It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or what you do for a living – whether you’re a stay-at-home-mom, emergency room doctor, librarian or teacher – we’ve all been exposed to the concept of burnout at some point or another.
Unfortunately, therapists aren’t some how magically exempt from the occurrence of burnout.
I don’t know if it was just me but every time I used to think of burnout, I envisioned a big, scary monstrous event where my whole world came crashing down. An event categorized by excessive crying and an inability to get out of bed or participate in basic daily tasks. The idea of burnout to me was the equivalent to a total psychological breakdown crisis.
With that understanding in mind, there was no way I would ever experience burnout. Nope. Not me.
This is the same distorted perception that lead me to continuously struggle throughout my entire university career and in the beginning stages of starting my private practice. I can distinctly remember many instances of emotional and psychical exhaustion, feelings of being overwhelmed or unmotivated and yet all I still told myself to push through, that nothing was wrong. Everyone goes through this, right?
In there lies a problem – society has normalized the concept of excessive productivity and whole-heartedly embraced the ‘go go go’ attitude that pushes people to their very limits. Looking back at my university experience, I now recognize just how much I too had embraced this mentality – I just had to push through. It is only now looking back, with more education and a better understanding of what balance looks like, that I recognize that what I had experienced throughout my seven years of post-secondary education was, in fact, burnout.
Now, what actually is burnout?
Like so many mental health concerns, burnout isn’t going to look the same for everyone. It isn’t one-size-fits-all, per say.
Different Signs and Symptoms of Burnout can include
1. Alienation from work related activities: Increase stress and frustration at work or emotionally distancing from work and beginning to feel numb.
2. Physical symptoms: Head aches, migraines, tension, stomach aches or intestinal issues.
3. Emotional Exhaustion: Feeling drained, unable to cope, tired or a lack of energy to get work done.
4. Reduced performance: Burnout can affect daily tasks both at work or in the home. You might feel negative about tasks, have difficulty concentrating or lack creativity.
What can cause burnout?
It’s hard to pinpoint specific causes of burnout because truthfully, it depends on the person and the situation. However, here are some factors that could increase the likelihood of experiencing burnout. Are you experiencing any of these?
1. Unreasonable time pressures
2. Lack of communication or support
3. Lack of role clarity
4. Excessive workload
5. Work-life imbalance
I think many of us can resonate with some of these influencing factors as well as the symptoms and signs. I do believe that burnout is something that all individuals can easily be exposed to, especially if we aren’t cautious and honest with ourselves when we begin to feel overwhelmed or overloaded.
With that, what can we do to prevent burnout?
The main preventative factor associated with avoiding burnout is implementing healthy self-care strategies like eating a healthy diet, getting lots of exercise and healthy levels of sleep. Finding ways to effectively manage stress such as yoga, meditation, or other relaxing, soothing activities is critical. Further, we need to take breaks, Whether that means breaks at work, total vacations or breaks from your computer, social media or emails – we all need time to disconnect.
Be Honest with yourself. If you are experiencing serious signs of burnout, you may need to make a lifestyle adjustment such as reducing work hours, taking on a new position or making adjustments to your home life. Additionally, it may be time to seek professional help from your doctor or a licensed therapist.
So what does this mean?
For those of us who love to be productive, who always want to be busy and who don’t know our own limits, and even for those of us who are going through a lot, have lots of priorities and a busy schedule – this is your reminder to look after yourself and to watch for the signs of symptoms that you might be entering the burnout zone. Burnout isn’t just total psychological breakdown – we don’t have to wait until things are at total breakdown state to take preventative action.
If you don’t take time to prioritize your mental health, you will be forced to take time to prioritize your mental illness.