Too Pressured To Admit Burnout:
It used to be that we labeled people as being burned out when they had been working for many long hard years in a lousy job or with a tyrannical boss or, heaven forbid, when they were too old for the job. In fact, in the current job market, most women are being burned out due to working towards their Badge of Honor: early to the office, staying late, working weekends—all the while obsessively worrying about performance and the future.
Any semblance of a balanced life goes out the window. Soon comes the classic case of burn out: multiple, chronic stressors over an extended period of time leaving you totally drained and no longer performing at your best. For many women this happens before the age of 30.
The negative effects of burn out spill over into every area of your life—including your home, work, and social life. Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress, but it isn’t the same as too much stress. Stress, typically, involves too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and mentally. However, being stressed, you can still imagine that if you can just get everything under control, you’ll feel better.
Burn out, on the other hand, is about not enough. Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. Experiencing burn out you often don’t see any hope of positive change in your situation.
Signs you are experiencing burnout:
Exhaustion, Lack of Motivation, Negative Emotions, Lack of Focus, Slipping Job Performance, Interpersonal Problems, Bad Habits, Preoccupation with Work, General Unhappiness, Health Problems.
What do you do if you recognize you are burned out?
Take time to relax, Find a passion that is rewarding to you and connect to it, Unplug from technology, Get quality sleep, Organize yourself, Seek help if you feel yourself slipping into depression, Recognize when your employer is at fault (understaffed, etc.), Decide when enough is enough.
Unfortunately, it has become the norm to be chronically stressed out; sleep deprived, and in constant need of a vacation. We experience stress when we don’t have the appropriate resources to deal with the demands placed upon us, and if left unchecked, this can turn into something more sinister. Burn out is a more serious situation that tends to creep up often without our awareness that it’s happening.
If you have a strong drive for success, a passion for work, or set perfectionist standards for yourself, you unfortunately are the most susceptible and often hardest hit. Couple that with a lack of attention to self-care and you can soon find yourselves without the energy or interest to keep up the pace. If left unchecked, burn out can become a serious mental health issue that may lead you to feelings of hopelessness.
Reaching a point of burn out can bring up feelings of failure and a loss of purpose or life direction. You might feel as if you can’t do anything properly, you’ll never achieve your goals or that you've missed the boat completely on your goals and purpose.
Burn out is an undeniable sign that something important in your life is not working. Take time to think about your hopes, goals, and dreams. Are you neglecting something that is truly important to you? This can be an opportunity to rediscover what really makes you happy and to slow down and give yourself time to rest, reflect, and heal.
Social contact is nature’s antidote to stress and talking face to face with a good listener is one of the fastest ways to calm your nervous system and relieve stress. The person you talk to doesn’t have to be able to “fix” your stressors; they just have to be a good listener, someone who’ll listen attentively without becoming distracted or expressing judgment. That's where I might be able to help you. You see, I was this burned out person over 6 years ago and understand completely the journey to get through being burned out and depressed. Now I coach mid life women who are going through transition and struggling, so they can find their way to back to their happiness and purpose.
