Beyond burnout: webinar replays

Selected transcript excerpts

These short excerpts are lightly edited from the recording's captions. Watch the full replay for context.

Neil Markey on feeling tired and wired

07:56

One of the most interesting metaphors I've heard for burnout is that if you're in a vehicle, you have the accelerator and the brake, and you have them both on at the same time. It's this idea of tired and wired, where you feel like your body's exhausted, but you also can't get deep sleep.

Neil Markey on burnout and values

08:36

You can also get burnout from being in roles or positions or companies that don't align with your core values.

Dr. AZA Allsop on two common patterns

38:22

One is space-time misalignment: where they spend their time, and how they spend it, is not aligned with their values. The second one is identity fusion, in which they have, over time, become their job.

Neil Markey on what keeps the benefits going

41:26

The level of benefit is strongly correlated to the amount of effort that someone puts into it.

The first session: November 2025

Watch on YouTube and open the available captions or transcript

This was the first of two Beyond Burnout webinars. Beckley Retreats co-founder and CEO Neil Markey, neuroscientist Dr. Grace Blest-Hopley and Beckley Retreats facilitator Mandi Bent look at what burnout is, how chronic stress affects the stress-hormone system, the brain and the body, and why the environment you work in matters as much as the hours.

Neil shares his own experience of burnout in the military and in corporate life, Mandi explains how screening, safety and integration work on a Beckley Retreats program, and the panel answers audience questions.

Jump to a topic in the November session

• 00:19 | Introductions
• 03:50 | A short movement practice
• 05:55 | What burnout is
• 07:42 | Cortisol and the stress response
• 09:48 | Types of burnout, and burnout in women
• 11:05 | What psychedelics may do
• 13:25 | Neil's experience of burnout
• 17:15 | How the program is structured
• 20:15 | Safety and suitability
• 23:18 | Audience questions

From the November session

Dr. Grace Blest-Hopley on what burnout is

09:35

Burnout is not just about stress. It's not just an acute feeling in a moment. It affects not just the brain but the whole body.

Dr. Grace Blest-Hopley on stepping away

12:58

You can't read the label while you're sitting in the jar.

Neil Markey on fight-or-flight

14:25

When you're in that fight-or-flight mode, the body is prioritizing safety. Some of the higher-level functions of being human, like empathy and creativity, just aren't a priority.

Neil Markey on alignment

16:30

Your body knows these things. It's trying to give you signals if you're living in a way that's not in alignment with who you really are.

Questions this replay answers

What is burnout?

Neil describes it as a state of chronic physical, emotional and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, often work-related. He uses the image of pressing the accelerator and the brake at the same time: exhausted, but unable to rest or sleep deeply.

Is burnout only about working too much?

No, in the panel's view. Neil notes that burnout can also come from roles or organizations that don't match your values, and Dr. Allsop links it closely to how connected we feel to the people around us.

How long do the benefits of a retreat last?

Longer-term follow-up research is still under way, Dr. Allsop says, so there is no data on this yet. From staying in touch with guests, Neil's view is that results depend on the work people put in afterwards, such as keeping up their practices and relationships.

Where can I learn how the program works?

Read how our program works and what happens on a psilocybin retreat.

What causes burnout?

Prolonged stress, often at work, with high demands and little control, Grace explains. Emotional labor, a lack of agency, a mismatch between your values and your work, social isolation and unsupported environments can all add to it, alongside individual risk factors.

How do I know if it's burnout?

In the mind: detachment, cynicism, trouble concentrating, losing creativity and motivation, and emotional numbness. In the body: fatigue, poor sleep, headaches and muscle tension. The signs tend to build over time.

How does Beckley Retreats check the program is right for me?

Every applicant completes a private health questionnaire and a one-to-one suitability consultation covering medications, physical and mental health history, comfort in a small group, and support at home. Programs run only where psilocybin is legal, and integration support continues after the retreat.

Questions to reflect on

• Where does your time go each week, and does it match what you value?
• How much of your sense of who you are depends on your job?
• Who helps you feel steadier when work is demanding?
• Which signs of burnout do you recognize in yourself?

Related conversations

Why high achievers hit a wall · Career transitions and identity · All webinars and replays