You wake up in the morning, and you're already tired. Not the tiredness of a bad night's sleep. A fatigue that has crept in gradually, over several weeks, sometimes several months. You keep going, keep performing, keep ticking boxes. You're holding on... but something has changed: the energy is gone, and so is the motivation.
What you're experiencing might correspond to what some researchers describe as an early stage of burnout: that moment when burnout hasn't yet fully manifested... but warning signs are already present. It's not a diagnosis, it's an invitation to stop and take a look.
Burnout doesn't happen all at once. It's a gradual process, described as early as the 1970s by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, then formalized by researcher Christina Maslach, whose three-dimensional model remains a benchmark in scientific literature today. This process develops silently, often in committed, conscientious people who give a lot. People who, precisely because they give so much, don't see the burnout coming.
The first signs aren't what you might imagine; it's not necessarily about collapsing in tears. It's initially a kind of gradual detachment: you begin to feel less involved in what you cared about. Colleagues, projects, responsibilities… everything seems a little more distant, a little flatter, a little more meaningless.
In Maslach's model, one of the possible signs is what she calls depersonalization: this feeling of doing things automatically, as if you were observing your own life from the outside. This sign doesn't affect everyone, but when it's present, it deserves attention. There's also a silent compensation that takes hold. You have the impression of holding on, of being in control. But in reality, we're putting in more and more effort to achieve the same results as before. Invisible from the outside. Exhausting on the inside.
So, how can we spot these early warning signs?
First possible indicator: sleep deteriorates. We fall asleep thinking about work. We wake up at 3 a.m. with racing thoughts. Note: sleep disturbances are common and can have other causes. It's their persistence, combined with other signs, that should raise concern.
Second indicator: small things become disproportionately irritating. One too many emails, one extra meeting… and the internal reaction is far stronger than the situation warrants. This is often a sign that our resources are already severely depleted.
Third indicator: we start to isolate ourselves. We decline lunch invitations, respond to messages less frequently, and the outside world becomes an additional burden.
These combined signs warrant our attention. Not to overreact. But let's ask ourselves an honest question: am I really still recovering?
If you recognize yourself in what you just heard, talk to your doctor. Burnout, if caught early, can be prevented. And a healthcare professional is best placed to help you gain clarity. Taking care of yourself isn't about stopping: it's about avoiding burnout.
 Céline MAGNANO
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11/06/2026 | 
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