Burnout: Everything You Need to Know About Its Causes

The mundaneness of the day job suddenly hits you. You keep on going to work because someone has to pay the bills? But you can’t concentrate on anything at work. Whatever you choose to focus on becomes blurry. You can’t help but think, “this is not me. I feel so bleh”. Congratulations - you have successfully burnt out.

Burnout is a state of complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion caused by chronic workplace stress. Because of this, people can feel overwhelmed, hopeless, and cynical and might find it hard to work and maintain relationships.

Well, burnouts are more common than you’d like to think, and they happen to everyone at some point or another. It occurs when we go through too much emotional, physical and mental chronic fatigue for a long time. In most cases, burnout is job-related. However, it can also occur in other areas of your life and impact your health.

Stress causes burnout, but it is not the same. Stress happens from too much mental and physical pressure. Burnout happens because of too little. Too little emotion, care or motivation. Because of stress, you feel overwhelmed, and because of burnout, you feel depleted and completely spent.

It is important at the outset to distinguish between symptoms of burnout and depression, which is why a professional diagnosis is paramount. Depression is a medical illness that requires medication or therapy. Depression impacts every part of your life. If you are burnt out and do not seek treatment, you are at higher risk of getting depressed.

You don’t experience burnout suddenly. They develop over time, and it is difficult to realise that right off the bat. Two psychologists, Gail North and Herbert Freudenberger, coined 12 stages of burnout.

A constant need to prove yourself - This is the first stage of burnout, during which you chase perfectionism. Your worth is constantly questioned, and you are in this constant struggle to prove yourself every day.

Working harder - You are consumed with the need to do everything yourself and finish tasks as quickly as possible. You are the only one burning the midnight fuel at the office, and you have more on your plate than you can possibly handle.

Neglecting your needs -You begin to think that work stress or other issues like feeling lost are normal. You start neglecting your social life and judge others who have one. You feel your responsibilities are towering over you, and you have to fight the will to take breaks.

Interpersonal conflicts - You square off with your co-workers, friends or partner. Your sleep cycle goes for a toss, and you start having physical complaints. You might also become forgetful.

Revision of values - You begin to see things differently. You somehow forget friends and family when it comes to your goal.

Denial - Your performance goes down the drain, and you begin experiencing physical discomfort. But you feel you have to perform at the same level every day. You cannot accept a drop in your performance, so you try even harder.

Withdrawal - In this stage, dealing with others feels burdensome. You act prickly if someone criticises you, and you might feel helpless and disoriented. You want to prove your worth by overdoing it.

Behavioural changes - During this stage, you become apathetic, and nothing matters. You also begin to avoid additional responsibilities.

Depersonalisation - You begin to lose your sense of identity, seeing yourself as only the vessel through which work and responsibilities are completed. Your life appears meaningless, and you start neglecting your health.

Feeling empty - This is when exhaustion, anxiety and panic set in. You might feel like consulting someone about this, but then it suddenly doesn’t seem worth it.

Despair - This is when feelings of self-loathing or depression creep in, together with suicidal thoughts.

Complete burnout - This is the last phase - emotional exhaustion and mental collapse occur at this stage, and you need immediate care.

Self-care - The best way to avoid burnout is to practise self-care. Take care of yourself at the office and at home. If you can’t squeeze all this into your packed schedule, take a week off to assess just how you’ve been spending your time.

Change your perspective - While rest, relaxation, and replenishment can help with exhaustion and cynicism and improve efficiency, they don’t actually tackle the root causes of burnout. If you go back to work, you might still face the same impossible workload, paltry resources, or conflicts that have no end.

Change your perspective and buffer the negative impact that inflexible aspects can have. Can you reshape your job and get more control or focus on more fulfilling tasks? If you are cynical, can you protect yourself from those parts of the organisation that frustrate you? Is it possible to build positive, supportive relationships to combat those that drain you?

Bring down exposure to job stressors - You might need to reset the expectations that colleagues, clients and family members have. You might push back. However, everyone involved must know that you’re doing this to boost your long-term productivity and to safeguard your health.

Look for connections - Look around you. Others in your office might be suffering as well. If you link up with others suffering from the same thing, you might get help sooner. Getting help sooner would mean dealing with your burnout even earlier than expected.

Meditate, meditate, meditate - Before you medicate, meditate. This 5-minute activity can give you so much peace of mind that you might ask yourself, “Is this really me?” You can cultivate mindfulness and awareness, learn to concentrate on and redirect thoughts, anchor yourself in the present moment, bring down your stress, and improve your emotional well-being and overall health.

Exercise - There isn’t one mood in our range of emotions today that a good workout does not affect. You might start small, but start somewhere. Visit a nearby gym and speak to the in-house trainer about your fitness goals. Exercising can help you torch fat, increase your heart rate, build strength and endurance, and also improve your mood and mental health. If you choose to exercise outside with others, it can even improve your well-being. Start off with some aerobic exercises, squats and lunges before you move on to the more complex stuff.

In conclusion, no matter why burnout occurs, it is important to move beyond it and regain your mental health. Whether you do that by exercising, meditating, looking for connections, changing your perspective or self-care, your journey should be unique to yourself.

Remember - we are all human, and burnout is a part of our lives - so you must not fret. However, you need to take active steps to redress the burnout because it isn’t going to disappear on its own. You have to be actively involved in changing your lifestyle for the better because if you don’t, who will? Don’t let that burnout get you down. Fight, and reclaim your life.