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Burnout: Identifying, Treating, and Preventing

Updated on February 4, 2023February 4, 2023 Leave a Comment

Burnout Definition: “A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long term involvement in emotionally demanding situations.” – Ayala Pines and Elliot Aronson

Work, family, school, and social life. These are just a few factors that can contribute to burnout. With nearly 25% of individuals experiencing burnout at some point in their lives, it’s crucial to understand and identify when burnout may be on the horizon. So what does it look like?

Identifying Burnout- Knowing What to Look For

Symptoms of burnout may include:

Psychological
- Inability to focus- experiencing difficulty staying on task.
- Forgetfulness- lower retention rates or forgetting tasks that you typically had no prior issue with.
- Social Interactions decline- less interest in meeting up with others, reduced interest in going out.
Physiological
- Headaches- depending on the individual, this can vary from a regular dull headache to migraines.
- Fatigue-Feeling as though your energy is completely drained.
- Increased blood pressure- Increased stress can equal increased blood pressure.

How do you recognize when you’re heading towards a burnout state? Here is what people had to say when asked how they recognize burnout. Some of these might sound familiar.

Resources for Identifying Burnout

Websites and Apps

Mindtools: Offers a free assessment tool Here that can help you determine what state of burnout you may (or may not) be in. This assessment results points range from 15 (no sign of burnout) to 75 (severe risk of burnout). Check out more information on MindTools website here
Calmer: Provides input on the five stages of burnout. Read the article here to learn about these stages, and to see if you may be experiencing them. You can also check out more information on the Calmer website here

Preventing Burnout- Stopping it Before it Starts

Recognizing when burnout is heading your way is one thing. Cutting it off at the pass is another. Luckily, there are many activities and routines you can do to help prevent burnout from taking a hold of you.

Here are a few tips from folks like you. Try giving a few of these a try and see how they work for you.

Resources for Preventing Burnout

Websites and Apps

Headspace: This online and app program focuses on helping individuals overcome struggles, to obtain a more balanced life. Consisting of articles, videos, and music, this site can help you gain better sleep, meditation, stress, and overall mindfulness. There is a free trial available, then the option to purchase a monthly ($12.99/month) or annual (billed annually at $69.99). You can check out more information at https://www.headspace.com/ .
Calm: Another online and app program focused to help you find your clam. This site’s goal is to help you improve: sleep quality, reduce stress and/or anxiety, improve focus, and self-improvement. To help determine your track to calmness, this site will ask you a few assessments questions to help cater your program around your needs. A subscription for this site will come at an annual cost of $69.99. To learn more, check out www.calm.com
Insight Timer: Available both online and via phone app, this site provides and online community for meditation. You can listen to guided meditation, music, and talks posted by contributing experts. This site is free and you can listen to short recorded segments while sitting at your desk. Check out more information on this site at www.insighttimer.com

Articles

Books

Recovering From Burnout

You’ve seen it coming, did your best to prevent it, but still experienced burnout. Now, it’s time to recover. But how? Here are some suggestions provided by individuals that may work for you, and some that may not. Everyone is different.

Tactics that didn’t work well for some:

Resources for Burnout Recovery

Articles:

Books: