The Burnout Blind Spot

When I was a young officer, a sergeant once told our briefing room the story of the boiling frog. He said that if you drop a frog into boiling water, it jumps out right away. But if you place it in cool water and slowly turn up the heat, the frog doesn’t notice the change until it is too late.

I have never tried to boil a frog, but the idea behind it was valid. The point was not about frogs, it was about us. When something big and painful crashes into our lives, we notice it. We react. But when stress builds slowly, we often miss the signs. By the time we realize how far it has gone, the damage has already taken a toll.

Burnout rarely shows up as a single event. It is the slow accumulation of small things: missed sleep, back to back calls, skipped workouts, fast food between shifts, and the unspoken weight of seeing more tragedy in a week than most people face in a lifetime.

We tell ourselves, I will catch up later. I just need to push through. “Later” rarely comes. Instead, the water around us keeps heating up.

Most officers, first responders, and even leaders in other professions do not realize they are burning out until something forces them to stop. Maybe it is a health scare, a family issue, or an explosive moment at work. Sometimes it is waking up one day and realizing you do not feel anything at all.

The blind spot is real because the symptoms are often subtle. Burnout does not cause an immediate collapse, it is a slow erosion. Here are a few common signs I have seen in myself and in others:

• Irritability over small things that never used to bother you

• Numbness, not sadness or anger, just nothing

• Detachment from family, friends, or coworkers

• Loss of motivation to train, exercise, or pursue things you once enjoyed

  
  

None of these alone means you are burned out. But together, they paint a picture of someone sitting in water that is slowly getting hotter.

In law enforcement and first responder culture, we are trained to endure. We wear toughness as a badge. The problem is that toughness without balance becomes denial.

I have been there myself. After critical incidents, I told myself, I am fine. I will shake it off. That works once or twice, and I wrote another blog about it here. But layer enough of those moments on top of each other, and the weight becomes crushing. By the time you notice, you are already deep in the blind spot.

The boiling frog story has a simple lesson. You have to notice the water heating up before it is too late. Here are a few ways to do that:

1. Check in with yourself regularly. Not just “Am I good?” but “How am I really doing?”

2. Listen to your family and friends. Often they see the changes before you do.

3. Prioritize small resets. Sleep, nutrition, movement, and downtime are not luxuries. They are fuel.

4. 
   

The boiling frog story might not be scientifically accurate, but it is true enough when it comes to our lives. Burnout does not arrive all at once. It sneaks in quietly, one small compromise at a time.

The challenge, and the opportunity, is to notice when the water is getting warm. To step out before it reaches a boil.

Courage is not just running toward danger. It is having the humility to pause, admit you are human, and choose to take care of yourself before it is too late.