Burnout Has Stages: Which One Are You In?
Catching things early makes all the difference in burnout recovery
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Are you feeling the crushing weight of work and life on your shoulders?
Are you easily irritated?
Do you find it hard to focus at work?
Or…maybe your mind is spinning with the decisions you have to make and the tasks you have to do. (If it were possible, smoke would be jetting out of your ears.)
On top of that, you have this sense of soul-crushing tiredness where each day feels like a long journey with no end. Then you lay down to sleep at night, only to lie awake with anxious thoughts endlessly circling in your brain.
This is what burnout feels like. If these feelings are familiar, you could be experiencing them yourself. Know that you’re not alone, especially in recent years. Online searches for ‘signs of burnout’ showed a 24% increase throughout 2020 compared to the previous year.
Burnout, especially in the workplace, is becoming more common. Approximately two-thirds of full-time employees report experiencing burnout during their careers. Additionally, women are more likely to experience burnout with 32% reporting they were consistently burned out in the workplace, while 28% of men reported feeling burned out.
What Is Burnout — And How Do I Know If I Have It?
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is linked to the workplace. They define burnout as”…a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
They go on to note that there are three dimensions to burnout:
-feeling exhausted or lacking energy
-feeling mentally distanced or having negative feelings toward your job
-reduced ability to perform and succeed at your job
Beyond these dimensions, there are multiple stages of burnout. Understanding where you fall in these stages (if you find yourself relating to the above) can better help you recover and care for yourself while avoiding additional issues from letting things run unchecked.
