What is Burnout?

It's 3pm, work is piling up, a headache is threatening to bloom, random muscle aches twinge from time to time and the only thing harder than not falling asleep is getting a good nights' sleep - sound familiar? If so you could be dealing with burnout. In 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized burnout as an occupational phenomenon, but it's not just the working population that has to deal with this. Burnout is becoming increasingly common in high school students and even young children. Faced with mounting academic workloads and restricted by the pandemic, children have had less time to decompress and far fewer opportunities to socialize with other kids their age. As such, it has never been more important to understand burnout, spot its symptoms, and prevent it from taking root.

What is Burnout?

Burnout is exhaustion. It's really that simple - burnout is a form of mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion that is caused by prolonged stress, overwork, or under-stimulation. There are three main kinds of burnout:

1) Overload Burnout

Overload burnout is most commonly associated with the workplace but is also common amongst students. Caused by consistently working long hours with minimal downtime and rest, overload burnout is most common amongst students, professionals, and small business owners.

2) Under-Stimulation Burnout

Under-stimulation or under-challenged burnout occurs when people feel bored, unfulfilled, or underappreciated in their day-to-day life. Under stimulation can be just as damaging for our mental and emotional health as over-stimulation, and this can have a knock-on effect on physical health. This form of burnout is most common in those who work repetitive jobs or have rigid routines with little stimulation.

3) Neglect Burnout

Neglect burnout is less common than the other two and is primarily emotional in nature. This form of burnout most often occurs when we feel helpless, underappreciated, or have very low self-esteem. Burnout like this can be closely connected to imposter syndrome and mental health problems like anxiety and depression.

Symptoms of Burnout

Recognizing burnout is crucial if you want to maintain good mental and physical health. These are the symptoms of burnout or impending burnout:

• Exhaustion or fatigue
• Low motivation
• Irritability
• Depression
• Low self-esteem
• Headaches or migraines
• Muscle aches
• Excessive procrastination and inability to perform simple tasks
• Poor immune system/frequent breakouts
• Temper
• Acne breakouts
• Forgetfulness
• Flare-ups of pre-existing conditions
• Trouble sleeping

If you make no changes in the face of these symptoms, it can lead cumulative fatigue or mental and emtional breakdowns.

How to Deal with Burnout

What is the fastest way to cure burnout? That's a question many of us have asked, but the truth is that there is no quick way to fully undo the effects of prolonged burnout. Generally speaking there are two parts: dealing with the personal side effects of burnout, and dealing with the wider impacts. Unfortunately, burnout doesn't just impact how we feel - the symptoms can wreak havoc in our lives: missed deadlines, cancelled appointments, and mountains of unanswered texts and emails can make it hard to unwind.

Here's how to go about dealing with burnout:

1) Come Clean

The first thing you have to do is tell the people around you that you are having a hard time. Your boss, your co-workers, your friends and family; tell people that you are having trouble and let them know if you have fallen behind on your work or studies. This is the best way to begin the process of digging your way out.

2) Rest

While it can be tempted to put off resting until you catch up, but you will not be at your best before you take some time to rest and recuperate. The best way to progress is to deal with only the most essential tasks and then take some time to unwind. Sleep, see your friends, and do things that you enjoy.

3) Prioritize

Once you have had time to decompress, organize your outstanding work and tasks by urgency and importance. Focus on tasks that are directly related your health and wellbeing and those that are urgent.

4) Delegate

If any of the duties and tasks on your plate can be delegated, see that they are. Overcommittment is one of the biggest factors in burnout, and it will be a major obstacle to your ability to recover.

5) Catch-Up

Slowly work to bring yourself back up to date with your responsibilities. In an ideal world you could simply write off the things that have been weighing on you, but this is unlikely to be possible in most cases.

How to Prevent Burnout

As with so many things, prevention is the best weapon we have in the face of burnout. Spotting the signs when they arise and taking steps to evade burnout is useful, but the ideal situation is to prevent it by maintaining a good work-life balance. Therefore, you need to keep a few things in mind:

1) Guard Your Free Time

Drawing a line between your work and professional lives has never been more difficult, and yet it has never been more important. When you are off the clock, make sure you stay off the clock.

2) Rest and Rejuvinate Regularly

While there is a definite temptation to simply stay in bed when burnout strikes, this may not be the best choice. Taking time to spend time with friends and family, going to the movies, working out, or seeking out fun activities may stop you from staying in bed, but they can be restful in a different way.

The trick, when it comes to avoiding burnout, is to balanced your needs with the demands of the world, and while that sounds simple I know as well as anyone how tough it can be.