Episode 10
Regaining a Zest for Life and coming back from Burnout
Guest: Jason Renshaw
Also featuring: Francis Norton — BACP accredited counsellor, burnout specialist
Episode Description
Jason Renshaw is 53, married to Tracy for 28 years, father to a 13-year-old daughter and a Star Wars collector with 35 years at the same accountancy firm. Last year he suffered what he calls a breakdown. He didn’t see it coming — something that built quietly for years but he kept pushing through anyway.
In this conversation, Jason talks about the morning in December 2025 when he woke up feeling nothing. About the two nights before that he couldn’t sleep. About the dark thoughts that crept in. About how he went straight to work and broke down in front of his boss because he couldn’t face going home and worrying his wife. About the gap between being the dependable guy, the one who gets things done, and the man who was quietly falling apart.
Jason also talks about what has helped — the small changes, the impact of Andy’s Man Club, the conversations he’d never had before, the vitamin deficiencies nobody had flagged, the department move that lifted the weight from his head almost instantly. And what he wishes someone had simply asked him earlier.
Burnout specialist and BACP accredited counsellor Francis Norton then joins to explain what burnout actually is, how to recognise it before it becomes a crisis, and why men in particular find it so hard to act on what they’re feeling until it’s already too late.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction — How Do You Recognise Burnout Before It’s Too Late?
01:00 Introducing Jason Renshaw
03:44 No Father Figure — Growing Up Self-Reliant
04:30 When Did He First Know Something Was Wrong?
05:19 The Two Nights Before — Numbness, Dark Thoughts
05:55 When Did He Last Feel the Spark?
07:26 COVID Was When It Started — Seven Days a Week, Relentless
08:30 Imposter Syndrome Kicks In
09:52 The Root of It — Feeling Forgotten About as a Child
11:12 What the Breakdown Taught Him About Himself
12:10 Paying Off the Mortgage — and Losing His Purpose
13:51 What Made It Harder — and What He Wishes He’d Known
16:06 Childhood Self-Reliance Following Him Into Work
18:07 Reconnecting with His Real Father — and Ghosting Him
20:55 Torque Ten — Quickfire Questions with Jason
22:44 Part Two — What Does Day-to-Day Recovery Look Like?
24:00 Medication
24:26 Reconnecting with Hobbies, Family and Life
25:30 Andy’s Man Club — He Was Not Alone
27:20 Mr Reliable, the Guy Who Doesn’t Say No
28:32 He Hadn’t Told Anyone — Not Even His Wife
30:20 What Would He Have Wanted to Hear?
32:30 The Power of Saying No
36:01 How Does the Future Feel Now?
37:29 What Is Burnout? The WHO Definition
38:30 Exhaustion That a Holiday Doesn’t Fix
39:20 Negativity as a Physiological Threat Response
40:28 How to Recognise Burnout in Yourself
41:30 Brain Fog, Dread, Procrastination — the Signs
43:00 Freudenberger’s Twelve Stages of Burnout — and Where Jason Fits
44:38 Depression as Opportunity — Coming Out with New Values
45:20 What Can People Do to Avoid Reaching That Point?
46:10 Why Men Find It Harder to Be Vulnerable
46:32 Dom’s Closing Reflection
Resources
Andy’s Man Club — free peer-to-peer support groups for men aged 18 and over, held every Monday evening across the UK:
ANDYSMANCLUB - It's Okay To Talk
If you are struggling with dark thoughts or need to talk to someone urgently, the Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 116 123
You can find Francis Norton at Home | BurnoutCounselling
PREVIOUS EPISODES -
From Patrol To Podium - Torque | Acast
Debunking Sleep Myths - Torque | Acast
Lessons From A Father's Influence - Torque | Acast
Diving Into Olympic Pressure - Torque | Acast
Do You Feel Frozen Out? - Torque | Acast
What Makes A Man? Part 1 - From Anger to Understanding, A Journey of Growth - Torque | Acast
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