How to Recover from Burnout and Reclaim Your Life — with Sally McGrath | BlissTalk Podcast

“Burnout is not a badge of honour.” — Sally McGrath

In this powerful episode of the BlissTalk Podcast, we sit down with Sally McGrath, burnout recovery coach, speaker, author, and health educator, to explore how burnout can take hold — and more importantly, how to heal from it.

After spending over 25 years in high-pressure roles across SMEs and large corporations, Sally knows firsthand what it means to hit a wall. She experienced burnout deeply: mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially. But instead of staying stuck, she transformed her life, developed sustainable wellbeing strategies, and is now on a mission to help others do the same.

This episode is for anyone feeling exhausted, emotionally drained, or disconnected from their work or life purpose. Whether you're a high-achiever, a caregiver, or simply overwhelmed by modern-day demands, Sally’s wisdom will help you better understand burnout and what it takes to come back stronger.

In This Episode:

• What burnout really looks and feels like
• Sally’s personal burnout story — and how she healed
• Why so many professionals are reaching breaking point
• The red flags you might be ignoring
• Practical tools to recover and stay burnout-free
• How to build resilience and emotional hygiene
• Why rest, boundaries, and purpose matter more than hustle
• How organisations can do better for their people

This is more than a conversation — it's a compassionate guide for those ready to say no more to stress, overwhelm, and burnout.

Tune in if you’re:

• Feeling like you're constantly “on” and drained
• Losing motivation at work or home
• Experiencing chronic fatigue, anxiety, or sleep issues
• Seeking a better, more sustainable way to live
• Wanting to help others who are facing burnout

Beating burnout is just the beginning. Living burnout-free is where the magic happens.

✅ Links & Resources:

Read Sally’s blog: Are You Expected to Work Yourself Into the Ground?
Book a one-on-one coaching session with Sally McGrath here
Website: https://blisspot.com

Transcript

Speaker: 0:10

Welcome to the Blisspot podcast series, where we interview global wellbeing leaders to share ideas to invite more joy and happiness into your life.

Well, welcome everyone to the Blisspot podcast about burnout. Burnout is a topic very close to my own heart. I was burnt out myself in my late 20s from working night and day on my first business—not this one, but another one I was engaged in at the time—and I'm absolutely delighted to be talking with Sally McGrath, who actually lives in Sydney, where I live. So that's unusual because we have Blisspot experts from all over the world, but it's really nice to be sitting down with Sally today face to face. We're actually even in the same location, not just on Zoom, to talk about burnout. And as we know, burnout is a problem that's very widespread at the moment, impacting people all over the globe. People are really looking for practical ideas that they can implement to make a positive difference in their lives as soon as possible. People also understand often that these things take time—new ways take time—but it is worth it to get going, to start making the effort and to bring that positive change into life. Because Sally has the incredible message today of hope: 0:11

that you do not have to live with burnout on an ongoing basis. In fact, it's possible to live without burnout on an ongoing basis. So that's what we're here to discuss. Sally brings with her an absolute wealth of knowledge. She got into the work because of her own journey, where she had to learn how to overcome burnout in her own way, by doing things that worked for her. And she successfully was able to do that, which is an incredible achievement. She's here today to share these tips and skills with you. She's also shared her techniques with many corporates and small to medium businesses over the past 25 years. So she brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge of practical tips, ideas, and strategies that have been proven and really do work. So Sally, how do you know if you are burning out? Like, what are the signs and symptoms of that? Yeah, that's a really good question, Deborah, and something that I get asked a lot. Burnout itself can be a bit tricky to identify because, sadly, a lot of us normalize many of the signs and symptoms associated with burnout and just become accustomed to them, feeling that they're part of our routine—being tired, being exhausted, excessive working hours, things like that. But I think the key message here is that feeling exhausted and fatigued all the time is not normal.

For me, and in the way that I support some of my clients, anything that you start to normalize, ask yourself, “Why? Why is it normal? Why am I always tired? Why am I always fatigued? Why am I always overworking?” So I think that is probably one of the best strategies that I can suggest to identify signs and symptoms of burnout. They are often normalized. Just to go through a few key ones: 3:19

chronic illness is obviously one of the signs. You can ignore colds and flus, but then your body will scream louder and louder, potentially ending up with chronic illness. Niggling colds and flus that just don’t go away, even body aches and pains that just don’t go away. Constant fatigue is just not normal, even though many of us try to normalize and live with it. If you are waking up day in, day out, always tired, then something is not quite right. Constantly feeling like you are on a merry-go-round—I’m sure a lot of people listening are probably thinking, “Oh yes, tick, tick, tick.” So it’s just not normal. It’s really not. These behaviors are going to lead you into that spiral into burnout, as I call it. So really identifying any behaviors you feel you’ve normalized will be key triggers to identifying signs and symptoms leading to burnout. Something I’ve also noticed recently in some people I’ve been working with is brain fog as well, which is quite common, and ringing in the ears, which is becoming more and more acute as a sign and symptom of burnout. I’ve worked with other health professionals who’ve noticed that in cross-referrals with clients, and that is a serious issue—the body signaling something’s not right. Stress levels are so acute that something’s wrong, especially when there’s ringing in the ears. That’s definitely a more extreme sign or symptom. Also disengagement with work, social life, and family—everything feels overwhelming with burnout pressures. So I think those are a few key areas I would certainly look at first when identifying burnout. Really interesting. Because yes, I think people can think stress is just normal in everyday life. Stress is part of daily life, or people fall into the trap of thinking it will just pass without taking action or doing anything differently. But if you’re doing more of the same thing, you’ll get the same outcome. So it’s about making changes to get a different outcome and be the person you want to be. That’s a really hopeful message—that it’s possible to live in a more relaxed and happy state daily, rather than feeling like stress and overwhelm are just the new normal, correct? Exactly. And it’s a slow process. It’s not like one day you’re feeling fantastic and the next you’re totally burnt out. It happens incrementally over time, so people need to notice it and step back a little, observe and look at what is actually going on in their body. If you’re not feeling 100%, there’s probably a good reason for that, so take notice of the signs and signals in your body. Don’t just ignore them or keep pushing on, or otherwise it can develop into chronic fatigue, which is much harder to fix. And it’s interesting to hear new signs about ringing in the ears and brain fog. I work with holistic practitioners as well and learn a lot from them about cases they see presenting with ringing in the ears. The body continues to send messages of warning. You might get a cold that keeps coming back as the flu, aches and pains, sleepless nights. When you continually ignore these signs and warnings, the body escalates symptoms to get your attention. Ringing in the ears is a profound symptom that the body is unhappy—it’s begging you to slow down, stop, reassess, and give yourself a break. I say this with passion and empathy because I’ve been there. Yeah, yeah. It’s not judgment. It’s about creating a better way where you don’t have that constant ringing in your ears. So you wake up feeling energized, refreshed, and excited about work and the activities you’ll be doing during the day. I totally relate to that because I’m a trained health professional too, and I know the three stages of sickness. If you don’t take notice of signs when they’re small, they get larger and larger. Like Oprah says, first you get a little pebble as a reminder, then a stone, then a rock, then a boulder landing on your head. Exactly. Listen to your body—it’s the wisest and most intelligent tool you have to keep you happy and healthy. Wake up each day and ask yourself, “What is my body telling me? How am I feeling?” It’s a good check-in to identify if something doesn’t feel right. On days you feel fabulous, celebrate it! It’s not all about looking for problems, but also appreciating what works. My work is about taking people from burnout to preventing burnout, finding those changes as you progress along your healing path. If you’re in a workplace with most of us these days—physically or remotely—connecting via Zoom or other means, if you notice someone burning out, how do you approach them? A good strategy is encouraging leaders and colleagues to do “walk and talks.” Side-by-side conversations are less intimidating and can help people open up. Pay attention to keywords or tone that indicate someone is struggling. Look for patterns such as emails being sent late at night or early morning hours. Those are signs that something’s off. Check in on workloads, because often the people who don’t say anything are struggling the most. They tend to be very capable and prone to burnout. Watch out for workaholics—those who don’t take breaks, eat lunch at their desk, or barely stop working. Boundaries between work and home have blurred, making it harder. Boundary setting is a huge game changer for burnout prevention. It’s important to get to know your colleagues well enough to spot when something’s wrong. So a simple way to check is just to ask questions gently, maybe suggest a walk to help people relax and open up. Showing you care and tuning in to how people are doing is key. Exactly. Sometimes what people don’t say speaks volumes. Intuition is powerful here. Consistency in checking in helps build trust and flow. How can people fix burnout, and how long does it take? Can you share a bit about your journey? Burnout doesn’t happen overnight. It’s behavioral changes over years. Fixing it can be quicker if you focus and actively make changes, but it takes time. I ignored burnout multiple times until my body shut down completely. I had to stop working, leave a business I was entrenched in, and it took about seven years to rebuild. Healing started with sleep—allowing my body to rest. Then nourishing myself and listening to my body. I slowly reintroduced purpose and work while maintaining boundaries. Managing perfectionism daily is key. It’s about silencing the inner voice pushing for “better” and accepting that “completed is better than perfect.” I love that message. I have so many things I want to do but need to prioritize and let go of less important things. Focusing on what makes the biggest difference with limited time and allowing space for family and self-care. Yes, and letting go of pressure to be superhuman. Building work-life synergy, not balance. Intense work periods are okay if there’s an end in sight to reset and reassess. Without that, burnout perpetuates endlessly. Makes sense. Taking micro breaks helps reset for sustainability. It’s better than pushing through nonstop. Yes, simple techniques are powerful but often complicated by hectic work demands. Burnout teaches us the importance of quality of life. Taking moments for a walk or a break with family gives clarity. So true. Understanding the “why” behind burnout helps people manage internal pressures, especially those with perfectionist tendencies who drive themselves hard.