Coping with Burnout

Common Causes of Burnout

Perfectionism: 

• A perfectionist continually focuses on what needs to be improved, rather than what has been accomplished. When this becomes your focus, you may never feel that you have succeeded at anything.
   

Never-ending tasks: 

• Never-ending tasks describe work that appears to lack both a beginning and end. This can lead you to feel as if you have no closure, and therefore have not completed anything.
   

Work overload: 

• Work overload is when you have more work to do than you can complete in a given amount of time. When you operate this way, you set yourself up for failure.

Impossible tasks: 

• Impossible tasks suggest that you are physically unable to do something you may feel you should be able to do. If you believe that you should be able to do something that you cannot do, you may automatically feel like you have failed. It is a no-win situation.
   

Multiple roles: 

• Many of us play a number of important roles in our lives, such as wife/husband, mother/father, caregiver and breadwinner. It is easy to feel overwhelmed when you are trying to play multiple roles in our lives.
   

Self-sacrifice: 

• Self-sacrifice occurs when we agree to take on certain tasks despite our true desire to complete them. When we continually agree to things that we would rather not do, we inevitably become resentful.
   

Unspoken feelings: 

• Any emotion that is unexpressed creates "blocks" in your ability to complete tasks and to function in relationships. If you do not speak about how you are truly feeling in a situation, those emotions surface in other, unproductive ways such as being chronically late, frequently forgetting things or reacting in ways that are inappropriate to the situation.
   
   

Common Symptoms of Burnout

It is important to remember that you are not alone in your experiences with burnout. At some point in time, it is likely that you will experience one or more of the following symptoms:
 

"Negative" emotions: 

• "Negative" emotions are the feelings that are often the least comfortable to feel.
• One symptom of burnout is consistent "negative" feelings such as anger, anxiety, dissatisfaction and guilt.
   

Interpersonal problems:

• You might experience conflict with others in the form of emotional outbursts, overreacting, hostility and withdrawal.
   

Health Problems: 

• Some common health problems associated with burnout are frequent insomnia, fatigue, headaches, backaches, lethargy and high blood pressure.
   

Poor performance: 

• You may become less productive due to boredom, lack of enthusiasm, feelings of fear or an inability to concentrate.
   

Substance abuse: 

• Another symptom of burnout is a marked increase in the consumption of alcohol and/or other drugs, cigarette smoking, caffeine and food.
   

Workaholism: 

• You might be inclined to work more hours due to feelings of inadequacy, believing that the more you work, the better you will feel.
   

Depression: 

• Depression is the suppression of emotions. If you notice an overall feeling of hopelessness and meaninglessness, you may be depressed.
   

Loss of self-esteem: 

• Simply stated, the loss of self-esteem equals a decrease in self-confidence.

Solutions in dealing with Burnout

Once you become more aware of why a person can experience burnout, and the various ways burnout manifests itself, you can begin to focus on ways to guard against it. It is time to develop a plan of action!
 

Take care of yourself: 

• Regularly feed your body nutritious foods
• Get sufficient rest
• Exercise routinely
• Pay attention to your body's signals of stress

Practice stress-reducing strategies: 

• Breathing exercises
• Yoga
• Progressive relaxation techniques
• Massage
• Meditation
• Tai chi

Develop a strong support system: 

• Surround yourself with friends/family with whom you feel supported
• Attend a support group where you can share your concerns & feelings
• Create a support /discussion group at work where you can share your concerns, while being willing to talk about your part in the problem and the solution
• Utilize your company's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to receive support/counseling or referrals for services that can assist you
• See a counselor or therapist if you are in need of more extensive mental health support

Create a fulfilling life: 

• Make conscious decisions about how you want to spend your time.
• Say "yes" to what you want to say "yes" to, and say "no" to what you want to say "no" to.
• Acknowledge your priorities and actively build your life around them.

The key to avoiding burnout is to continually seek balance in your life. The more informed you are about our own issues with burnout, the better armed you will be to take care of yourself. Consequently, the better job you do of taking care of your own needs, the more you can be physically, mentally, and emotionally available to those around you.