What is Burnout? (And What it Isn’t)
What does burnout really mean? Has it just become a new way to say I’m tired?
No…and yes.
Burnout is chronic workplace stress. It is often is comprised of feeling
Emotional exhaustion
depersonalization and/or cynicism
A reduced sense of personal accomplishment
Burnout is information.
When you are feeling burned out, your nervous system is telling you there is a fundamental mismatch between your workplace and what your mind and body need to sustain, care for yourself, and feel whole.
Burnout is about feeling stuck.
When confronted with a stressor, our bodies naturally go into the fight-flight-freeze mode. And this works great when we are running from tigers, but not so great at the office.
When we face a stressor at work (deadline, staffing shortages, difficult decisions), our stress levels increase to give the energy and attention that stressor needs. But then, once the stressor is resolved, it doesn’t necessarily mean the stress levels in your body go down.
This means the stress just sits in your body.
When stress has nowhere to go, your body gets stuck in chronic stress mode, which has a lot of health and mental health consequences.
Burnout is not your fault.
Burnout is often blamed on the individual- you need to take care of yourself more and have more work/life balance.
Sure, that sounds great. But when your schedule, work demands, and stress levels follow you everywhere you go, it can be hard to just turn it off in the name of work/life balance.
That’s because…
Burnout is a systemic issue
Burnout is often a product of the way a workplace is structured and operates.
Whether it is a fast paced environment that leaves your body feeling depleted or work emails dinging on your phone after hours so you can never fully rest, how work expectations and culture is managed has a huge impact on how your body responds to stress.
To really address burnout, there needs to be meaningful change in workplace culture, organizational systems, and expectations to support employees in managing their stress healthy ways.
Burnout isn’t fixed through a vacation.
Even though burnout is a systemic issue, there are ways we can individually support our nervous systems to manage stress and heal from burnout.
It just doesn’t often happen in a one week vacation.
Don’t get me wrong, we should all be taking vacations much more than we are- and taking time away can absolutely be helpful. It just doesn’t fix the issue completely.
Think more about what we do on vacation- rest, breathe, enjoy our environments, and spend time with our people.
These are the things that help our bodies recover from burnout.
And yes, doing them on a vacation is wonderful. But engaging in these burnout management strategies in your day to day life is really how to begin healing from burnout.
A Gentle Reminder
Burnout is the effects of chronic workplace stress. People who experience burnout usually feel exhausted, disconnected from their work and others, and have a reduced sense of accomplishment. These symptoms can start to create anxiety and depression when left unaddressed.
Burnout is not your fault. It happens because you have been trying to do your best work in an unsupportive system for too long. Taking breaks, holding boundaries around your work day, and spending time in nature are all ways we can help our bodies heal from burnout.
If you’re looking for burnout therapy in Connecticut or Massachusetts, Partners in Change Therapy and Consulting, LLC offers in-person therapy in Southington, CT and online therapy across Connecticut and Massachusetts. You can schedule afree 20 minute consultation, so we can talk about what’s going on and what kind of support might feel helpful- now or in the future.
Your Questions, Answered
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Burnout is your body’s response to prolonged stress, so there are often mental health effects when a person has been feeling burned out for too long. Burnout is highly linked to anxiety and depression. It also has been correlated to poor sleep- meaning either too much sleep or too little sleep.
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No. Stress and burnout are related, but they are not the same thing. Stress is a normal response to challenges. Stress can even be good for you at times and in small doses- it is what activates us to get things done.
Burnout is associated with chronic workplace stress and can involve emotional exhaustion, increased cynicism and depersonalization from your work, and reduced feelings of effectiveness.
You can experience stress without developing burnout. Burnout tends to develop when stressful conditions continue over time without healing or meaningful change.
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No.
Burnout is not a sign that you are weak, lazy, or bad at managing your life.
While coping strategies and self-care can be helpful, burnout is shaped by the conditions around you. Understanding both the individual and systemic factors contributing to burnout can help you determine what changes are needed.
