Mentally Cooked? 10 Symptoms of Mental Exhaustion (And What to Do About It)

You’re not lazy. You’re not broken. You’re just mentally cooked, like a pasta noodle left too long in the boiling water of life.

If your brain feels like it’s buffering mid-sentence and you’re one group chat away from launching your phone into the sea, welcome. You might be dealing with mental exhaustion symptoms, the emotional burnout sequel no one asked for but everyone seems to be starring in.

TL;DR: Signs You’re Mentally Cooked

Brain = spinning beach ball of doom
Tired no matter how much you sleep
Fun stuff feels like a chore
Chewing noises make you homicidal
Zero motivation, less energy
Scrolling, but nothing sinks in
Saying “I’m fine” like it’s your job
Can’t choose dinner without weeping
To-do list gives you the ick
Feel like a ghost in your own life

These are emotional exhaustion symptoms, not a vibe shift.

Mental Exhaustion vs. Laziness

Repeat after me: burnout is not laziness.

Laziness is skipping laundry to binge reality TV. Mental exhaustion is staring at socks and crying because your brain short-circuited at “pairing.”

This is high-functioning burnout in disguise. And it’s brutal.

1. You’re Tired, But Never Rested

You sleep. You nap. You meditate. You do everything short of hibernation, and still feel like you wrestled a wombat in your dreams. This is classic burnout from helping others: your body pauses, but your brain never clocks off.

2. You Feel Like You’re Running in Place

You’re busy all day, but your to-do list looks untouched. You’ve got 43 tabs open and one brain cell left. That’s cognitive fatigue, a top-tier symptom of burnout that makes productivity feel like quicksand.

3. You’re Snappy, Cynical, and Weirdly Numb

You cry at dog ads but feel nothing during actual conversations. You’re annoyed at everyone, including that one potted plant that looked at you funny. Welcome to emotional burnout land.

4. You Can’t Focus (On Anything)

Emails? Ghosted. Books? Reread the same line 12 times. Your attention span’s on sabbatical. That’s mental fog, a burnout side effect with zero chill.

5. Every Decision Feels Like a Crisis

“What’s for dinner?” might as well be “Solve world peace.” If basic decisions trigger stress sweats, you’re deep in decision fatigue territory. (And no, you’re not dramatic.)

6. You Stop Caring (About Literally Everything)

Dishes? Meh. Showering? Optional. Hobbies? Forgotten. If everything feels like too much, that’s emotional exhaustion recovery begging for attention.

7. You Fantasise About Disappearing

Not in a scary way. More like a van, a beach, zero notifications. You’re not flakey, you’re fried.

Burnout recovery starts with noticing when your nervous system just wants out.

8. Your Inner Voice Is a Jerk

“You’re lazy.” “Why can’t you just do it?” “Everyone else is fine.”

That inner monologue? Not helpful. Just another symptom of burnout guilt masquerading as motivation.

9. You’re Constantly On Edge

Every email ping feels like a bomb. A text makes your stomach drop. Mental burnout symptoms often mimic anxiety because your nervous system is on high alert 24/7.

10. You Keep Saying “I’m Fine” When You’re Not

You’re the strong one. The capable one. The emotionally exhausted one pretending you’re not. This is how emotional labor burnout hides in plain sight.

So What Do You Actually Do About It?

Here’s the cheat sheet for burnout recovery that doesn’t suck:

Acknowledge It Without Shame You’re not making this up. You’re not soft. You’re just fried.
Set Micro-Boundaries “I can’t today.” “I need space.” “That’s not mine to carry.”
Try Micro-Resting One minute of staring into the void. It counts.
Get Out of Helper Mode Stop being the human emotional sponge. Chapter 4 of Hold My Ducks unpacks this with snacks and sarcasm.
Read a Book That Gets It If you’re yelling “THIS IS ME,” then Hold My Ducks is your emotional permission slip. It’s not preachy. It’s real.