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Be Kind Month: What is burnout?
- Written By: British Dressage
- Published: Mon, 12 May 2025 12:42
Burnout is something that can impact anyone. As part of BD Be Kind Month, we're sharing some fascinating research and advice by BD member Megan Lane; read part one below, where Megan tells us what burnout is and how we can identify the commonly experienced condition.
A study I completed as part of my Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology found that approximately half of the participants interviewed were currently experiencing burnout at the time of the research, with nearly all participants describing that they had experienced burnout in the past. An interesting point that many participants made was that they weren’t aware that the struggles they were experiencing were indicators of them experiencing burnout.
The first step in being able to make a change, and manage burnout, is simply to be able to recognise that you are experiencing it.
What is burnout?
Athlete burnout is comprised of three main elements: physical and mental exhaustion, a reduced sense of accomplishment, and sport devaluation.
But what does this look like practically?
In daily life, burnout can present as a prolonged feeling of tiredness and exhaustion, with the feelings of tiredness and exhaustion not subsiding after a good night’s rest or easier few days. You may struggle to see any positives or improvements in your training or test scores, and may have a feeling of decreased motivation, enthusiasm and enjoyment for riding.
It is important to emphasise that burnout occurs when these feelings exist over a prolonged period. It is normal to have a few days where you feel more tired than normal, or have less motivation to do the things you need to. It is when these occur over a longer period, generally of a month or longer, that burnout might be occurring.
To make identification easier, you can use this list of early warning signs to identify if you might be experiencing burnout, or if you might be getting close:
- Finding it harder than usual to get out of bed in the morning.
- Riding and horse care feeling more like a chore.
- Feeling disinterested in the things you usually enjoy.
- Putting less effort into the things you usually enjoy.
- Not feeling rested after sleep.
- Slower muscle recovery after riding and work-outs.
The exact signs of burnout will look different for everyone, but this list can serve as a useful source to help you identify if you might be experiencing burnout, if you notice that you are experiencing some of the items over a prolonged period of time.
If you think that you are experiencing burnout, it is important that you reach out to someone that you trust for support, or a professional for help.
About Megan
Megan was born in Guernsey, Channel Islands, and then moved to Sheffield to begin her University education. She graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree with honours in Psychology. In 2024, she graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a Masters in Sports and Exercise Psychology. Megan is currently enrolled on the Professional Doctorate in Sports and Exercise Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University. This is a BPS accredited programme, which once completed, leads to Chartered status and HCPC registration.
Alongside her studies, Megan is a passionate equestrian athlete, who competes in dressage competitions with her horse and is a member of the BD Youth National Academy.
