Current research on special education teacher burnout focused on the external contextual experiences leading to burnout rather than the innermost dimensions of the cognitive processes by which special education teachers experience burnout. Therefore, the purpose of this transcendental phenomenological research study was to explore how K-12 special education teachers in rural North Carolina described their lived experiences with burnout. Two research questions guided this transcendental phenomenological study: What are the lived experiences of burnout among K-12 special education teachers, and How do special education teachers experience burnout? The researcher used semi-structured interviews to collect the lived experiences of the eight participants. Maslach and Jackson's multidimensional burnout theory served as the theoretical framework for this study. Using the Modified Van Kaam's Method of Analysis of Phenomenological Data as outlined by Moustakas (1994), this study revealed that burnout among female, K-12 special education teachers include: (a) lack of support, (b) job demands, (c) thoughts of quitting, (d) depersonalization/withdrawal, (e) emotional exhaustion, (f) insomnia and anxiety, (g) weight loss, (h) spike in blood pressure, (i) aches and pains. This study may encourage school districts to conduct a needs assessment to identify and alleviate workplace influences that contribute to burnout. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]