Burn-Out: Dealing with Physical, Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

By: Jessica Johns-Green, LPC

Burn-out is a state of mental, emotional and physical exhaustion typically brought on by a period of prolonged stress.  It’s more than just stress about work. 

What Is Burn-Out - How To Recognize It

Work related burn-out, although not a medical diagnosis, has long been recognized as a phenomenon.  However, burn-out doesn’t have to be related to a job.  Home based parents, students and others can also be affected.  People who have perfectionistic tendencies or are ‘Type-A’ personalities may be more at risk for burn-out.  Signs of burn-out include:

• Emotional exhaustion - just nothing left to give, feeling too tired to do the job
• Reduced performance - at work, but also at home, tasks feel unwelcome, annoying, or negative
• Numbness and/or a sense of cynicism about work
  • • • • Physical symptoms - stress related sensations, headaches, stomach aches, sleep issues, etc.

Work-From-Home Burn Out is gaining attention as a growing problem. The following is a link to an article in the Harvard Business Review on tips for WFH Burn-Out https://hbr.org/2020/04/3-tips-to-avoid-wfh-burnout.  While it may have seemed amazing to work from home and lose the commute at the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak, many are discovering that the change of work practices has increased stress.  Among other things, working from home might make it harder to switch off and create space between work time and me-time.  

Risk Factors For Burn-Out

The Mayo Clinic offers this list of burn-out risk factors (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642).  There are risk factors that have become  more common during this current Covid-19 pandemic.  Burn out needs to be on our radar as many people try to keep afloat and hang onto jobs in this time of uncertainty.  Burn-out risk factors include:

• Lack of control
• Unclear job expectations
• Extremes of activity (lack of)
• Lack of social support
• Work-life imbalance

What To Do If You Are Experiencing Burn-Out

Burn out can feel intense.  There is hope and you can turn this around. Here are a few things you can try to help reduce burn-out.

Adjust your thinking -

Having unrealistically high standards backfires.  This means expecting more from yourself or a situation than is possible, and being unwilling to tolerate or cope with less might inspire hard work.  But it will more likely leave you exhausted and burned out.  Which may offer clues as to why those with perfectionistic tendencies are more likely to suffer burn out.  Even the most talented and gifted people need balance and the right attitude to deal with failure and disappointments.  Challenge yourself to set reasonable expectations.

Re-state your priorities -

If we don’t feel that our job gives meaning, or doesn’t align with our personalities and ideals, burn-out is more likely to follow.  Even if you don’t have your dream job, can you carve out time to spend on your priorities?  Create balance between what you have to do and what you do that feeds your passion.

Take time -

Rest, nap, take some time off.  Exhaustion won’t go away without rest.  Whether this means a vacation, a leave of absence to recover, or just being more dedicated to taking coffee breaks, time to chat with friends or leaving work on time.  A few minutes a day to focus on you can make a huge difference!

Stress Management Therapy Can Help

Therapy can be a useful way of developing burn out prevention and recovery strategies.  Book a brief phone consultation or a session with one of our licensed counselors or supervised interns.