Burnout Signs and Symptoms

When was the last time you were stressed out about something? Was it a big deal or just something that caused a little bit of concern? Most of the time when we encounter stress, it gets handled without too much of a bother. You put the stressful situation behind you after taking some type of action.

Unfortunately, sometimes we are hit with stress over and over. It's our constant companion. When this happens, it's very easy to get burned out. People use that phrase a lot, and it refers to a mental breakdown that comes from physical, mental, or emotional exhaustion.

By the way, what may cause burnout in one person might not affect another person at all. So your feelings about what is beyond your ability to handle are relevant for you. Don't ever let anyone tell you that what you see as a high level of stress is nothing to be concerned about.

Ignoring burnout is what causes the biggest problems. Your body, mind, or emotions crash and simply can't function. You find it hard to do the simplest of things. Carrying on with normal life is borderline impossible. This is chronic stress to the extreme.

Here Are 5 Red Flags That Indicate Burnout Might Be at Work.

Remember what we just said. Your stress tolerance levels may be very different from those of someone else. Listen to your body. Embrace your emotions. Don't ignore potential problems because you think you might be able to just "tough it out."

Look for these 5 signs of burnout if you can't seem to escape stress in your life.

1.        You feel isolated, all alone.

2.        You are physically or emotionally exhausted.

3.        You constantly daydream about escape fantasies where you run away and live a fairytale life.

4.        You are constantly grumpy and irritable, sometimes to the point of emotional explosions or even physical attacks.

5.        You're sick all the time.

You could, of course, encounter one or two of these situations and not really have a problem. The issue arises when three or more of these signs of burnout are regularly present.

You should never be ashamed to consult a mental health professional. You rush to the emergency room if you suffer a serious injury, and leaving burnout untreated is the same thing as simply ignoring a broken leg or head trauma that would otherwise have you seeking medical attention.

Take burnout seriously. If you or someone you know can be described with the five burnout red flags we just discussed, take action. Do something today, not tomorrow. Burnout can lead to serious health problems if it's not addressed quickly.

A work stress study conducted in 2013 showed that a staggering 80% of employees felt stress while they were at work. That study, Attitudes in the American Workplace VII, also revealed other startling information. For example ...

·        Almost half of the respondents said they wish they could get help learning how to deal with stress on the job.

·        1 in 4 felt like shouting or screaming out loud because they were so stressed out.

·        18% (about 1 in 6) experienced verbal intimidation or a physical threat in the previous year.

·        14% (roughly 1 in 7) admitted that they felt like striking a coworker in the past year.

·        10% (1 in 10) were fearful of an individual at work, and believed that person could become violent.

What's going on here? Why are people so stressed out at work? For that matter, what can be done about it?

Now let's look at the good news.

There are simple techniques to lower your stress level. This means if your coworkers, your job itself, or some other issues are stressing you out in the workplace, there are steps you can take to prevent suffering from burnout.

By the way, what does burnout mean?

It's a phrase psychologist Herbert Freudenberger coined in the 1970s. Put simply, it describes stress (usually workplace-related) so severe that it leads to mental, emotional, and/or physical exhaustion, which then causes a mental breakdown.

This is unlike the normal stress of having a rapidly approaching deadline on the job. It's much more serious. Untreated, burnout has been linked to a greater risk of developing psychological illnesses, heart disease, and even diabetes.

What Can You Do About It?

Here are a few proven ways to prevent and treat workplace stress so it doesn't turn into full-fledged burnout.

·        Consult a human resources manager if possible.

·        Think about the situation when you are away from work. Are you causing the issue or making it worse in some way? Be honest with yourself. You can't treat a problem until you know where it originates.

·        Solve the problem that's causing stress. Sometimes you can come up with a solution that improves productivity, workplace morale, or employee interactions in such a way that it reduces stress for everyone.

·        Remove yourself from the environment. Ask for a transfer. Don't spend any unnecessary time with the people who are stressing you out.

·        Talk to your coworkers. Form a support network, compare notes, and then approach your boss with your concerns.

·        Exercise and eat right. Regular physical activity and healthy eating habits can dramatically lower your stress on the job, and at home.

If these burnout-busting tips don't help, you might consider getting a job with a different company. Sometimes you simply can't enjoy peace of mind in a particularly hostile workplace. Rather than constantly facing a stressful environment that threatens your emotional, mental, and physical health, put the situation behind you and move on.

Most people go through life without suffering from burnout. We all have stress and anxiety enter our lives. We deal with it and move on. That having been said, it's easy to let relentless stress sneak up on you. It is, in some cases, gradual and slow-moving. This makes it virtually invisible and easy to underestimate if it's noticed.

Think of it like a slowly dripping faucet.

Place a large container under that faucet, and you might believe it will take a very long time for you to fill up. Watch as the faucet slowly releases one drop of water at a time every few seconds.

The progress is so sloth-like that you decide to turn away. There are better things to do than spend the next few days of your life monitoring the progress. You can surely come back in plenty of time to empty the container and force the slowly dripping faucet to start all over from scratch in an attempt to fill it.

That's what you think, anyway. Upon returning, you discover that the water long ago overflowed the container. Even though you knew it would eventually be full, you couldn't stop the faucet from filling the container before it was too late to do anything about it.

Burnout Is As Sneaky As a Slowly Dripping Faucet.

That watery analogy between a persistent drip and burnout is important. In the example we just used, it would be easy enough to grab a mop and clean up any mess that was made. That's not the case when constant and unrelenting stress and other factors lead to burnout.

The damage caused by someone who has a burnout-induced breakdown can include low self-esteem, social withdrawal, excessive exhaustion, and the inability to perform simple tasks and lead a normal life. In some cases, a person might turn to self-harm, and even attempt to take his own life.

There are reasons burnout needs to be treated quickly. The best-case scenario is to prevent it before it happens, monitoring stress and addressing it in the best possible way. If you have a lot of stress in your life, get help to alleviate it. If you're not careful, a slow but steady exposure to chronic stress can negatively affect so many areas of your life.

You may not be suffering from any type of chronic stress right now. You experience stress but assume it's at the same level as most people, and you handle it easily. What you need to ask yourself is this.

Are the problems in your life putting you at risk of going from a normal level of stress to full-blown burnout?

Burnout and stress are related. Chronic stress, always having to deal with stressful situations and problems in your life, can lead to burnout. On the other hand, regular doses of stress are actually good for you.

It's a way your body protects you. The stress response is tied to your fight-or-flight instinct. All your senses become fully aware, in case you have to battle a threat or run in the opposite direction very quickly.

Burnout results from experiencing that situation constantly. Your mind, body, and/or emotions are relentlessly being hammered to the point that they give up.

They simply can't take anymore. Even the strongest-willed person can suffer seriously from an endless barrage of stress to the point that some part of you shuts down.

Am I a Candidate for Burnout?

The first thing you need to ask yourself is if you love your job. If you do, you likely don't have an issue. When you get up each morning and can't wait to get to work, that means your stress isn't unbearable. It's a sign that there isn't chronic stress awaiting you to clock in and get to work.

If you don't work, what do you do most of the time? Does that cause you a lot of stress? Again, if stress isn't a constant companion in your life, you probably don't have to be worried.

Burnout comes from a consistent and relentless delivery of stress.

Whether it's on the job, at home, or anywhere else, it's stress that you can't escape. It's right in your face and gets you to the point where you feel like you will explode.

Some jobs are more stressful than others. Yahoo Finance reports that the following occupations are more likely to lead to burnout than some others.

·        Retail

·        Surgeon

·        Fast food worker

·        Social worker

·        Air traffic controller

·        Construction worker

·        Teacher

·        Nurse

·        Certified public accountant

·        Firefighter

·        Emergency medical technician

If you don't work any of those jobs, that doesn't mean you're immune to burnout. Frequently experiencing stress is never a good thing. Consult a mental health professional if you feel stress has too big of a part in your life.

Burnout is largely a work-related issue. You can certainly face too many challenges in your personal life and suffer a breakdown. Burnouts are not exclusive to the workplace, but the condition is experienced more on the job than at home or in social settings.

Burnout syndrome usually develops from chronic workplace stress that hasn't effectively been prevented or treated. We all feel stressed out by our jobs from time to time. Sometimes there are daily stressors plague us once we punch the clock at work.

These acceptable levels of stress are usually dealt with successfully. Burnout happens when the situation is not taken care of before a breakdown occurs. This is characterized by three different experiences.

1 – You Are Exhausted, Feeling like You Can't Generate Any Energy.

This isn't your typical exhaustion. You probably have have had long, hard days at work before. Sometimes a person will become totally wiped out on vacation. When you feel absolutely depleted because of burnout, you can't see the possibility of ever feeling energetic again.

You feel like there's never enough time to re-energize. Your work has constant demands that have exhausted you mentally and/or physically. Now that you are at this point, the job doesn't let up. There's never any time to rest and let your mind and body repair.

2 – You Don't Connect with Your Job or Your Responsibilities.

This person doesn't feel like his values or beliefs match those of his employer. They feel there is a mental distance between who he is and the job he is performing.

This can cause severe negativity regarding his job. He may be cynical toward his boss and other corporate authority figures. There are no positive words that come to mind when they think about his work situation.

3 – You Have a Low Opinion of Your Ability to Do Your Job.

You have no confidence that you can complete the required tasks. This comes either from a belief that you don't have the abilities to handle your responsibilities or you are consistently given jobs that don't challenge you in some way. The official phrase for this aspect of job-related burnout, as created by the World Health Organization (WHO), is reduced professional efficacy.

A person suffering from career-related burnout might self-medicate with drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. He may become withdrawn or lash out in relationships. Untreated burnout can lead to serious physical and mental health problems, which can be life-threatening. This is a condition which must be treated as soon as possible, or else it can cause real damage in a person's life.

Burnout is a state caused by high levels of chronic stress. It results in a total breakdown emotionally, physically, or mentally. What used to be a term for a general set of conditions is now an official medical diagnosis. That's important, because up until it was given official recognition, people just believed they had to ride out whatever they were experiencing. Here's an example.

You approach your boss and tell him you've had enough. You can't work another minute. The environment, your coworkers, or some other situation has you on the verge of a mental or physical breakdown. Back before a doctor could diagnose you as suffering from burnout, your boss might have told you to just "tough it out."

In many cases, this is what we tell ourselves. While we recognize that our situation is beyond difficult in some way, we feel like we should be able to push through. That is definitely not the best course of action if you do indeed have a case of burnout working against you.

Look out for These Common Causes of Burnout.

A person will suffer from burnout because they have just pushed past their emotional, physical, or mental breaking point. It's not just a case of someone working a lot of long hours and being physically tired.

It usually happens to a person because they're not in control of a situation they are forced to endure.

They have to put up with emotional, physical, or mental stress. There is no letting up. They feel like they have no control over the process. A workload on the job or at home looks like it's insurmountable. Personal responsibilities that must be met continue to build until they create a perceived disaster situation.

A person feels like they don't have the tools, resources, or personal abilities to handle their life or their job in a satisfactory way. All of these situations can be caused by the following factors.

·        Monotonous, challenging workloads that seem to grow quicker than progress.

·        Having a continual lack of control, either at work or in personal life.

·        Seeing little to no rewards for a person's time and effort.

·        Feeling a lack of support and community.

·        The perception that a person is the only one that has to go through harsh or difficult times.

·        Toxic environments that threaten a person's values, and possibly physical or mental health.

While most burnout is job-related, you can see that these common causes of a breakdown can happen at home, or in a person's social life, as well as at work. Avoid them whenever possible. If you suspect that you or someone you care about is a prime burnout candidate, talk to a counselor or mental health professional. As with any other health problem, prevention is always the best medicine.

Your body is composed primarily of water. Your physical makeup is roughly 60% to 65% water. You expel water every day by sweating and through urination as well as other bodily processes. That water absolutely must be replaced, or else you're going to suffer physically and mentally.

You probably understand you should be drinking water regularly. It goes right through you, so it needs to be replaced. The Mayo Clinic recommends passing roughly a gallon or so of water through your body every day. That trusted health and wellness authority also warns against drinking too much water.

If you deluge your system with a lot of water over a short period of time, your kidneys can't get rid of the excess fast enough. The sodium level of your blood becomes extremely diluted. This can cause hyponatremia, which is a life-threatening condition.

What does this “drop in a bucket” scenario have to do with ambition and burnout?

We mention it because there are some similarities. Too much of a good thing can sometimes turn into a bad thing... with both water and ambition.

Being ambitious is beneficial in some ways. It means you want to challenge yourself in a positive way. You're not afraid to accept responsibility and tackle tasks on the job or in your personal life that might test your limits.

Healthy ambition can help you improve the quality of life you and your loved ones enjoy. That's a good thing. On the other hand, an unhealthy level of ambition can jumpstart burnout.

Burnout Happens Gradually.

Psychologists Gail North and Herbert Freudenberger have broken down the burnout process. It doesn't happen all at once. If you know what leads to the eventual development of debilitating burnout, prevention is easier.

The first phase of burnout is excessive ambition. This is a compulsion to prove oneself as worthy or capable above average levels. When ambition gets out of control, a person obsessively wants himself and others to notice he can take on responsibility and create great results.

It's the first of 12 phases of burnout that North and Freudenberger have identified. It can lead to neglecting needs, and denial of emerging problems, social withdrawal, depression, and finally burnout.

Take a look at your life. Talk to the people that are important to you. If you obsess about proving your worth to yourself and others, you might need to get your ambition in check. This could prevent a slide down the slippery slope that leads to full-blown burnout, and/or a mental or physical breakdown.

Burnout is an unfortunate condition which is caused by prolonged exposure to excessive stress. This is not the result of a single experience of extremely high stress. It usually doesn't develop if a person is exposed to a very challenging environment or situation for just a few days either.

In almost all cases, this is a condition where a person sees no end in sight.

This is part of what leads to burnout. Whatever is perceived as unenjoyable is accompanied by the belief that it's never going to stop. A person experiences extreme physical stress on the job. At first, they feel like they can handle the situation. After a little while, they understand this will be a normal, day-in and day-out requirement of their employment.

If they get to a point where they can't see themselves putting up with endless physical demands, they might mentally switch off. They are done. They've had enough. They simply can't take anymore, and this is what burnout looks like.

Some people, unfortunately, keep their feelings inside. By the time something regrettable happens, the damage has been done. The burnout needs to be treated, because there was never an opportunity for prevention.

If you want to keep from experiencing the many mental and physical health problems accompanying burnout, look for these early signs of the condition developing.

·        A person seems to have an uncharacteristic and frequent loss of energy.

·        Someone displays an overblown sense of urgency when it isn't required.

·        Someone might micromanage, believing they need to have a hand in everything that's going on around them.

·        Emotional overreaction.

·        Constant crankiness, emotional outbursts.

·        A person who is normally very healthy begins to suffer from small sicknesses and illnesses regularly.

·        A poor self-image in someone that usually has a very healthy level of self-respect and appreciation of who they are.

These are some early indications that burnout might be developing. If you look through the list, you'll see that they are also characteristic of other issues. Sometimes we may suffer from one or two of these less-than-favorable conditions. That's normal for a lot of people.

Alarm bells should go off when you or someone you know displays several of these early indicators of burnout. It means it's time to seek medical help. Talk to a counselor or a human resources officer at work. Seek the help of a licensed mental health professional.

Burnout can strike anyone. While it's usually related to work, this isn't always the case. A person may lose the ability to function on a normal level, to the point where they can't care for themselves. This can be avoided by identifying the early signs of burnout and then getting the help needed as soon as possible.