5 ACT-Specific Exercises to Help With Burnout Recovery

Burnout can feel like drowning in exhaustion, disconnection, and endless self-pressure. But healing doesn't require fixing yourself—it requires a gentler, wiser approach to how you relate to your inner world. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers evidence-based tools that help you create space for your experience, reconnect with what matters, and take kind, empowered steps forward.

These brief exercises for burnout recovery focus on acceptance, cognitive defusion, mindfulness, values-based action, and self-compassion, which are core principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). While therapy can facilitate in creating individual-specific strategies for your unique circumstances, the following are some general examples of how ACT techniques might be implemented for coping with burnout.

Let’s explore five simple yet transformative ACT practices for burnout:

1. The “Leaves on a Stream” Exercise (Cognitive Defusion)

Burnout often floods the mind with harsh, repetitive thoughts—“I’m not enough,” “I can’t keep up,” “Something’s wrong with me.” These thoughts can feel like the truth. But they’re just that: thoughts.

This exercise teaches you to step back from them—to hold your thoughts lightly, instead of letting them weigh down your body and mind.

How to Do It:

• Sit in a quiet place and gently close your eyes.

• Picture a calm stream flowing in front of you.

• As thoughts arise, imagine placing each one on a leaf and watching it float downstream.

• There’s no need to analyze, fight, or judge—just notice and let them pass.

• Practice for 5–10 minutes, gently returning to the stream each time your mind wanders.

Why It Helps:

• Creates space from distressing thoughts so you’re no longer fused with them.

• Reduces over-identification—you’re not your burnout; you’re the one observing it.

• Encourages calm clarity in the middle of mental noise.

🪷 This practice reminds you: You don’t have to control every thought. You can simply notice and let go.

2. Expansion Exercise (Making Room for Discomfort)

When we fight feelings like exhaustion or frustration, they tend to grow louder. But when we make space for them—gently and without judgment—we become freer to choose how we respond.

This practice helps you move from resistance to openness, without being swallowed by the discomfort.

How to Do It:

• Sit comfortably and take a grounding breath.

• Tune into the emotion or sensation you’re feeling. Name it gently: “Here is frustration,” “This is fatigue.”

• Imagine expanding your inner space to hold it—like a balloon stretching to include what’s there.

• Say to yourself: “This feeling is here, but it does not define me.”

• Keep breathing. Let the feeling exist without pushing it away.

Why It Helps:

• Reduces emotional struggle by meeting feelings with openness, not resistance.

• Validates your experience without letting it control you.

• Increases self-kindness—you’re learning to be with yourself, even when it’s hard.

💫 The goal isn’t to make the pain disappear. It’s to learn you can carry it with strength and softness.

3. The "Values Compass" Reflection (Reconnecting with Purpose)

Clients at my online Colorado therapy practice often express that burnout feels like wandering through life without a map. When you lose touch with your values, it’s easy to feel disconnected, numb, or unmotivated.

This reflection helps you recalibrate—to remember what truly matters and choose actions that lead you home.

How to Do It:

• Ask yourself:

  • What kind of person do I want to be, even now?

  • What matters most to me—kindness, growth, balance, creativity?

  • What’s one small way I can live this value today?

• Write down your reflections.

• Then, take one tiny, meaningful action—like resting intentionally, setting a gentle boundary, or practicing kindness toward yourself.

Why It Helps:

• Restores purpose in the midst of stress.

• Builds motivation by aligning actions with what you care about.

• Shifts focus from depletion to meaning.

🧭 Your values are always within reach. Even during burnout, you can live from what matters.

4. The "Ten-Minute Recharge" (Committed Action)

When you're burnt out, everything can feel too big. But healing starts with the smallest, most doable steps—actions that are rooted in your values and your humanity, not productivity.

This technique helps you break the burnout cycle and move from stuckness into gentle forward motion.

How to Do It:

• Choose a value-aligned action that feels manageable:

  • A 10-minute walk

  • Stretching or deep breathing

  • Listening to music that soothes or energizes you

  • Writing a few thoughts in a journal

• Set a timer for just 10 minutes.

• Be fully present—no multitasking, no pressure to perform.

• Afterward, reflect: Did this bring me a moment of relief? Would I like to try this again tomorrow?

Why It Helps:

• Interrupts all-or-nothing thinking (“I have to fix everything now.”)

• Builds momentum through small, successful actions.

• Restores agency—you remember you can choose what’s next.

🌱 Burnout recovery begins with one tiny yes to yourself.

5. "Self-Compassion Break" (Kindness Toward Yourself)

One of the most painful parts of burnout is the inner voice that whispers, “You should be better than this.” But what if, instead of harshness, you responded with warmth?

As an online burnout therapist in Denver, CO, I find that this exercise softens your inner world. It replaces self-criticism with self-acknowledgment and care.

How to Do It:

• Place your hand on your chest and take a few slow, full breaths.

• Gently say to yourself:

  • “This is hard right now, and that’s okay.”

  • “Others feel this way too—I’m not alone.”

  • “May I be kind to myself in this moment.”

• Imagine you’re speaking to a friend in your shoes—how would you comfort them?

• Let your words sink in. Let your body receive the compassion.

Why It Helps:

• Heals the harsh inner voice that often fuels burnout.

• Normalizes your struggle—you’re not broken, you’re human.

• Opens the door to rest, boundaries, and renewal.

💖 Compassion is not a reward—it’s a right. And you deserve it, especially now.

🌿 A Gentle Reminder From A Burnout Therapist:

Recovering from burnout isn’t about going back to who you were—it’s about becoming someone more aligned, more present, and more self-honoring. These ACT tools support that journey by helping you:

✅ Accept your experience without judgment

✅ Let go of thoughts that weigh you down

✅ Reconnect with your values and purpose

✅ Take doable, kind actions

✅ Offer yourself the care you deserve

Healing isn’t linear. But each small, intentional step brings you closer to the life you want—and the person you already are underneath the burnout.

Which of these exercises resonates most with you? I can help tailor them further to your needs! 😊 Please connect with me if you are interested in exploring individual treatment.

Ready to Overcome Burnout? Start Working With An Online Burnout Therapist in Denver, CO Today

Burnout can leave you feeling drained, unmotivated, and disconnected from the things you once cared about. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or stuck, burnout and stress therapy can help. By integrating ACT tools, therapy offers you a space to heal and begin feeling like yourself again. I would love to guide you on this journey by meeting through my telehealth practice in Colorado. Here’s how we can get started:

1️⃣Take the first step toward overcoming burnout by connecting with me and scheduling a free 15-minute consultation.

2️⃣Discover how to identify your challenges and embrace your strengths by working with a licensed psychologist in Denver, CO.

3️⃣Overcome burnout, stress, and anxiety by learning how to integrate ACT tools into your everyday life during our time together.

Other Therapy Services I Offer Statewide In Colorado

If you're feeling overwhelmed by constant change, stress, or anxiety, you're not alone. Through burnout therapy, I help clients regain clarity, calm, and confidence so they can move forward with greater resilience and ease. Aside from burnout and stress therapy, I provide several other services at my Colorado telehealth practice. These include anxiety disorder treatment, trauma therapy, and counseling for early adults. I also work with clients through relationship issues, offering screening and assessment services as well as individual psychotherapy sessions. I encourage you to explore my website to learn more about me, gain helpful insight with my online blog, and reach out for a consultation when you’re ready to begin our work together.

About The Author

Dr. Jennifer Olson-Madden is a licensed psychologist and expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), dedicated to helping clients achieve purposeful and successful outcomes through inspired and committed action. With over 15 years of licensure in Denver, CO, and more than two decades of experience in mental health, she specializes in treating anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, chronic stress, depression, and executive dysfunction such as ADHD. She not only practices ACT professionally but also integrates its principles into her own life daily.