What is Burnout?
A topic that has been coming up more and more in my practice is people suffering from varying degrees of burnout. Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress (CAMH, 2023). The feeling of burnout can have a big impact in people’s lives. People’s burnout can be caused by their personal or professional lives.
I wanted to take some time to review some of the common symptoms that can show up in individuals experiencing burnout. Many people experience feelings of exhaustion, fatigue, disconnection, hopelessness, dis-satisfaction, resentment, and anger. Symptoms can also manifest physiologically. Some examples of this could be difficulty concentrating, headaches, brain fog, stomach issues, over or under sleeping, changes in appetite, and physical aches and pains. Burnout is something that can develop within the span of months but can take up to two years to recover from.
Burnout can be especially exacerbated when people are working in an environment where management doesn’t take their concerns and issues seriously. The story I hear time-and-time again is overworked front line staff who bring concerns to management and their concerns are belittled, brushed under the rug, or the solutions provided are inadequate. Some people may even experience backlash, such as reduced hours, being labeled as weak, or being singled out, for bringing up their concerns. The impacts of this leads staff to feel undervalued, under-appreciated and replaceable. have seen this repeated in both private and public sectors.
How Can I Cope with the Feelings of Burnout?
- The first thing that I assess during burnout is the person’s capacity to change their circumstances. This would be looking at more practical solutions such as finding a new job, moving to a new apartment, or taking some time off. The problem however is that many people do not have access to making these changes due to life circumstances. If people have any capacity to do these, we may look at taking small steps to move closer to change.
- Setting Boundaries: Another thing that needs to be explored is whether the person can set boundaries with their workplace or with the people in their lives. This may be not working overtime to get tasks completed, not taking on extra tasks outside of your job responsibilities and ensuring that you take scheduled breaks for lunch. People may experience guilt when they start to do these things, but it’s important to remember that it is not our sole responsibility to ensure that everything gets done in an organization. It is also the organizations responsibility to ensure that they have enough staff to complete all that needs to be done. In our personal life boundaries may look like turning your phone off at certain hours, turning down invites to events, or telling people you don’t have the capacity to listen to them right now.
- Self-Care: when experiencing burnout, it is vital to ensure that we are still prioritizing time and activities for ourselves. When exhaustion sets in, or multiple priorities are competing for our time and energy we tend to focus on taking time away from ourselves. Although this may be the easiest thing to cut out, overtime this will have an impact on us. Making sure what we watch our favourite TV shows, go to events that interest us, travel, get a massage or facial, learn skills, spend time with family, dye your hair, read the book, or anything else that makes you feel connected to yourself, and your life purpose is important to maintain. This is also important to help us separate our work selves from who we are. Sometimes these lines can blur together, but what we do at work is only a part of who we are. Also focusing on strategies that relax and calm us are important to include.
- Seek support: seeking support can look different to everyone. This could involve have a work bestie who understands what you are going through. This could involve family and friends who support you through this tough time and force you into taking care of yourself. This may involve more professional supports like a doctor or therapist who can help you process these feelings. For some people this may be more extreme like taking a leave of absence from work to heal from what is happening to us. Many people feel like they do not “deserve” a leave, or this makes them a “weak person”, but many times the best way to heal is taking this time off. A therapist can also help you work through some of this guilt and shame for having these feelings of burnout. Some therapists even specialize in treating burnout.
These are just a few of the many steps that can be taken to heal from burnout. Although this can be a long process, it will be worth the journey to feel more connected and present. Please share some of your strategies for coping with burnout below!
Canadian Association of Mental Health. (2023). Career Burnout [Review of Career Burnout]. Www.camh.ca. https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/career-burnout#:~:text=Burnout%20is%20a%20state%20of,and%20other%20aspects%20of%20life.