5 Signs You're Experiencing Executive Burnout (And What to Do About It)
You've achieved the corner office. Built an impressive track record. Earned the respect of your peers. Yet somehow, you feel more depleted than fulfilled.
After spending 20 years as a Senior Vice President in the corporate world, I know firsthand what it's like to achieve everything you set out to accomplish professionally, only to realize you've lost yourself in the process.
Executive burnout isn't just about feeling tired. It's a profound disconnection from the passion and purpose that once fueled your ambition. And unlike the burnout your team members might experience, yours comes with an added layer of complexity: you're expected to have it all together, all the time.
Here's the truth: The higher you climb, the more isolated you become. And that isolation, combined with relentless pressure, creates a perfect storm for burnout that most people—even other therapists—don't fully understand.
The Hidden Cost of Executive Burnout
Before we dive into the signs, let's talk about what's really at stake. Executive burnout doesn't just affect your performance at work. It seeps into every area of your life:
Your relationship with your partner suffers because you're emotionally unavailable
Your decision-making becomes reactive rather than strategic
Your health deteriorates while you tell yourself you'll prioritize it "after this project"
Your sense of purpose fades, leaving you wondering why you're pushing so hard
I've sat across from countless executives in my Frisco practice who've achieved remarkable success by external measures, yet feel profoundly unfulfilled. They come in asking about stress management techniques, but what they really need is a fundamental shift in how they approach leadership and life.
5 Warning Signs Of Executive Burnout
1. You Can't Turn Your Mind Off—Even at 2 AM
You know that voice in your head? The one analyzing every decision, replaying conversations, and planning tomorrow's strategy while you're trying to sleep?
Did you know you have 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts racing through your mind daily, and 95% of those thoughts are repetitive? For executives, this mental loop becomes particularly destructive because the stakes feel so high.
When you can't create mental space between work and home, between one decision and the next, burnout is already taking hold.
What's Really Happening: Your nervous system is stuck in "on" mode. Your brain hasn't received the signal that it's safe to rest because you've conditioned yourself to believe that constant vigilance equals success.
2. You're Physically Present but Emotionally Absent
Your partner mentions feeling disconnected from you. Your kids complain you're always on your phone. You sit through family dinners mentally drafting tomorrow's presentation.
This isn't about work-life balance—that's a myth anyway. This is about work-life integration gone wrong. Instead of your professional and personal life complementing each other, your career is consuming everything else.
What's Really Happening: You're operating in survival mode, conserving emotional energy for what feels most urgent (work) while relationships that matter most get your leftovers.
3. Your Default Response to Stress Is "Push Harder"
When challenges arise, your instinct is to work longer hours, skip meals, cancel personal plans, and muscle through. After all, that's what got you here, right?
But here's what I learned during my own corporate career: The strategies that create success often become the very patterns that prevent sustainable success.
What's Really Happening: You're trapped in a DOING mentality rather than a BEING mentality. Your worth has become tied to your productivity, and any moment of rest feels like failure.
4. Decision-Making Feels Increasingly Difficult
You used to make strategic decisions with confidence. Now, even small choices feel overwhelming. You second-guess yourself, seek excessive input, or make reactive decisions just to clear your mental queue.
This is decision fatigue—and for executives making hundreds of decisions daily that affect teams, budgets, and strategic direction, it's particularly dangerous.
What's Really Happening: Your cognitive resources are depleted. Your brain is trying to process too much without adequate recovery time, leading to what feels like diminished capability but is actually exhausted capacity.
5. You've Lost Touch with Why This Mattered in the First Place
You built this career with intention and purpose. But somewhere along the way, the meaning got buried under demands, expectations, and the sheer weight of responsibility.
You're going through the motions of leadership, but the fire that once drove you has become a burden you're carrying.
What's Really Happening: You've become disconnected from your core values and the vision that originally motivated you. Without that anchor, every challenge feels heavier because it's no longer connected to purpose.
What To Do About Executive Burnout: The Path Forward
If you're recognizing yourself in these signs, I want you to know something: This isn't a character flaw. You're not weak. You're not failing. You're experiencing a predictable outcome of operating at high levels without the right support systems.
The good news? Once you develop awareness of these patterns, you gain the FREEDOM to choose differently.
Immediate Strategies You Can Implement Today
Create Mental Boundaries
You don't need work-life balance; you need work-life integration with clear boundaries. This means designating specific times when you're fully present in your personal life—not just physically present, but mentally and emotionally available.
Try this: Set a "transition ritual" between work and home. This could be a 10-minute drive where you consciously shift your focus, a brief meditation, or even changing clothes. Signal to your brain that you're moving from one role to another.
Practice Mindful Decision-Making
Before making decisions—especially important ones—pause and ask yourself:
Am I making this decision from clarity or from anxiety?
What would I choose if I felt completely resourced?
Am I responding to this situation or reacting to accumulated stress?
This simple pause can dramatically improve the quality of your decisions and reduce the cognitive load of second-guessing later.
Reclaim Your "Being" Time
You cannot think your way out of burnout. You must create space to simply BE, without agenda or productivity goals.
This might feel uncomfortable at first. High achievers often struggle with unstructured time because we've trained ourselves to measure our worth by our output. But your productivity, energy, and creativity will actually expand exponentially once you give yourself permission to stop DOING and start BEING.
Reconnect with Your Purpose
Take time to revisit the vision that originally drove you. What did you hope to accomplish? What impact did you want to make? How does your current leadership align with those values?
Sometimes the path forward isn't about working harder—it's about working more intentionally, in alignment with what actually matters to you.
Why Executive Burnout Requires Specialized Support
Here's what I wish someone had told me during my years as an SVP: You cannot address executive burnout with the same strategies that work for general stress management.
The pressures you face are unique:
The isolation of leadership
The weight of decisions affecting many people
The expectation to always have answers
The complexity of maintaining executive presence while struggling internally
The challenge of addressing personal issues when your professional identity feels all-consuming
Most therapists, while well-intentioned, haven't experienced the specific dynamics of executive leadership. They can't fully understand what it's like to sit in that corner office, carrying the weight of an organization while maintaining the composure everyone expects.
That's why I combine my clinical expertise as a licensed marriage and family therapist with my real-world experience as a former SVP. I understand both the psychological dynamics of burnout and the practical realities of executive life.
The Cost of Waiting
I've worked with too many executives who waited until they were in crisis—until their health failed, their marriage was on the brink, or they were facing a major professional setback—before seeking support.
You don't have to wait for a crisis. In fact, the most successful leaders I work with are those who recognize the early signs and address them proactively.
Think of it this way: You wouldn't ignore warning lights on your company's financial dashboard. Why would you ignore warning signs in your own well-being?
Your Next Step
If you're experiencing any of these signs of executive burnout, I encourage you to take action now:
Acknowledge what's happening. Simply naming burnout can reduce its power over you.
Assess the impact. How is this affecting your leadership, your relationships, your health, your sense of purpose?
Seek specialized support. Work with someone who understands both the therapeutic aspects of burnout and the unique context of executive leadership.
At my practice in Frisco, Texas, I work with executives, C-suite leaders, and entrepreneurs throughout North Texas who are navigating exactly what you're experiencing. Through a combination of mindfulness-based therapy and practical leadership strategies grounded in my own corporate experience, we'll create a sustainable approach to high performance.
You don't have to choose between success and well-being. You don't have to sacrifice your relationships to achieve your professional goals. And you don't have to carry the weight of leadership alone.
You deserve to live your best life NOW—not after the next milestone, promotion, or achievement.
About Dr. Lori Runge
Dr. Lori Runge is a licensed marriage and family therapist and former Senior Vice President with 20 years of corporate leadership experience. She specializes in helping executives, entrepreneurs, and high-performing professionals integrate career success with personal fulfillment. Her practice in Frisco, Texas serves clients throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with virtual sessions available.