What is Burnout?
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion typically caused by prolonged and excessive stress. It’s defined as a condition that may be accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance, and negative attitudes towards oneself and others. You might not even notice that you’re experiencing burnout until you’ve crossed the line between being “really tired” and “too exhausted to function”.
Symptoms of Burnout
Fatigue - You might feel exhausted all of the time or simply take longer to complete daily tasks.
Apathy or dissatisfaction - Seeing everyday as a bad day or being otherwise uninterested.
Loss of motivation - Increasingly cynical and negative outlook on life.
Insomnia - Feeling the need to get more rest but being unable to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get back to sleep.
Physical pain - Tension headaches, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal issues are common for those experiencing burnout.
Stress vs. Burnout
Stress is a common element of life and tends to come and go rather frequently. We can typically pinpoint our stress to a situation or person and may feel better once everything is under control. Burnout, though, can be more challenging to detect since it comes on subtly and progresses gradually. Unlike feeling stressed, burnout makes us feel as though there’s no hope and directly attacks motivation, engagement, and interest. There’s typically an “end in sight” for stress, whereas burnout is the result of a cycle of negative emotions and withdrawal due to investing significant amounts of energy into something emotionally, intellectually, or physically.
Types of Burnout
Burnout is incredibly common and may present in any of these three ways:
Overload Burnout: This may occur when you’re working yourself too hard. This type of burnout may have made you feel inclined to work harder to achieve all of your goals or be a result of feeling obligated to do so.
Under-Challenged Burnout: This may occur when you’re feeling bored or unmotivated. You might also feel unnoticed and under-appreciated with this type of burnout. This can result in losing passion and being disengaged.
Neglect Burnout: This may occur when you aren’t given enough guidance, leaving you feeling helpless, frustrated, and uncertain.
How to Deal with Burnout
Burnout can feel incredibly discouraging and stressful enough to wonder if you’ll ever recover from it. However, the good news is that there are ways to bounce back and overcome burnout in order to feel healthy and positive again.
The Three R’s to Burnout:
Recognize -> Watch for the warning signs.
Reverse -> Be proactive in managing the symptoms of burnout.
Resilience -> Take care of your physical and emotional health even after the burnout isn’t as strong.
Tips for Managing Burnout:
Build breaks into your schedule. Take a step back from the source of stress and attend to your health and wellbeing on a daily basis.
Exercise. This is a great way to reduce stress and improve your mood. You can try yoga, running, dancing, or any other form of physical activity that you enjoy.
Practice mindfulness. Try to be as emotionally present as possible. Take deep breaths and participate in grounding techniques.
Have strong boundaries. Be intentional with your personal time and say “no” when needed.
Self-care. Do things that you enjoy and take care of your needs.
If you’re struggling with burnout, we have many team members who can support you in recovering from this. Please check-out our team of therapists here.
References
Roddenberry, V. (2021). Three types of burnout explained. Breyta Psychological Services, P.A. - Raleigh, NC. https://www.breytapsych.com/blog/the-3-types-of-burnout-explained/2021/4/11
Smith, M. (2023). Burnout Prevention and Treatment. HelpGuide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm
Scott, E. (2022). How to watch for signs of burnout in your life. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/stress-and-burnout-symptoms-and-causes-3144516
What are the 5 stages of burnout? Integris Health. (2021). https://integrisok.com/resources/on-your-health/2021/november/what-are-the-5-stages-of-burnout
Yasinski, E. (2022). - MedShadow Foundation: Health & Wellness: Medication Side effects. MedShadow Foundation | Health & Wellness | Medication Side Effects. https://medshadow.org/burnout-or-depression/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrpOiBhBVEiwA_473dA0parJnKJ9N0M_Ib--JW5uxgezEz70oQ_NjOynu1MDSxNGQsxBjtRoCiwcQAvD_BwE
Zaleska. (2023). Burnout: 5 signs and what to do about it. Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/signs-of-burnout/