Burnout: The Silent Crisis We’re All Ignoring

“Just push through it”, “Resting is a sign of laziness”, “Rest is for the weak”, “If you have that kind of free time, you’re obviously not being productive enough”.  Do any of these sound familiar? 

In a world obsessed with productivity and earnings, burnout has become the quiet epidemic that few want to talk about or own up to, but almost everyone experiences at some point or another.  It hides behind phrases like “I’m just tired”, or “Things are just hectic right now.”  But burnout is not just about being busy, it’s about being drained – emotionally, physically, and mentally, to the point where even the smallest of tasks feels nearly impossible. 

So, What is Burnout?

According to the World Health Organization, burnout is “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”.  But burnout is not limited to the workplace.  It can affect anyone who gives more than they replenish and can even be brought on by living a life that is misaligned to who you are, to what your true needs are, to your values, to your purpose, and even to your expectations. 

There is also a well-established link between burnout and anxiety.  Chronic stress from burnout may overstimulate the nervous system, making a person more prone to anxiety, and the constant worrying or perfectionism common in anxiety can increase the mental load, pushing us to work even harder and accelerating emotional exhaustion.  In other words, burnout increases anxiety, and anxiety makes burnout harder to recover from, creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop.

The Fallout of Burnout

Typically, burnout shows up in 3 forms:

1. Exhaustion - That type of exhaustion that no matter how muc you rest, you feel empty and depleted.

2. Cynicism – You feel detached, irritable and/or indifferent.

3. Inefficacy - The feeling of reduced personal accomplishment or effectiveness, regardless of your success.

And here is the thing – ignoring burnout does NOT make it go away.  In fact, when left unattended it gets worse and shows up in a variety of other emotional and physical symptoms just trying to get your attention.

Emotional Symptoms:

• Chronic fatigue - Long term exhaustion that leaves you feeling drained even after long periods of rest.

• Detachment - Feeling disconnected or wanting to be disconnected from people and things in your life that are important to you.

• Loss of motivation - Experiencing a significant decrease in drive, willingness, or enthusiasm to engage in activities - even ones you find important or used to enjoy.

• Irritability – Getting frustrated or angry easily.

• Feelings of helplessness or hopelessness - Feeling like nothing you do makes a difference or makes you happy.

• Decreased satisfaction – No joy or sense of accomplishment.

  
  

Physical symptoms:

• Sleep disturbances – Trouble falling or staying asleep or sleeping too much.

• Frequent illness - This type of stress can weaken our immune system leading to more colds, flus and infections.

• Headache or muscle pain – Especially tension related.

• Changes in appetite – Eating much more or less than usual.

• Gastrointestinal issues – Stomach aches, nausea, or increased indigestion.

Recovering From Burnout

The good news is that burnout is both treatable and reversible, but to be successful at this, it is important to set out realistic expectations.   Recovering from burnout takes time, practice, honesty, and often help, but here are some places to start:

1. Rest is a requirement, not a reward. Take real breaks. Not scrolling on your phone breaks or breaks that involve other work, but real rest your brain and body breaks. Sleep. Unplug. Sit in silence. Find gentle movement. Connect to nature. Listen to music. These things matter and are true medicine.

2. Set boundaries and keep them. Protect yourself and your time.  Be honest and say no to what you just can’t do or what will deplete you in those moments.  Block off hours where you are unavailable to EVERYTHING – even work.

3. Re-evaluate your why. As I mentioned earlier, burnout often stems from doing things that are out of alignment from your values, who you are, and what your needs are.  Many of us are taught that it is selfish to think about our own needs or put our own needs first.  We get sucked into things or ways of being out of guilt and shame around what others might think.  We believe that our choices must be permanent at all costs – even the cost of happiness and/or well-being.  This simply is not the case.  Ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing.  Be honest with yourself about what you are doing and whether it is sustainable and at what cost.  Yes, it can be daunting and difficult to make the changes to help you excel, but aren’t you worth it?

4. Schedule in joyful and meaningful activities. Every day – regardless of what is going on.  They say that it takes 5 positive moments to even out 1 negative one.  Read that again.  These activities do not need to be time consuming they just need to be done with intention.  Notice the things you GET to do rather than the things you have to do.  When you get into the shower, take a moment to notice the water washing away the sludge and reviving you.  Make the effort to take the time to notice and taste the food you are eating.  Start a gratitude practice where you make a point of noticing the things you can be grateful for, even amongst the chaos – they are always there when we can allow ourselves to see them.

5. Find and make a list of tools that are helpful. When we aren’t feeling our best, it is easy to forget what works.  Finding the tools that work for you and then writing them down to pull from if we need to at a later date can be very helpful.  There are so many things that can help us during times of burnout like reassessing what is most important to us at that specific time in our life, journalling to sort through our thoughts and emotions, using meditation to slow us down or mindfulness practices to ground us, using apps that can help us to breakdown tasks into smaller pieces, setting timers for taking proper breaks, just to name a few.

6. Recognizing the early signs. Whether it is the beginning stages of feeling lack of enjoyment, feeling overly tired or irritable…. whether it is a physical sensation in our bodies or the notice of ailments and aches and pains, there are warning signs that are often there for a great deal of time before we notice them.  It is much easier to make smaller tweaks along the way than to revamp a whole system.  When we can catch that burnout or those misalignments at an earlier stage, typically it is an easier and less time-consuming task to correct it. 

7. Talk to Someone. Be it a therapist, a friend, a trusted family member, or a mentor.  Burnout thrives in isolation.  Connection can help restore perspective and promote easier healing.

Final Thoughts

Whether you like it or not, you are not a machine.  You are a living breathing human being, and none of us have a never-ending supply of energy.  When burnout happens, it does not mean you are failing.  It is your bodies way of telling you that you are running on empty and there are some changes that need to be made in order to continue living your best life possible.  When we don’t listen, the universe will speak louder, and the longer it takes us to listen, the harsher the consequences.  The secret to a good life is not how much you produce, but how well you live.

Give yourself permission to pause.

Give yourself permission to have needs and to fulfill them.

Give yourself permission to make the changes you need to make.

Give yourself permission to know yourself.

Give yourself permission to take care of yourself.

Give yourself permission to heal.

Give yourself permission to start anew.

If this post resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too.  And if you’re experiencing burnout tight now, know you are not alone.  Help exists, and you are worth it.