What I Wish I Knew Before Burnout Took Over My Life

brooke tiziani
May 8
2 min read

By Shauntel Howard

MSHI, BSN, RN-CHC

Health & Burnout Coach

You ever feel like you were just made for something? I fell in love with science early on, and that love pulled me straight into a career in healthcare. I had this incredible teacher, Mr. Geist—he was one of those brilliant minds who used to work for NASA before becoming a middle school science teacher. If you asked him a question, he’d ask you one right back. And if you didn’t understand something, he’d guide you to break it down into bite-sized pieces until the lightbulb finally clicked on.

I had him for years, from middle school all the way through high school. And that experience? It changed everything. It was the spark that ignited my whole journey into health and healing. I was meant to be a nurse.

I started my nursing career in 2014 on a heavy unit—Oncology. We also cared for end-of-life patients, fetal demise cases, and we even had a locked wing for psychiatric patients, many of whom could become aggressive. To say the work was challenging would be a massive understatement.

But it’s not just the physical toll of the job that wears on you—it’s the emotional, mental, and even spiritual weight we carry. We give so much of ourselves. And it’s no wonder that nursing has one of the highest burnout rates of any profession.

But here’s the thing: burnout doesn’t show up all at once. It creeps in slowly.

It starts when you skip a few breaks. When leadership adds more to your plate without giving you what you need to succeed. When you say yes to extra shifts because you want to be a team player. When you stop taking care of yourself, because someone else always needs you more. When you work through exhaustion, telling yourself you’ll rest “later.”

Then one day…you look in the mirror and don’t recognize the person staring back at you.

Here’s what I wish someone had told me back then: You don’t have to wait until you’re completely burned out to seek support.

Burnout isn’t a personal failure. It’s a very human response to chronic overwhelm.

Healing is possible. And the best part? You don’t have to do it alone.

At ChartLyfe.com, we’ve created a space just for you. We offer free resources to help you recharge, including a support group that meets every Tuesday at 7 PM ET. We also offer burnout coaching, trauma debriefing, health coaching, and more.

Listen—

Exhaustion is not your baseline.

Anxiety is not your personality.

You were never meant to live in survival mode.

You deserve to feel safe.

You deserve to feel supported.

You deserve to feel in control of your life again.