You are stressed out and on the verge of a breakdown.
Or maybe you are burnt out and ready to scream at the top of your lungs if you are asked to do one more thing.
You snapped at your coworker yesterday because they made a tiny mistake on the project you were all working on.
Have I guessed right yet?
Regardless, you are here because the word burnout is clearly on your mind. You are wondering what is happening to yourself, and what you can do about it.
Today is about recognizing and accepting that you are burned out! After you have accepted the situation, check out my other posts about steps to take! We gotta burn the hell out of this monster that is burnout.
There is a book that is one of my personal favorites called Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. These authors state that the main three parts of burnout consist of being emotionally exhausted, a lack of accomplishment, and feeling depleted of empathy.
There are five questions that I ask myself when I am beginning to experience symptoms of burn out and I think you should too!
“[Burnout] isn’t a personal problem. It’s a societal one—and it will not be cured by productivity apps, or a bullet journal, or face mask skin treatments, or overnight fucking oats.”
― Anne Helen Petersen, Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation
Am I feeling anxious or angry in reference to my job?
Burnout can come out in so many different ways from snapping at your coworkers to having a meltdown in the bathroom.
One of the symptoms of burnout is feeling anxious or angry surrounding your job. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand that burnout could be expressed in that way but it’s true.
So, I ask again; have you been experiencing bouts of anger towards your job or coworkers lately?
“The word no is like an asset in a metaphorical bank account where our life’s energy is the holding. Use it to save, and use it to earn a greater sense of yourself, what’s important to you, and where you want to spend your time and energy.”
― Keisha Blair, Holistic Wealth Personal Workbook: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity, and Happiness
Do I feel like giving up or having a lack of motivation?
The saddest part of burnout is that it can steal your sense of compassion for your job. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living.
You could be a nurse who is saving lives or you could work with children in a bouncy castle all day.
Burnout is burnout and it doesn’t matter what job you do. You can still struggle to care about your job no matter how important or noble it is.
Do you feel a lack of compassion surrounding your job? This is a major symptom of burnout.
“Balance is the epiphany that you don't have to be everything to everyone, all of the time.”
― Vanessa Autrey, The Art of Balancing Burnout
Has my job performance gone down recently?
This is an interesting and somewhat difficult question to ask yourself!
No one wants to admit that their quality of work has possibly gone down.
However, this is a symptom of burnout and needs to be considered.
Have you been called out at work recently for slacking? Have you lost the desire to do a good job?
Make sure to ask yourself difficult questions.
“Burnout occurs when an individual has experienced prolonged demands, chronic stress, fatigue, a lack of support, and a decrease in satisfaction in what they are doing.”
― Asa Don Brown
Am I feeling a loss of connection to my work?
The majority of us who are working our desired job have a connection to our work.
However, when you are experiencing burnout you slowly stop feeling that connection.
You once felt connected to the purpose of your job and the daily tasks that you accomplished and now you don’t.
Do you feel that you have lost that connection?
How is my physical health been recent?
Your physical health is a large indicator that one might be experiencing burnout!
The healthiest people come down with a cold every other week.
The stress that comes with burnout shocks your immune system. Have you been feeling under the weather for some time now?
Burnout is real! Let's not avoid the acceptance phase of the healing process. We have to start somewhere, and I hope that reading this article was your first step.
Mental Health Resources