Do you feel like you are doing too much? Do you feel like you have said yes to too many things and now are struggling to get everything done? Do you feel like you are neglecting your social life or your work life? Do you feel so exhausted that you are no longer giving your all or no longer care? You may be suffering from burnout.
Burnout is when someone is experiencing emotional, physical, and psychological exhaustion, which comes from prolonged and extreme stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, unable to meet constant demands, and emotionally drained. Imagine you work full-time, you are also a student, and maybe you are a parent as well. You take on more responsibilities and say yes to extra activities. Next thing you know, your schedule is completely full, and you have constant deadlines to meet and dozens of obligations – all while trying to keep yourself healthy and spend time with loved ones. At some point, it is all going to start piling up; your workload may start to become too much to handle, and you are tired all the time.
There are five stages of burnout:
- The Honeymoon Phase. You take on a new task. Maybe it’s a project for work. Maybe you decide to become a graduate assistant. Maybe you have a side hustle that you really wanted to do. You start to feel a strong sense of satisfaction, commitment, and energy. This is the first phase of burnout.
- Onset of Stress. This is the second phase of burnout. You may start to notice now that some days are easier than others. The stress starts to build up, as well as the beginnings of anxiety, irritability, fatigue, and more. You may start to notice now that taking upon a lot of tasks, coupled with the many responsibilities that you have to do, is giving you a lot of work. Your excitement starts to dwindle.
- Chronic Stress. Phase three brings a major change in your stress levels. You may now start experiencing frequent and high levels of stress. This can also include symptoms of chronic exhaustion, denial of problems at work or at home, decreased sexual desire, lack of hobbies, and more.
- Burnout. This is the stage where burnout starts to become critical. This is when you start to experience symptoms such as behavioral changes, chronic headaches, neglecting personal needs, feeling empty inside, desire to “drop out” of society, self-isolation, and more.
- Habitual Burnout. This is the last stage. This is when burnout becomes so embedded into your life that you experience significant physical and emotional issues. These symptoms include, chronic mental fatigue, chronic physical fatigue, chronic sadness, and even depression.
Burnout is something to take very seriously. Not only will you just feel tired and stressed, but you will also no longer feel like yourself and will want to escape. It is important to take care of yourself and know your limits.
