We tend to think of resilience as something that either holds or breaks, but in reality it wears down gradually, and the early signs are easy to miss because they look like ordinary tiredness or a bad week. Catching them early is what makes the difference between a rough patch and burnout.

What to look out for

  • Small things feel disproportionately hard. A minor setback, a delayed part, a difficult customer, a rota change, triggers a reaction that feels bigger than the situation warrants.
  • Sleep and energy shift first. Struggling to switch off at night, waking up already tired, or needing more caffeine than usual to get through a shift are often the earliest physical signals.
  • You're more irritable than usual, especially with people you're normally patient with.
  • You stop doing the things that usually help. Skipping the gym, not returning calls to friends, eating on the go instead of properly, the habits that support resilience are often the first to slip when resilience is already low, which makes it a downward spiral.
  • Everything feels like it's "too much", even tasks that are normally routine.

Why this matters

None of these are a diagnosis or a sign something is seriously wrong on their own, everyone has bad weeks. The pattern matters more than any single sign. If several of these are true at once, and have been for a few weeks rather than a few days, it's worth treating that as useful information rather than something to push through.

What to do about it

Start with the basics rather than trying to fix everything: sleep, one honest conversation with someone you trust, and cutting back on anything optional that's adding pressure. If it's been going on for a while, or feels bigger than you can manage alone, Ben's support team is there to talk it through.

Part of Ben's Resilience hub - explore more articles on building resilience.