What is a nervous Breakdown, in Business terms? It's an interruption in flow, in interest, in attention, in clarity. Which leads to confusion, dangerous disconnections, and career neglect.

When burnout threatens to lead you to a business breakdown, what can you do?

First, rest. See if it's lack of sleep. See your doctor. Check it out. Sometimes a physical correction can solve the problem.

But if the problem isn't physical, you need to go on to step two: rebooting your business passion.

Most burnout comes from a combination of exhaustion and disconnection. Exhaustion can be fixed temporarily, but until you reboot your passion, you'll just be working with a cycle of fatigue and discouragement. So try these three steps to connect more deeply with your reason for working, and see if they help. (If they don't, time to get a personal coach, therapist, or other outside help. Suffering is a message from the universe that something needs to change, not a permanent condition!)

1. Look at your job description? What do you love about it? What do you hate? Try to find ways of doing the things you love, and delegating or negotiating a way to do less of what you hate.
2. Listen to your inner ambitions: is your job description even close? If not, check the job market. If you're qualified, start searching. If you need more qualifications, find out how to get them. No one will break you out of your rut but you!
3. Examine your life outside of work? Do you have a strong community? Do you feel connected to the world, to friends who share your interests and passions? Sometimes burnout translates into personal isolation. If that's happened to you, then even if you love your job, the prognosis isn't good.

And remember -- pain is a message, not a life work! As anonymous once said, "If you're going through Hell, keep going."