Three Types of Burnout — and How to Deal With Them

By screenwriter and director Alexander Fomin
Screenwriter and director Alexander Fomin (projects “Honey, I Won’t Call Back Anymore,” “Ministry of All Good Things,” “Young Man”), author of the Telegram channel “Alexander Fomin (Director)”, shared his personal classification of burnout and practical ways to cope with it.

Trend Burnout
“If you haven’t worked anywhere for more than a year but still want to stay fashionable and keep up with the advanced youth, then most likely you’re experiencing ‘trend burnout.’”

What to do:
I suggest buying a small microphone that clips onto a pen or pencil, recording a few Reels, and making sure you apply makeup on camera while doing it. Don’t forget to mention words like “panic attacks,” “depression,” and “abuse” — these topics tend to work very well together.

Cold Burnout
“I call it ‘cold burnout’ when you have one or several projects that just won’t start. It’s a script that needs to be ‘slightly’ revised, or a film that just needs one more approval before production begins. Everything should be decided next week — we’ll get funding and move forward. But those weeks turn into months, and months turn into years.
You’re full of energy and ready to work and create, but it feels like you’re stuck in an endless queue. Paradoxically, this kind of idle waiting is very exhausting and depressing. The root of it lies in the perception of time. It feels as if life is passing by, the clock is ticking, and nothing is happening.”

What to do:
Find a goal that isn’t directly connected to your work or projects. Maybe there’s something you’ve wanted to learn for a long time but kept postponing. Perhaps you wanted to read a book you missed in childhood, watch the “100 Greatest Films,” renovate your apartment, get in shape for summer, or learn a new sport. In short, you need something that will give you a clear sense of progress.

Personal experience:
“Once I found myself stuck in this situation for two years. I decided to pursue a second higher education at VGIK. At that time I was already working actively as a screenwriter at the age of 27, so I didn’t really need the diploma. But I suddenly had a schedule — and therefore a daily routine. I had a reason to get out of bed in the morning, go to class, or prepare for it.
Much of the curriculum I already knew from practice, but we had classes on working with actors that I loved and never missed. We staged performances ourselves, and I finally felt that sense of progress again.”

Hot Burnout
“‘Hot burnout’ is when your project actually launches, you work very hard, and you become exhausted. For example, you might spend 90 shooting days filming a remake of a Turkish series, or, as happened to me in 2024, work on two feature films at the same time.”

What to do:
Most likely you’re tired of routine and repetition. In this case, travel helps best. But not the kind where you lie on a beach for two weeks doing nothing — as tempting as that may sound. That kind of rest is good for the body, but the brain never truly rests, even during sleep.
Real rest for the brain means switching activities so that new neural connections start working. That’s when your mind comes back to life.
I recommend hiking, trekking, or a multi-day trip through different cities or even countries. The key is that the scenery constantly changes — that’s what refreshes your brain after routine.
Notice how tourists resemble children. Even simple tasks become something new and exciting: going to a grocery store in another country, finding the right train and reaching your destination, or explaining to locals with gestures that your bank card is from Kazakhstan but you yourself are from Russia.

Personal experience:
“Last year, after experiencing ‘hot burnout,’ I set off on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in northern Spain. Before that, I had never been hiking, on a pilgrimage, or even to northern Spain.
For a whole month my life became completely different.