How to Recover From Burnout: Supplements, Strategies and Other Tips

Key Takeaways Burnout recovery happens in stages over months, not days, and involves stabilising, resetting your system, and rebuilding your life to prevent relapse. You can start recovering from burnout while still working by reducing non-essential demands, adding micro-breaks, and protecting your energy. Core daily habits like consistent sleep, balanced meals, gentle movement, and simple mind-body tools do most of the work in recovering from burnout. Supplements such as GcMAF and certain nutrients can support immune health and energy while recovering from burnout.

3 Burnout Recovery Stages

Healing from burnout takes more than a weekend off. For many people, the burnout recovery timeline ranges from a few months to a year or more, depending on the severity of the burnout and the changes possible in life and work.

There’s no single medical treatment or pill for burnout that can fix everything. Reviews of burnout interventions suggest that recovery typically involves several factors: rest, boundaries, psychological support, and, sometimes, workplace changes, with improvements often occurring over months rather than days.

Stage 1: Recognise, Rest, and Stabilise

The first stage of recovering from burnout is admitting that you can’t keep going like this. Instead of pushing through, you pause and acknowledge that your mind and body are asking for help. This might be the point where you talk to your doctor, confide in a trusted friend or partner, or tell your manager that your workload has become unsustainable.

At this stage, the goal isn’t to ‘bounce back’ but to stabilise. That often means cutting back on non-essential tasks, protecting sleep as much as possible, and giving your nervous system a chance to settle.

 

Stage 2: Gentle Healing for Body and Mind

Once you’re a little more stable, the focus shifts to gently resetting your system. This is where you start building supportive routines: regular meals, short walks, simple relaxation practices, and perhaps structured support such as therapy or counselling.

In this phase, you’re not trying to become your ‘old self’ overnight. Instead, you’re rebuilding your baseline: improving sleep, noticing what drains you, and adding in things that genuinely restore you. It’s common to have days where you feel almost normal and others where exhaustion returns.

 

Stage 3: Rebuild and Prevent Relapse

The final stage of burnout recovery is about rebuilding a life and work pattern that doesn’t push you straight back into overload. This often involves more significant changes, such as adjusting your role or hours, setting clearer boundaries with colleagues or family, and learning to notice early warning signs before you reach the breaking point again.

Here, you’re strengthening your resilience over the long term. That might mean ongoing therapy, regular check-ins with yourself, or maintaining the habits that helped you recover in the first place.

 

How to Recover From Burnout While Still Working

Not everyone has the luxury of taking months off or even quitting a stressful job, but that doesn’t mean you should endure burnout sickness forever.

Learning how to recover from burnout while still working is about creating small buffers in your day, reducing what you can, and getting the right support so your body and mind can start to heal, even as life carries on around you.

 

‘Small’ Changes to Protect Your Energy

When you can’t overhaul your whole life, focus on micro-changes that protect your energy:

• Be honest about your true capacity and trim anything non-essential, at work and at home.
• Use time blocking and realistic to-do lists so your day isn’t one long emergency.
• Build in mini breaks of two to five minutes to stand up, stretch, breathe slowly, or get some fresh air.
• Switch from constant multitasking to single-task focus to reduce mental load and error rates that feed the sense that you’re not coping.

It’s also important to remember that saying ‘no’ to extra responsibilities while you’re recovering isn’t selfish. It’s an essential part of healing from burnout and preventing it from getting worse.

 

Core Recovery Habits

Core routines support your body and mind so they’re not constantly running on empty. Over time, they create the foundations for recovering from burnout in a steady, sustainable way.

 

1. Sleep as Your Primary ‘Medicine’

Good sleep is one of the most important tools for burnout recovery. During deep sleep, your body regulates key hormones involved in stress and energy (e.g., cortisol and the growth hormone), supports immune function, and helps your brain process emotions and memories.

On the other hand, poor or short sleep is linked with higher stress, lower mood, and reduced cognitive performance.

 

2. Nourish, Don’t Punish: Eating for Burnout Recovery

When you’re burnt out, it’s easy to skip meals, live on sugar and caffeine, or feel too tired to cook. But regular, balanced meals are essential for stable energy and mood.

Eating regularly at consistent times helps keep blood sugar more stable, which can reduce energy crashes and irritability. A mix of protein (e.g., eggs, beans, fish), healthy fats (e.g., olive oil, nuts, seeds), and complex carbohydrates (e.g., oats, whole grains, vegetables) supports brain function, hormone balance, and sustained energy.

Hydration is also key. Even mild dehydration can affect concentration and mood, so keep water nearby and sip on it regularly throughout the day.

 

3. Move Gently, Not Aggressively

Physical activity is often linked to lower stress, better mood, and improved sleep, all of which can support recovery from burnout. But when you’re already exhausted, pushing yourself into intense workouts can sometimes make you feel worse rather than better.

A kinder approach is to move gently:

• Light walking, especially outdoors
• Gentle stretching or mobility work
• Yoga or qigong, focusing on slow, mindful movement and breathing

These forms of movement can help calm the nervous system, release muscle tension, and improve mood without draining your remaining energy.

 

4. Mind-Body Tools That Support Recovery

Mindfulness on its own isn’t a magic “cure”, but programmes, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), have been shown to reduce stress and burnout symptoms in many high-stress groups, including healthcare workers and teachers. Think of it as one helpful tool among many.

Journalling also helps. Though it won’t fix external pressures, it can help you notice patterns, triggers, and small wins you might otherwise overlook.

 

Supplements for Burnout Recovery Support

Are there supplements that help with burnout recovery? The short answer is no, there isn’t a single supplement that can treat burnout itself. However, some people find that carefully chosen food supplements help support their immune system, energy levels, and overall resilience while they work on those bigger changes.

 

GcMAF: Immune Support While You Recover

GcMAF is a colostrum-based food supplement designed to support the body’s natural immune defences, including macrophage activity.

Macrophages are immune cells that help your body identify and deal with unwanted invaders. Oral macrophage-activating factor (MAF) products are formulated to reach areas of the body where many of these cells are found.

• GcMAF Capsules
  GcMAF capsules offer a triple-strength, enteric-coated form of MAF that’s designed mainly for adults. The enteric coating helps the capsules pass through the stomach and dissolve in the gut, where a large number of macrophages live, so the active ingredients can reach them more effectively.
• GcMAF Powder
  GcMAF powder provides a lower-dose format suitable for young children up to approximately 20 kilograms in weight and for adults who prefer powder supplements. It can be mixed with food or drink, making it easier to take for children or anyone who struggles with swallowing tablets.
• GcMAF Lollies
  GcMAF lollipops are flavoured sweets that deliver MAF through the mouth. They’re described as a fun and convenient way to support a child’s immune system, as they’re designed to interact with macrophages in the mouth before digestion even begins.

Note: Because they contain sugar, GcMAF lollies may not be suitable for everyone.  Check with a health professional if your child has specific dietary or medical needs.

 

Other Nutrients Often Discussed in Burnout Recovery

Alongside GcMAF, you’ll often see other nutrients mentioned in conversations about stress, fatigue, and recovering from burnout. These do not cure burnout, but some of them help with energy metabolism, brain function, or nervous system health, and may support overall well-being in some people.

• B vitamins
  B vitamins, particularly vitamins B1, B6, and B12, are essential for cellular energy production and healthy nervous system function. Some trials suggest B-complex supplements may help with stress in certain groups, but effects on mood and anxiety are mixed.
• Magnesium
  Magnesium is involved in hundreds of enzyme reactions, including those related to energy production, nerve function, and muscle relaxation. Low magnesium has been linked with higher stress levels and some mood issues. Studies suggest magnesium supplementation may aid calmness, but more research is necessary.
• Omega-3 fatty acids
  Omega-3 fats (like EPA and DHA) are important for brain structure and function and have anti-inflammatory effects. They’ve been studied in mood disorders and depression, with some evidence of benefit as part of a broader treatment plan, including potential improvements in motivation and fatigue in some individuals.
• CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10)
  CoQ10 is involved in mitochondrial energy production. Small studies in people with chronic fatigue-related conditions have found that CoQ10 (sometimes combined with other nutrients) may reduce perceived fatigue and improve quality of life. 

Important Note: Supplements can sometimes support your energy, mood, or immune system while you work on sleep, nutrition and boundaries, and get professional support. These findings are promising but still early, and they don’t translate directly into a specific ‘burnout treatment’.

 

FAQs

Can burnout be permanent?

Burnout itself isn’t usually permanent, but symptoms can last a long time if nothing changes. With rest, boundaries, and the right support, many people see significant improvement. If you feel stuck or are getting worse, it’s important to speak with a healthcare professional.

How long does it take to recover from burnout?

There’s no set timeline, but many people take several months to a year or more to recover, depending on how severe the burnout is and whether work and life demands can be adjusted. Recovery is often gradual, with ups and downs along the way.

How do you differentiate burnout from chronic fatigue syndrome?

Burnout is usually linked to long-term work or role-related stress and often improves when those stresses change. Chronic fatigue syndrome involves long-lasting, unexplained fatigue plus other symptoms like post-exertional malaise and cognitive difficulties. Only a healthcare professional can properly assess and diagnose these conditions.

How do I know I’m actually recovering from burnout?

Signs of burnout recovery include more stable energy, fewer crashes, slightly better sleep, clearer thinking, and a bit more emotional range. You may notice you bounce back more quickly from busy days. Progress is often uneven, so look for gentle trends over weeks and months, not perfection.

Your Next Steps Toward Recovery

Burnout needs to be taken seriously, but it’s not the end of the story. The most effective treatment for burnout is a mix of rest, boundaries, support, and, for some people, carefully chosen food supplements.