Six Core Values That Can Help You Cope With Burnout

Burnout isn’t just about being tired. It’s about feeling drained, detached, and ineffective, often despite working harder than ever. While rest and recovery are essential, lasting relief often requires something deeper: reconnecting with your core values.

Values act like a compass. They don’t erase stressors, but they help guide your behavior in ways that feel meaningful—even when circumstances are difficult. Research from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) shows that clarifying and living by your values can build resilience, reduce the grip of burnout, and foster a stronger sense of purpose.

Here are six powerful values that can help you not only cope with burnout but also move forward with clarity and energy.

1. Health: Caring for Your Whole Self

When burnout takes hold, emotional and physical health often decline first. Prioritizing health as a value isn’t about perfection. It’s about making choices that support your mind and body—even when work demands remain high.

🪻Example: Maria, a healthcare administrator, often skipped meals and stayed glued to her computer. Once she clarified that “health” was a top value, she began protecting one non-negotiable lunch break and adding short walks between meetings. Her workload didn’t vanish, but she noticed her energy and patience improving.

✔️Committed Action Idea: Choose one small, consistent habit that aligns with caring for your health (drinking more water, taking stretch breaks, scheduling therapy). Even minor acts send a strong message to yourself: I matter too.

2. Connection: Nurturing Relationships

Burnout fatigue often isolates people. You may feel too exhausted to socialize, or you might withdraw out of irritability or cynicism. Re-committing to connection can restore a sense of belonging and buffer against stress.

🪻Example: David, a corporate attorney, realized he hadn’t had dinner with his partner in weeks. By naming “connection” as a value, he committed to tech-free dinners twice a week. Even with long hours, these evenings gave him emotional fuel that work could not.

✔️Committed Action Idea: Identify one relationship you want to nurture. Send a thoughtful message, plan a shared activity, or simply show up with presence. The goal isn’t frequency so much as intentionality.

3. Growth: Continuing to Learn and Evolve

Burnout can trick you into believing you’re stuck or ineffective. Embracing growth as a value shifts the focus from “I’m failing” to “I’m still learning.” This mindset reduces pressure to be perfect and builds resilience.

🪻Example: Priya, a product manager, felt demoralized by constant setbacks. By reframing her experiences through the lens of “growth,” she began logging weekly “lessons learned.” This practice turned frustration into forward movement, helping her view challenges as stepping stones rather than dead ends.

✔️Committed Action Idea: Each week, write down one small way you’ve grown, whether it’s a new skill, perspective, or coping strategy. Growth happens in progress, not perfection.

4. Integrity: Aligning Actions with What Matters Most

A key driver of burnout is the mismatch between personal values and workplace demands. Living with integrity means acting consistently with your principles, even under pressure. It doesn’t always mean quitting your job. It often means setting clearer boundaries or speaking up for what you believe in.

🪻Example: Sofia, a marketing executive, felt drained by misleading ad campaigns. Once she identified “integrity” as her value, she began advocating for more authentic messaging. While not every initiative changed, her willingness to speak up reduced her sense of inner conflict.

✔️Committed Action Idea: Notice one area where your actions don’t feel aligned. Choose a small, realistic step to close the gap—whether that’s saying “no” to extra work or bringing your ideas forward with honesty.

5. Contribution: Making a Difference Beyond Yourself

When burnout sets in, work may feel meaningless. Re-focusing on contribution can re-energize motivation. Contribution doesn’t require grand gestures. It’s about finding purpose in how you positively impact others, whether at work, at home, or in your community.

🪻Example: Marcus, a teacher on the verge of quitting, reframed his focus from grades and paperwork to the daily connections he had with students. By noticing the impact of a kind word or a mentoring moment, he reconnected with why he entered the profession in the first place.

✔️Committed Action Idea: Ask yourself: Who benefits from my actions today? Write down one way your effort, presence, or care contributed to someone else’s well-being.

6. Balance: Creating Space for Multiple Roles in Life

Burnout often comes from over-identifying with your role in a high-stress career at the expense of other parts of life. Embracing balance means recognizing that you’re more than your job title. You’re also a friend, parent, partner, community member, and individual with passions outside of work.

🪻Example: Elena, a physician, realized that work consumed her identity. By making “balance” a value, she carved out time for gardening, something she loved before medical school. This hobby became a source of joy and renewal, counterbalancing the intensity of her career.

✔️Committed Action Idea: Choose one non-work activity each week that brings you pleasure or rest. Treat it as a scheduled appointment—because your wholeness matters as much as your productivity.

Why Core Values Protect Against Burnout

Research in psychology, particularly Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), shows that values-based living reduces experiential avoidance and promotes committed action—purposeful steps taken in service of what matters, even when stress or obstacles are present.

When you feel burned out, values can:

• Clarify direction: You know why you’re saying yes or no.

• Promote resilience: You can tolerate discomfort when it serves a larger purpose.

• Restore meaning: Even difficult tasks connect to something bigger.

• Guide balance: You’re less likely to be swept away by perfectionism or external demands.

Instead of waiting until circumstances are “perfect,” values remind us that we can act in alignment today—even under stress. This shift doesn’t remove burnout overnight, but it builds a sustainable pathway to recovery.

Putting It All Together: A Simple Values Exercise

1. Pick one value from the list above that resonates right now. You can also select a value from the core values list found in this helpful resource.

2. Write one small action you can take this week that embodies it.

3. Notice the impact—not just on your workload, but on your sense of meaning and energy.

Over time, small acts of committed action create ripple effects, turning burnout into an invitation to live more authentically.

When to Seek Support From a Denver Burnout Therapist

If burnout is impacting your health, relationships, or ability to function day-to-day, consider reaching out for professional support. An experienced burnout therapist can help you clarify your values, unhook from perfectionism, and learn practical tools to cope.

In my Denver-based online therapy practice, I use ACT, CBT, and mindfulness-based strategies to help professionals reclaim balance, resilience, and purpose.

When you're ready, you can contact me:

💻Through email at jennifer@drolsonmadden.com

📱By phone at 720-588-3823

📝Via my website’s contact form

You don’t need to wait until you’re at your breaking point. Values-based living can start today.

Discover Values to Find Balance Through Burnout Therapy in Denver, CO

Burnout doesn’t just drain your energy. It can leave you feeling disconnected from your values and unsure how to move forward. Therapy for burnout gives you the chance to slow down, reconnect with what truly matters, and build healthier ways to cope so you can feel more grounded, resilient, and at ease.

In my Colorado telehealth practice, I help clients navigate the difference between everyday stress and true burnout, manage anxiety, and create strategies that foster long-term well-being. Together, we’ll uncover the values that can guide your recovery, while also developing practical tools you can use daily to support balance and clarity.

Here’s how we can start working together:

1. Share your story and see if burnout therapy is the right fit for you during a free 15-minute consultation.

2. Partner with a licensed online psychologist in Denver, CO, who understands the challenges of chronic stress and burnout and can support you with expertise and compassion.

3. Learn to integrate value-driven strategies into your daily routine to reduce anxiety, prevent overwhelm, and sustain long-term recovery.

Other Therapy Services I Provide Online in Colorado

Burnout therapy can give you the clarity and calm you need to step out of constant overwhelm and reclaim your energy. By learning healthier ways to cope with stress, you’ll begin to feel more balanced, more present, and more connected to the life you want to live.

Burnout recovery is at the heart of my work, but it’s not the only way I support clients through therapy.

In my Denver-based online practice, I also provide therapy for anxiety disorders, helping clients reduce worry, tension, and overthinking so they can feel more at ease in daily life. I offer trauma-focused care for individuals processing painful past experiences, and I guide clients through major life transitions such as career shifts, relationship changes, or identity challenges. For those dealing with relationship challenges, I provide individualized therapy and supportive sessions to strengthen communication, rebuild trust, and create healthier connections. Alongside therapy, I also offer psychological assessments and tailored treatment plans designed to meet your unique goals.

To learn more, I encourage you to explore my website, check out insights on my mental health blog, and connect when you’re ready to take the next step toward resilience and well-being. You can also grab a copy of my free e-book for additional insights and stay connected with me on social media. Follow along on X.com, Instagram, and LinkedIn for tips and resources to support your mental health journey.

About the Author

Dr. Jennifer Olson-Madden is a licensed psychologist based in Denver, CO, specializing in burnout recovery and value-driven therapy. With advanced training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness approaches, she helps clients align with their core values to reduce stress, manage anxiety, and find sustainable balance in their lives.

With more than 20 years of clinical experience treating burnout, trauma, anxiety, and chronic stress, Dr. Olson-Madden brings both expertise and compassion to every session. She integrates the same principles she teaches into her own life, modeling the practice of resilience, growth, and living in alignment with what matters most.