Burnout: Identification and Treatment

 

"I'm so burnt out"   

"I'm totally drained"

"I've been burning the candle at both ends"

"I'm running on empty"

If you've ever said or thought this, you may have been suffering from burnout. Burnout is defined as "a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands," (Help Guide, 2021). 

Over the past year, we have all been operating in a state of increased stress due to enduring constant changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic that have shifted our vocational and recreational activities. If you've found yourself feeling fatigued, exhausted, irritable, bored, and overall just feeling not like yourself, you are not alone. These changes can contribute to and exacerbate the symptoms of burnout.

The most common symptoms of burnout are feeling tired, changes in mood, low energy, loss of interest in things you usually enjoy, difficulty sleeping, headaches, feeling hopeless, as well as a general feeling of exhaustion or being drained. 

So what do we do about this? The first step is acknowledging and validating your experience. Oftentimes when we endure so much for so long, we fail to acknowledge the gravity and difficulty of our own experiences. What you've been going through has been taxing and tiring. We often discount our own experiences because "it could be worse," which while true, is an invalidating and unhelpful thought pattern. Just because things could be worse, doesn't change your current lived experience. Acknowledge that things are hard right now and give yourself credit for all you have done to get to this point. Next, we acknowledge what is contributing to our symptoms of burnout. Likely, there is a component of working too much or too long without a break. When I ask my clients if they take a lunch break on a daily basis, most of them look at me like I have sprouted a third arm out of my forehead. It has become the norm and the expectation to work through your lunch break, to come in early, or to stay late. 

In looking at this, I often ask clients why it is worth sacrificing their physical, mental, and emotional health for the financial health of their employer. Spoiler alert: it is not worth it. You are replaceable to your employer, but you are not replaceable to yourself and your loved ones. Take your lunch break, stop showing up early and staying late (aka working overtime) without being paid overtime, and see if there are feasible ways to get a break from work soon. Maybe you are able to take a couple of days off, maybe you can work in a walk outside to get some fresh air during the day--find what works for you. 

Once we have addressed the here-and-now issues of burnout, we look at preventing burnout in the future through establishing a self-care routine. Just like with physical health, mental health also involves prevention as a primary goal. Ensuring that we are tending to our self care helps to prevent burnout, just like eating healthy and nourishing foods and exercising helps to prevent many physical health problems.

For more on self-care check out my upcoming blog post on "boring self care"!

Have you experienced burnout? I'd love to chat or point you to resources if needed!