May 10, 2023
Studio Talk Podcast: Real Conversation About Mental Health
A Conversation About Burnout and Mental Health Episode #23
In this episode host Xiomara A. Sosa and Co-host Lisa early discuss burnout, how it happens, what to do about it, and how it doesn’t only apply to work environments anymore. They get into their own personal experiences as well as their professional experiences with burnout. Xiomara and Lisa not only get personal about this topic but also encourage listeners to really pay attention to the seriousness of burnout.
Burnout can cause significant challenges with your mental health whether it is work related or something that happens because of things going on in your personal life. Both hosts are open about their own experiences with burnout. They talk about what happened, what they wish they had known at the time, how they recovered from it and offer words of wisdom to listeners who might be experiencing burnout now.
In addition, they provide resources and references that listeners can refer to if they need to explore this topic further. They also encourage listeners to support loved ones or coworkers who are starting to show the tell tale signs of burnout. They provide examples on how listeners can support others while appropriately maintaining their own boundaries and protecting their own mental health and wellbeing.
What is burnout?
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
Burnout can be difficult to describe. However, it’s not a medical condition. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, burnout is defined as “physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance and negative attitudes towards oneself and others.”
It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.
As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.
Burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful.
Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.
The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life—including your home, work, and social life.
Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu.
Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.
You may not realize you’ve hit burnout until it’s too late when you’ve crossed the line between “really tired” and “too exhausted to function.”
Alternatively, you might be the type of personality who likes to stay busy, and might not recognize when you’re doing too much.
Burnout also happens when your work-life balance gets out of sync. This has been a common occurrence in the last few years, with the rise in remote work and technology permeating our daily lives.
Are you on the road to burnout?
You may be on the road to burnout if:
- Every day is a bad day.
- Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
- You’re exhausted all the time.
- The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.
- You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.
Is burnout the same thing as depression?
The symptoms of burnout can often resemble the symptoms of more serious medical conditions. These can include mental health-related mood disorders.
“Oftentimes, burnout and depression can mirror each other,” explains Dr. Borland.
“However, depression is a diagnosable mental health condition, whereas burnout is not.”
That’s not the only difference. In contrast to depression, burnout tends to be a response to a specific environment or situation — say, working more hours than usual, or dealing with something specific going on in your life.
“Depression doesn’t have to be in response to one specific trigger,” Dr. Borland says.
Causes of depression tend to be broader in general, whereas with burnout, we can really pinpoint what is causing these types of symptoms.
Depression’s symptoms also tend to be more general, he adds. “Imagine you’re experiencing depression and visit a villa in the South of France,” Dr. Borland says. “The reality is, those depressive symptoms are going to accompany you on that trip.”
If you’re dealing with burnout, however, you’ll have a different experience visiting that same villa. “Once you detach from work or whatever it is that’s causing the burnout, you’re going to be able to enjoy that vacation and relax,” he explains. “If you’re feeling depressed, you most likely will not.”
Signs and symptoms of burnout
Most of us have days when we feel helpless, overloaded, or unappreciated—when dragging ourselves out of bed requires the determination of Hercules. If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may be burned out.
Burnout is a gradual process. It doesn't happen overnight, but it can creep up on you.
The signs and symptoms are subtle at first, but become worse as time goes on.
Think of the early symptoms as red flags that something is wrong that needs to be addressed. If you pay attention and actively reduce your stress, you can prevent a major breakdown.
If you ignore them, you’ll eventually burn out.
Burnout looks different for everyone, although it can affect you physically, mentally and emotionally.
Fatigue
Fatigue is a major symptom of burnout and can affect all areas of your life.
You might feel like sleeping all the time, or find that even simple tasks take longer to complete.
Feeling apathetic or dissatisfied with your work
Everyone has days when they don’t want to get out of bed and go to work. When these feelings persist, it becomes a problem.
Do I even really enjoy what I’m doing anymore? Or am I just kind of going through the motions?’ This indicates a lack of satisfaction in the work you’re doing.”
Headaches
Tension headaches are a common burnout side effect.
Changes to your diet or sleep patterns
Are there any significant changes in diet?” This could mean you’re eating more (or less) than usual, or not sticking to a healthy diet.
Sleeping at different times of day, or feeling the need to get more (or fewer) ZZZs than usual, might be another sign.
Physical signs and symptoms of burnout
- Feeling tired and drained most of the time.
- Lowered immunity, frequent illnesses.
- Frequent headaches or muscle pain.
- Change in appetite or sleep habits.
Emotional signs and symptoms of burnout
- Sense of failure and self-doubt.
- Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated.
- Detachment, feeling alone in the world.
- Loss of motivation. Increasingly cynical and negative outlook.
- Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.
Behavioral signs and symptoms of burnout
- Withdrawing from responsibilities.
- Isolating from others.
- Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done.
- Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope.
- Taking frustrations out on others.
- Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early.
The difference between stress and burnout
Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress, but it isn’t the same as too much stress.
Stress involves too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and mentally.
Burnout is about not enough. Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations.
Excessive stress feels like you're drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up.
And while you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens.
Emotions are overreactive.
Emotions are blunted.
Produces urgency and hyperactivity.
Produces helplessness and hopelessness.
Loss of energy.
Loss of motivation, ideals, and hope.
Leads to anxiety disorders.
Leads to detachment and depression.
Primary damage is physical.
Primary damage is emotional.
May kill you prematurely.
May make life seem not worth living.
Causes of burnout
Burnout often stems from your job.
But anyone who feels overworked and underva...
