I love that positive spin on burnout Roger! :D I hardly know anyone in our field who has made it through their 30's in our line of work WITHOUT an episode of burnout. Some leave the aid industry forever... others come out the other end a wiser version of themselves. My own personal version of burnout happened when I tacked 6 months in Darfur onto the end of a 3.5 yrs in Afghanistan...(don't know *how* I thought that was going to work out well...) Thankfully I had enough savings that I could simply not work for a few months. I remember being able to physically feel the stress levels drop over the course of a few months. For a while, as I surveyed my friends in their various versions of burnout, I wondered if it was part of growing into a better/more mature leader... for example, only through burnout do you understand (and experience for yourself) why it is so important to delegate well (for both your team and yourself). But not everything has to be experienced to be learned and I hope we can do better than that these days... Karri

Brave post Mike. Yes it happened to me in my 40s, and I was fortunate to be able to take a year out - the culture in my organisation allowed that to happen. And in that year I discovered that I'm autistic, which was why I burned out. Understanding a bit more about why I meet the world in the way I do was the biggest positive change ever. So a thumbs up for burnout from me!

How do you feel about the 'burnout culture' in the humanitarian sector? Is this something you have personally experienced? A recent publication: the Vulnerable Humanitarian, by Gemma Houldey explores these issues. If you're interested in the topic she is also running a 'book circle' online to explore the problem and look for creative solutions. [The Vulnerable Humanitarian](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-vulnerable-humanitarian-book-circle-tickets-419637104877)