Gary BreckaHuman Biologist & Longevity Innovator

Burnout Isn’t What You Think

3 May 2026 · 1 min

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0:56

In this video segment, the speaker argues that burnout is commonly misunderstood and treated as an occupational hazard caused by job stress, leading to symptoms such as irritability, low energy, and lack of inspiration. He contrasts burnout with high‑functioning depression (HFD), noting that people with HFD cannot remain still; when removed from work they feel empty and must stay busy to avoid confronting unresolved trauma. The speaker’s research found a correlation between HFD and unresolved trauma, describing how individuals with HFD distract themselves with others’ problems and remain in a subconscious fight‑or‑flight state, unaware that they need to slow down.

Chapters

Burnout is so accepted. It is a relatively new term until very recently. It is an occupational hazard. The job is causing the symptoms: uninspired, irritability, low energy. And it's also like causing a lot of stress. It's hard to be joyful when you're stressed, but when you remove people from the job, they technically should get better because the pressure system is gone. The difference is that when people have high-functioning depression, you can remove them from their job. They cannot sit still. When they sit still, they feel empty. They have to keep moving. And what I found in the research study that I published, I found that there was a correlation between HFD and unresolved trauma. People with HFD, their form of avoiding their problems and processing their trauma is staying busy. So they don't want to face what's actually bothering them. So what do they do? They distract themselves with someone else's problems. And deep down they know they need to slow down, but they just can't because they're in fight or flight and they don't even realize it.