Burnout in Healthcare & How to Recover
With Help from EMDR Therapy
Let’s be real: if burnout were a medical diagnosis, most healthcare workers would be clocking in with a solid Stage 3.
As a person in the medical field - you’re juggling long shifts, emotional overload, and vicarious trauma - the impact of caring for others. All of that together and your insides are screaming: "We are not okay!" while you’re smiling on the outside.
Vicarious trauma or burnout as more of us call it, isn’t a personal weakness. It’s a physiological and emotional response to chronic stress and overwhelm of taking care of others, of witnessing their pain. And if you're in the healthcare field, that’s basically your job description.
Don’t get me wrong, you love your job but it takes a toll.
This blog is here to help you:
Spot the signs of burnout
Understand the risks of ignoring it
Discover how EMDR therapy can help you actually recover (yes, for real)
Let’s dive in.
🛑 Recognizing the Signs of Burnout
You’re not just “tired.” You’re at the end of your emotional rope.
Burnout can sneak up on you, but the signs are often clear—when you’re willing to look:
🔥 Physical Signs
Fatigue that naps and coffee can’t touch
Trouble sleeping (your brain is running trauma reels on loop)
Headaches, digestive issues, or random aches that feel suspiciously stress-related
😔 Emotional Signs
A growing numbness or detachment—you care, but you can’t
Irritability, hopelessness, or that classic "I don’t even know why I’m crying anymore" moment
Compassion fatigue: You still want to help, but your emotional gas tank is empty
🤯 Behavioral Signs
Withdrawing from loved ones or colleagues
Dreading your job—every. single. day.
Zoning out with too much caffeine, wine, or scrolling
If you’re nodding along right now, know this: you are not alone. Your brain has just been carrying too much for too long.
🚨 Why Ignoring Burnout Makes It Worse
Medical professionals are pros at pushing through. But here’s the problem: that doesn’t work forever.
Unchecked burnout can lead to:
Chronic health issues (because your nervous system is always in fight/flight)
Depression, anxiety, or full-on emotional shutdown
Reduced empathy, increased mistakes, and a sense of losing yourself in the process
And for those absorbing trauma through patient care, you're not just stressed—you're dealing with vicarious trauma, which has very real psychological impacts.
💬 How EMDR Therapy Helps With Burnout Recovery
This is where EMDR therapy comes in. (No, it’s not hypnosis. Yes, it works—even for “high-functioning” people who hate asking for help.)
🧠 What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful, evidence-based therapy that helps your brain reprocess overwhelming experiences so they no longer hijack your emotions, your sleep, or your ability to function.
Originally developed for trauma, EMDR is now widely used for:
Vicarious trauma and burnout
Anxiety and depression
Addiction
And even those "death by a thousand paper cuts" moments in healthcare
⚙️ How EMDR Works for Burnout
When you’re burned out, your nervous system is stuck in overdrive. EMDR helps by:
Desensitizing the emotional weight of distressing experiences
Rewiring your brain’s stress response, so you're not constantly triggered
Restoring your internal sense of safety and balance, which burnout erodes
Best part? You don’t have to talk through every detail. EMDR lets your brain do the healing work—without having to relive it.
❤️ EMDR Therapy Can Help You Reconnect With Yourself
After EMDR, many clients report:
Feeling lighter and more grounded
Being able to rest for the first time in forever
Rediscovering joy, purpose, and emotional capacity
It’s not magic, but it can feel magical when your system finally gets a break—and starts to heal.
📅 Ready to Try EMDR for Burnout Recovery?
You’ve been carrying a lot. It’s time someone carried you for a bit.
If you’re ready to move beyond “barely functioning” and start feeling like yourself again, EMDR therapy could be the path forward. Read more about EMDR at Riverside Therapies here.
👉 Schedule a free consultation and let’s talk about how EMDR can support your burnout recovery.
You do a lot for everyone else. Let this be the moment you do something powerful—for you.
👉Thinking therapy won’t fit in your schedule? Ask about an EMDR Intensive.