Dec 31

Dec 31 Dealing with Burnout

You are exhausted, overworked, underpaid, stretched in a million directions, and you can not seem to find your way out of the darkness. Either you have reached burnout already or you are just lucky enough to catch the signs that it must be upon the horizon, practicing a self-care practice or a weekend away just is not going to cut it.

What is burnout? Burnout might feel like a social media buzzword for feeling tired, but it is more than that. “Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.” (1). Burnout can often take on the appearance of depression and anxiety as it spills over into other areas of your life if left untreated.

Burnout most often is caused by professional work environments or lifestyle choices creating long-term exposure to stress. Research suggests that “job stress costs the U.S nearly $300 billion a year through employee turnover, decreased productivity, absent employees, as well as medical, legal and insurance fees. It is estimated that over 46% of employees have experienced or are currently in a state of job burnout.” (2). With the Covid-19 pandemic, the line between work and home has become blurry and the “increasing loss of control over the work environment or workday, feelings of lack of clarity due to poor communication within workplace teams, lack of community, and in many cases an increased workload are creating a situation that is ripe for work burnout for many people.” (3). While the most common burnout contributor is the workplace, leaving you feeling overworked and undervalued, other aspects of daily life could be leading to burnout as well. Other contributing factors could be, but are not limited to:

Rigorous academic schedules
Unhealthy/toxic relationships
Caring for loved ones, especially those with significant or chronic health conditions.
Compassion fatigue from exposure to major global financial and health crises, political division, racism, homophobia, sexism, and other emotionally impactful events.

Someone experiencing burnout in any of its stages may encounter many different physical and mental symptom presentations.

Physical symptoms can include but are not limited to exhaustion, frequent headaches, and muscle pain, gastrointestinal distress, changes in sleep or appetite, and lowered immunity. Additionally, research links burnout to other significant health conditions, “including hypertension, sleep disturbances, depression, and substance abuse” (4).
Mental and emotional symptoms may include, but are not limited to: stress, anxiety, loss of motivation, inability to focus, detachment, decreased satisfaction, isolation, irritability, procrastination, cynicism, inefficacy, and more.

Many people fail to notice that burnout is upon them until they are already experiencing life-altering physical and mental impairments. The good news is, burnout is temporary, and paired with the right care, the impact of burnout can be overcome.

Once you have reached burnout, you cannot ‘push through’ or ‘hustle’ your way out of burnout. It is essential that individuals experiencing any of the signs of burnout to determine that there is a problem, distance themselves from their stressors, and prioritize their needs. Placing emphasis on identifying personal values and creating and executing a plan to realign with those values to relieve the symptoms of burnout.

Some tips to overcome burnout:

Seek support: emphasize socialization with individuals who are outside of your stressors. Establishing relationships outside of your workplace or other stress-inducing conditions. Talking to others can help relieve some of your stress and can even open the opportunity for delegation of some of your stressful tasks.
Take time off: While we realize this is not a privilege everyone can afford, if possible, taking a break can help you to replenish your batteries. Stepping away from a situation can sometimes help you gain perspective and reevaluate your goals.
Improve your work environment: Address areas that need clarification, reevaluate your workload and clear up any communication issues (5). Determine what your values in life are and determine if they align with the aspects of your life, when values do not align, make a plan to realign them. “This may mean you have to redefine your roles at work, home, or both. It may mean that you have to find a way to redistribute the load you are carrying. Or it may mean that you have to find a new passion, one that will offer more balance so you can enjoy life the way you once did.” (6).
Reevaluate your priorities: Pare your responsibilities down to the bare necessities and fill the remaining gaps with time that replenishes your needs. Prioritizing includes instating a better work-life balance. If you have the luxury, don’t allow work to follow you home.
Focus on your physical needs: take time away from technology, prioritize sleep, and focus on moving, nourishing, and hydrating your body.
Focus on refilling your batteries: do things you love, be creative, practice self-care, and fill your time with other things you enjoy.
Make a to-do list: When making your to do list, consider using the Eisenhower Decision Matrix, which “helps you decide on and prioritize tasks by urgency and importance, sorting out less urgent and important tasks which you should either delegate or not do at all.” (7).
Establish boundaries: it is alright to say “NO”! Taking on unnecessary responsibilities when you are experiencing burnout is not going to help you recover but will instead exacerbate your symptoms.
Practice self-compassion: “What would you say to a friend in your situation? Chances are, you’d offer empathy and kindness instead of telling them how utterly they failed. Grant yourself the same love and support. Remind yourself you don’t have to be perfect, and that it’s OK to need a break.” (8).
Therapy and support groups: Seek advice from professionals and those struggling with similar life experiences. Find support groups online or in-person for issues you feel alone in and reach out to Getting Real Counseling Center to establish healthy coping mechanisms and techniques to help you overcome burnout.

“Resetting yourself after burnout can be a lengthy process — but by choosing to address it, you’ve already taken the first step.”(9). We will all experience the various stages of burnout in life, taking time to check in with yourself and keep extraneous stress to a minimum can help you to avoid episodes of burnout.

This video from Thomas Frank’s YouTube Channel on Burnout is very helpful.

If you feel that you are on the cusp of burnout or are already experiencing it, please reach out to us so that we can help you establish a plan to overcome it.

Getting Real Counseling Center provides individual and relational counseling services to those who need it most.