You’re burning out, sweetie, not lazy.
We have encouraged this toxic culture of dopamine feeling that comes with achieving several things at the same time.
Social media isn’t helping either. Every day, we scroll through our Instagram feed and see people living their best lives. We work tirelessly all the time to achieve a certain height or to solve never-ending problems. The world moves at a very fast pace, sometimes so fast that we often forget to take a breath.
Unfortunately, your body is not a machine. It needs rest and a pat on the back. On such days when you don’t feel like doing anything at all, there is this gnawing guilt that eats you up. It reminds you of the truckload of work that you haven’t done, or the plans you haven’t laid out.
Know this: your body isn’t avoiding work. You’re burning out and your body needs rest.
How do you know you’re burning out?
Burnout is a condition where you’re physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted. This is often caused by prolonged stress. We tend to overwork our bodies till we’re almost at breaking point. In those moments, you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet demands as you used to.
Once you ignore your body’s initial signs of burnout, you begin to lose motivation and start feeling resentful about everything. The repercussion of burnout is that this de-motivation spills into every area of your life- from your family, work, to your social activities. It takes a toll on your productivity.
Signs That You’re Burning Out (And Probably Ignoring)
While this is not a psychologically diagnosable illness, there are certain signs that indicate that you’re experiencing burnout. Some of these signs include:
You’re always exhausted
This is one of the first signs of burnout. No, this is not one of the times you had a long day and probably feel tired. You literally feel tired every second of the day. This exhaustion is not just physical. It can be mental and emotional.
You feel tired to go to places or events you normally go to. Normal activities you carry out become burdensome for you. Plus, you start overreacting to issues you’d normally let slide. It’s as though all the energy you have has been completely spent. Once this becomes recurring, you’re burning out and you need to seek help.
You harbor negative emotions
When you find yourself constantly frustrated, doubting yourself, feeling cynical, or being emotionally flooded, you’re clearly burning out. Burnout makes us emotionally vulnerable. You begin to question every action, the need for such actions to take place. You may also feel like what you’re doing isn’t important.
Now, don’t get this wrong. Life is not all chocolates and ice cream. There are times we will face difficulties in our lives and harbor negative emotions for a season. But if this becomes a pattern for you, you’re probably burning out. Flooding your mind with negative emotions may damage your self-esteem in the long run.
You barely take care of yourself
People often don’t realize that they’re burning out in the initial stages. They try to cope with the excessive stress by indulging in bad behaviors like not getting enough exercise, getting little sleep, drinking little amounts of water, and eating junk food. They may even delve into drinking too much alcohol and smoking.
Once the burnout gets intense, they may resort to self-medication. They wouldn’t be able to sleep without taking pills and then damage their physical health. If you realize that you’re indulging in negative bad habits or generally not interested in how you look, you’re burning out. Retrace your steps.
You become demotivated
Burnout makes you lose interest in things that you’d normally do with joy and happiness. There are certain points in our lives when the work we do loses meaning mostly due to negative experiences.
So, it’s okay to feel dodgy about your work once in a while. It’s in such moments that we become more self-aware and reignite the passion we have for our work again (or even switch). However, if this prolongs, you’re clearly burning out.
Burnout makes us feel less enthusiastic about our work because we’re mentally exhausted. You find it increasingly difficult to get up for work every morning.
You’re not happy
No one is happy when their physical, mental, and emotional states are distorted. Burnout generally leads to decreased satisfaction and lack of personal fulfillment.
You feel unhappy that you’re unproductive at work, but you can’t find the strength to do the work. Your presence at home isn’t felt because you’re always tired, but you can’t relate to anyone. You wouldn’t even be able to visit your friends and family. Every aspect of your life is affected, but there seems to be little to nothing you can do about it at that point. Of course, happiness will evade your life.
Slight cognitive issues
Burnout can affect our cognitive functions. When we’re excessively stressed, it becomes difficult to focus on important things. Your attention to things dwindles significantly. This stress causes us to focus on the negative aspects of our lives that threaten our sense of self.
This is why we find it hard to focus at work, but we notice that the plates aren’t arranged properly, or there is a little splash of water on the floor that hasn’t been cleaned yet. We lash out at these slight offenses; at the things we’d originally ignored or treated with less outrage.
This state can hinder our ability to make accurate decisions or solve problems.
Thinking of work outside work
Burnout makes you have misplaced priorities. You may find it hard to concentrate or focus on your work during work hours. Then, you may find yourself constantly thinking about your work after work hours. This prevents you from getting adequate rest and recovering from the day’s hecticness.
Understand that life is about balance. You can’t be mulling over work all the time. It takes the time you’d have used to rest and think about other aspects of your life. Focus when you’re at work, and focus on other things after work. Behave like the Romans when you’re in Rome, they say.
Your job performance suffers
This is one of the surest ways to see the devastating effects of burnout. You’d find yourself putting in so many hours at work, but it never seems like you’re meeting up. Your job performance suffers because you’re tired in every regard. Your inability to focus on work pushes you to make inaccurate decisions. In most cases, your relationship with your colleagues and client suffers.
Gauge your job performance in previous years and now. You’d clearly see the difference. The level of your decreased performance will determine whether it’s a temporary situation or a chronic problem.
Severe procrastination
Procrastination is one of the commonest ways that people deal with stress, but they don’t know it. In her popular TED talk, The Only Way to Stop Procrastinating, Mel Robbins explains that people procrastinate not because they’re lazy, but because they’re stressed. Their work seems so overwhelming, so they keep pushing it further till it gets too late.
If you find yourself constantly procrastinating things that you’d have done quickly, especially when you have nothing else to do at the moment, you’re burning out. Your body is responding to the stress. Understand that the more time you have, the less work is done.
Health challenges
Burnout and chronic stress can weaken your immune system. This makes you susceptible to chronic health challenges over a period. It can make you develop severe digestive problems and cardiovascular diseases. Emotionally, it can lead to depression.
Research has shown that there is a very clear relationship between burnout and depression/anxiety. Most people who are dealing with chronic stress tend to feel depressed and anxious about everything. This leads to the random shortsighted outbursts they let out.
Can it also lead to obesity? Yes. Most people tend to eat too much to cope with stress, so you may add more weight than necessary if you don’t curtail it.
Relational Problems at Home or Work
Burnout can make us have relational problems at work. This can work out in two ways. Most people tend to withdraw from others when they’re burning out. They don’t talk to anyone or visit people. They barely attend events like they used to. It almost seems as though they’re hiding from people. In most cases, you might even be present in a room but your presence isn’t felt. You’ve zoned out.
On the other hand, you start having issues with your family members or colleagues. You begin to overreact to things you’d have usually ignored.
Sense of failure
Burnout can make you feel like a failure. As mentioned earlier, you start doubting the relevance of the things you’re doing, not just at work but also in your family. You begin to question your identity and relevance. This may take a toll on your self-esteem.
What can be done when you’re burning out?
Sleep more
Forget the thousands of motivational videos that tell you to sleep for less than six hours to become a millionaire. Sleep does wonders for our body, but it’s highly underrated. Our body becomes more susceptible to burnout when we sleep for less than six to seven hours daily. It makes us tired and prone to depression and anxiety. Sleep more and your body will thank you.
Relax more often
Burnout occurs due to chronic stress. We end up taking more work than necessary and our body shuts down in protest. When you’re experiencing burnout, take relaxation and rest more seriously. If you’re an introvert, there are several introverted activities that you can rely on. If you’re extroverted, take time to visit friends and family members.
Have a life outside work
It’s easy to get burned out when our life revolves around work. Once work becomes hectic or too demanding, it takes a toll on our mental health. Find something outside of work that you’re passionate about. Advocate for a cause or volunteer somewhere. Better still, find fun activities to do with your family.
Organize your life
When people are burnt out, they forget things they’re supposed to do or fail to carry out certain tasks. One sure way to prevent burnout is to organize yourself. Have a clear plan for your day. Write a to-do list and carry a note everywhere you go. That way, you have a clear idea of what needs to be done.
Seek professional help
As mentioned earlier, one way to know the impact of burnout is to gauge your work productivity. If it has declined tremendously and you have tried to help yourself but to no avail, seek professional help. A professional therapist can help you to get to the root of the problem and start the recovery journey.
