What happens when I am burned out? E25
January 18, 2022
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In last week’s episode No. 24 we discovered what burnout is and how you can identify if you are burned out or not. I shared my story of being diagnosed with burnout last year and how the burnout showed up in my life. In today´s episode, we are looking closer at what happnes when you are burned out. The consequences of living with burnout. If you want to find out what burnout does to our physical, mental and emotional health, then stay tuned.
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Burnout is, unfortunately, a very real thing, and so common nowadays. And the sad thing is that it does not only make you feel chronically stressed at work but it can spill over to your personal life, too, making you feel too exhausted or unmotivated to deal with things outside of work or even enjoy your time away from work.
That was my experience, too. I was not enjoying my work anymore but at the same time these feelings of frustration, exhaustion and overwhelm swapped over into my private life, too. I had huge issues switching off my thinking brain and my drive to keep taking care of things.
At that point, I was not yet experienced or serious with my meditation practice which would have helped me to quieten my mind. It just kept going and going day and night and kept me awake for several hours a few nights per week.
You might be wondering, I’m stressed at work sometimes. Does that mean I’m burned out? To quote Erica Zellner (@ericazellnernutrition), a health coach: You can’t have burnout without stress, but you can have stress without burnout. “Both burnout and stress feel the same at the moment, however, burnout is the result of stress that has built up over time,” adds Doctor Amy Cirbus, a manager of clinical quality at Talkspace. “It’s chronic stress that hasn’t been managed effectively. Stress can come and go depending on the day. Burnout is constant. Someone experiencing burnout doesn’t have days of productivity and joy in between tough days. It’s a constant feeling of numbness and frustration.”
What happens when you have burnout
Burnout isn’t just a small thing that people need to figure out how to get over. It is a difficult and impactful reality that can lead to many negative consequences in all areas of your life. People dealing with burnout symptoms and job stress feel the consequences in their physical, mental and emotional health. Physical health issues could be that the stress levels get far too high for the given situation. You might feel constantly tired and exhausted. And burnout has been shown to increase the likelihood of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and more.
I thankfully did not show any acute health issues but I did feel constantly tired and exhausted. My body was out of balance and most of the time in a state of stress and worry. And because I felt emotionally and mentally not well, I did not look after myself. I did not exercise regularly and ate unhealthy food. Additionally, I drank too much wine to numb my emotions and my ever chatting brain. I did not like to be in silence with myself or to deal with my emotions. I shied away from doing journalling or self-coaching exercises because I did not want to go there.
Mental and emotional signs and symptoms of burnout
Mentally I was not coping very well. You know these everyday things that happen and you just deal with them? Each one of these could set me off and make me feel like a disaster happened. So to say, my fuse was very short. And my mind went to the worst-case scenario automatically. If you are burned out you might have similar mental health issues like anger, irritability, or even anxiety or depression.
And when it came to my emotional health, I often felt frustrated, annoyed, overwhelmed, and helpless. I remember thinking many times that I should be able to get myself out of that funk. Yes, that’s what I called it quite often. Being stuck in a funk – like this is just a moody phase and somehow I just need to get myself out of it. I achieved so much in my life and my career, so why could I not deal with this? Why was I not able to turn my life around and be happier again? I often felt angry with myself, unable to just flip a switch and decide to be better from now on.
I tried many times to change certain things in my life in a way to get over these feelings but it never helped. It was like a band-aid on a deeper wound. All these little interventions never fixed it – and of course, I never accepted to take the foot off the gas in my career and my working hours. That was never up for discussion! So whatever I tried, I always slipped back into how I felt before and every time I failed I was even angrier with myself.
Looking for reasons why I was burned out
Because I did not want to look inside of me, I kept finding the issues outside of me, in the 3D world. I would get angry about my job, about the people not doing their job correctly, my company, my boss and so on. Do you feel like that sometimes or more than sometimes?
And what I was always good at was putting a mask on. To smile and to keep going. That’s what I did until I blew up. Maybe you know what I am talking about…
Always telling myself and others that I am fine. I have worked so hard to get here, so I am not giving up now, right? There will be a time again when it gets better, or less stressful at work. Yeah, right! I was putting on a mask for everyone around me and myself – I thought it’s best to just keep going and be a hero. This is just a stressful phase and next month or next year or in the next job, it’s going to get better. Sadly it never does.
Sadly we create our burnout for ourselves
Yes, there are lots of outside influences that get us on the trajectory of getting burnout. All the overload of information, demands, job and family responsibilities, financial pressures and many more. And a society that has gotten us all to do more and more, drives us to need to have careers, to have more money to buy more, to have a particular job title to be something more. And still, with all that going on, not everyone is burned out. That shows that there is a huge factor that we have to play in this.
I know that I worked myself towards my burnout for most of my adult life. Always needing to go for the better job, the better company, the next higher salary. I thought that’s what you are meant to do! That’s what is going to make you happy! But the happiness never came. I kept thinking if I work even harder and take on more and more responsibility – then I will be happy. But that time never came. No, what came was my burnout!
I am glad that I finally accepted the burnout
Over one year later, I am glad that it finally happened. I finally went to the doctor and took the time off that I needed to get better. I am thankful that it did not take me even longer to get to that point and waste even more of my time, my energy and my health on this hamster wheel. Now I talk about my diagnosis as the best thing that happened to me.
That was the point I accepted it and allowed myself to get better. To change my life, to change my perspective on life and to learn a different way of being in this world. Because it is possible. You can have a career, you can have success and go for your goals and dreams and not be burned out. I know that now, so I am glad that one day I finally was brave enough and took the step of acceptance.
I am very passionate about this topic given that I went through it myself. So if you know someone in your life that shows symptoms of burnout, please try to help them to seek help. If you are burned out or you are wondering if you, please seek help. You will not regret it.
I hope like me you are going to look back and are grateful for having taken the step of acceptance. Even if the step at this moment in time seems too big, imagine what your life could look like and feel like if you could overcome this phase in your life. Imagine the possibilities for happiness and health.
Two easy ways to show your appreciation!
If you found value in today’s episode, here’s what you can do to show your support:
First, consider making a donation to the podcast. Every little bit helps to cover the costs of producing and hosting the show. And ensures that I can continue to bring you the latest insights and opinions on the topic of energy and improving your life.
Second, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. This helps boost the podcast’s visibility and attract new listeners, which helps me create more tailored content for you to enjoy.
So whether you choose to donate, leave a rating and review, or both, know that you’re an integral part of my vision. You are helping everyone who struggles with burnout or high-stress levels to experience how awesome their life can be. So, thank you for your support!
You Might Also Like
- How Burnout Feels Like Episode 61
- Burnout has been my Wake-Up Call to a New Life Episode 62
- Overcoming burnout once and for all Episode 65
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