or actual recharging.
For many women in midlife — juggling careers, kids, ageing parents, partners, or lack thereof — burnout isn’t a maybe. It’s a frequent flyer.
How to Recognise Burnout in Midlife Women (Especially High Achievers)
Let’s not beat around the bush — burnout rarely announces itself with fanfare. It creeps in, subtle as a passive-aggressive post-it note. Here’s what to watch out for:
- You’re permanently knackered. Even after sleep. Even after a weekend. You feel like you’re dragging your body through the day.
- Your fuse is about *this* long. You snap at the dog, your boss, or the person rustling a crisp packet near you.
- You feel numb or flat. You’re not even upset anymore. Just… meh. You’ve lost your sparkle.
- You forget things. What day is it? Where are your keys? What did you walk into this room for? (Menopause doesn’t help either. Thanks for that, hormones.)
- You start to dread everything. Meetings. Meals. Messages. Life feels like a series of obligations with no joy in sight.
- Your body starts talking back. Aches. Tummy issues. Headaches. Insomnia. Your body is waving a big red flag.
- You feel like a failure. You can’t keep up — and you think it’s your fault. (It’s not.)
Why Midlife Women Are Especially Prone
Because you’re the glue. The boss, the carer, the planner, the fixer, the one who remembers birthdays and where the plasters are. You’ve got experience, ambition, responsibilities — and almost no time to just be.
You may be climbing the career ladder while simultaneously managing hot flushes, hormone crashes, and people who still expect you to "just pop to Tesco" after a full day’s work.
Burnout thrives where expectations are sky-high and support is low. Welcome to modern womanhood.
You may be climbing the career ladder while simultaneously managing hot flushes, hormone crashes, and people who still expect you to "just pop to Tesco" after a full day’s work.
Burnout thrives where expectations are sky-high and support is low. Welcome to modern womanhood.
So What Can You Do?
- Rest isn’t optional. It’s essential. And not just sleep — mental rest, emotional rest, even sensory rest (put the phone down and sit in silence for a bit).
- Name it. Admitting you’re burnt out isn’t weakness — it’s wisdom. Awareness is the first step to change.
- Ask for help. You’re not meant to do this alone. Speak to a coach, a therapist, a friend. Delegate something. Say no. Let someone else hold the clipboard for once.
- Reassess your work-life balance. If your job is draining the life out of you, it’s time to re-evaluate. A change doesn’t have to be drastic — but you deserve better than soul-sapping survival. Choose you. Even if it’s just for 15 minutes a day. A walk. A bath. A chapter of a book. A conversation that isn’t about logistics.
Final Thought
Burnout doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you’ve been strong for too long without a break. If you’re nodding along to this blog with a lump in your throat — that’s your sign.
You deserve to feel vibrant, valued, and alive again.
And if you need help finding your way back to that version of you — I’m here. Book a free discovery call and let’s chat about what’s possible for you. Book HERE
You deserve to feel vibrant, valued, and alive again.
And if you need help finding your way back to that version of you — I’m here. Book a free discovery call and let’s chat about what’s possible for you. Book HERE
You ever look in the mirror and think, “Who the hell is she?”
Not in a “Blimey, who stole my collagen?” way—although, yes, gravity does have a cruel sense of humour—but in that soul-level sense. That disorienting moment where you realise somewhere along the way, you stopped being you.
Not in a “Blimey, who stole my collagen?” way—although, yes, gravity does have a cruel sense of humour—but in that soul-level sense. That disorienting moment where you realise somewhere along the way, you stopped being you.
You became:
The mum.
The wife.
The manager.
The caregiver.
The peacekeeper, the organiser, the one who remembers everyone’s birthdays—including the dog’s.
The wife.
The manager.
The caregiver.
The peacekeeper, the organiser, the one who remembers everyone’s birthdays—including the dog’s.
And you did it brilliantly, by the way. But now… it’s quiet. The kids don’t need you quite the same way. The career isn’t lighting you up like it once did. And your body’s sending you strongly worded memos in the form of hot flushes and 3am anxiety wake-ups.
And suddenly you realise: you’ve spent so long holding everyone else together, you never noticed you were unravelling.
🔍 Where Did You Go?
This is such a common thing I hear from women I coach:
“I don’t know who I am anymore.”
And what they really mean is: I’ve forgotten how to be just me.
“I don’t know who I am anymore.”
And what they really mean is: I’ve forgotten how to be just me.
Because being “just you” doesn’t feel like enough when you’ve been measured by what you do for others your whole life.
But let me tell you something important, love:
You’re still in there.
Under the sensible cardigans and the carefully juggled schedules is a woman who once danced in the kitchen to George Michael, who dreamed of writing a book, or opening a flower shop, or learning Spanish just because.
You’re still in there.
Under the sensible cardigans and the carefully juggled schedules is a woman who once danced in the kitchen to George Michael, who dreamed of writing a book, or opening a flower shop, or learning Spanish just because.
She’s not gone. She’s just buried under decades of “shoulds.”
🧭 The Mid-Life Awakening (Not a Crisis, Thank You Very Much)
You’re not broken. You’re awakening. And no, it’s not always glamorous.
Rediscovery looks like sitting in silence for five minutes and noticing what thoughts come up when nobody’s asking you for anything.
It looks like crying in the car park because you can’t remember what you like doing for fun anymore.
It looks like Googling “life coach for women over 50” at 2am with a cuppa in one hand and a Hobnob in the other.
And you know what? That’s more than OK. That’s the start of something beautiful.
✨ You Get to Choose Who You Want to Be Next
This chapter of your life isn’t about going backwards. You don’t need to become the woman you used to be. That was her season. This is yours.
This time, you get to do it on your terms.
- You get to say no.
- You get to put your needs first without guilt.
- You get to explore, play, experiment, and mess up without the whole world falling apart.
You get to matter again.
❤️ One Last Thing…
If this blog felt like a bit of a gut punch (in the best kind of way), then maybe you’re ready to take the next step.
This is the kind of work I love doing with women—helping you remember who you are, what you want, and how to actually go for it (without burning out or biting someone’s head off in the process).
Let’s have a chat.
No pressure, no fluff. Just a warm, honest conversation about where you are—and where you’d like to go.
No pressure, no fluff. Just a warm, honest conversation about where you are—and where you’d like to go.
Because love, you deserve to feel like you again.
Book a FREE coaching discovery call with me today HERE
