‘Burn out’ is something that is becoming more and more common with the daily pressures and hectic pace of our lives, added to that the weight of what we have all faced over the past 18 months with Covid and it is not surprising that so many people are hitting the wall and ‘Burning Out.’
Essentially Burnout it is a reaction to prolonged or chronic job stress, characterized by three main dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism and feelings of reduced professional ability.
You may have noticed people talking about it more and more across social media and you may even have been experiencing it yourself …. But how do you know if you are actually experiencing Burn Out rather than Stress and what can you do to recover?
People suffering from Burn Out will often feel empty and powerless, it becomes harder and harder to perform the tasks you need to and as your productivity decreases, emotional exhaustion and feelings of overwhelm increase. Other signs of Burn out to look out for are, anxiety, detachment, low mood, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and lack of creativity.
If any of this is resonating for you then you may be experiencing Burn Out and it has probably crept up on you slowly, as it doesn’t happen overnight.
Burn out is the result of excessive and prolonged stress but it differs from stress in several key ways:
Stress is characterised by over-engagement, overactive emotions, urgency & hyperactivity, loss of energy & the primary damage it causes is physical.
Whereas Burnout is characterised by disengagement, your emotions are blunted, you feel helpless and hopelessness, loss of motivation, leads to detachment and depression and the primary damage is emotional.
People who are experiencing burn out often can’t see the possibility of any positive change in their situation and can feel cynical and resentful.
Symptom red flags to look out for: Feeling tired and drained most of the time, frequent headaches/muscle pain, lowered immunity, change in appetite or sleep habits, sense of failure or self doubt, loss of motivation, feeling trapped or defeated, decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment, withdrawal from responsibilities, Isolating form others, procrastination, self medicating with food/alcohol/drugs, drop in productivity at work.
There is no quick fix for recovering from Burn out, unfortunately. Looking at your work & lifestyle is key and taking the time to really evaluate where you can make some positive changes to reduce the levels of stress that you’re been experiencing.
It is time to re-evaluate your priorities, to put yourself and your mental/physical health first. Which means factoring in enough time to rest and restore mentally and physically into your schedule, making time to exercise, eating a healthy and balanced diet and ask for help/support. You do not have to manage and cope with this on your own.
If you are worried you are experiencing Burnout please do reach out for some support as ‘pushing through’ and not making any changes things will only make things much worse. I offer a free consultation and am here to help so please do reach out if you would like to discuss ways in which I can help support you in any changes you wish to make.
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