Burnout is something you might have experienced at some point in life. It often results when you are overworked, both mentally and physically. It also happens when excessive work-related stress is left unmanaged. Although burnout is often related to work, it can also result from academic pressure and caring for a sick family member. Doing a lot on your own and all at once can also lead to such a situation. Along with the work-related stress, burnout can also feel unbearable at times. You feel unmotivated, purposeless, and even like a failure. You might feel that nothing you do matters, and have trouble with personal identity. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2019 called burnout a “syndrome” associated with work-related stress. Quite understandably, it can impact your work considerably, and can also put you at risk of mental health issues such as sleeping disorders and even depression.
Signs Of Burnout
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Some signs can help you identify if what you are experiencing is burnout. Here are some such signs as per a leading health website:
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- You feel unmotivated and have lack of energy
- You find it difficult to be productive
- Concentration has become a challenge
- You no longer seek pride in your work
- You feel irritated by your coworkers
- Not only that, you get short-tempered even by your loved ones
- You lose sight of your actual goals in life
- You might also experience sleep disturbances, such as you find it difficult to sleep.
What Are The Reasons Behind Burnout?
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As you already know burnout is not just work-related. Other scenarios such as being a caretaker of someone sick in your family, or having too much to do can also lead to such a situation. There can be several causes behind burnout, such as:
- Too much workload, or a lack of resources to accomplish your goals and deadlines.
- Many times employees might not have a clear picture of what is expected of them. Goalpost shifts often in such a case, which can result in burnout.
- A boss who micromanages, or office politics - these are some traits of a toxic work environment, another contributing factor behind burnout.
- A lack of work-life balance can also lead to such a situation.
- Isolation both at work and off can lead to a lack of motivation, which might result in burnout in the long run.
Impact Of Burnout
Burnout can affect your life considerably.
- As you can easily understand, it can primarily affect your professional life and even career in the long run.
- It can also affect relationships both at work and off it.
- It can lead to stress even while you are no longer at work.
- You might lose interest in your hobbies, or in relaxing activities in your free time.
- It can severely impact your mood and can make you increasingly sad, irritated, or angry.
- As per a leading health website, burnout can even lead to mental health issues such as depression, sleeping disorders, etc.
How To Cope
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As you saw, burnout can impact your life, both professional and personal, considerably. Hence, you need to find ways to deal with it. Here are some tips that might help:
- Take Off The Burden: Not a single soul on this planet can do all by him/herself and you are no different. Hence, do not try to do everything at once. Assign time for each of the items on your to-do list. If it’s a lot, delegate them. Putting off the burden can prevent the situation from aggravating and help you recover. Try maintaining a work-life balance by not bringing work-related worries to your home. Communicating to your colleagues or superiors about what is bothering you might also help.
- Setting Boundaries Help: When you have little control over your life, helping others might seem like a challenge. Hence, learn to say no. It might seem difficult at first but will give you the time to recover.
- Self-Love Is The Road To Recovery: When you see someone struggle, what do you do? Lend your ears and try to understand his/her situation or do you bog him/her down. Chances are you do the former thing. Why not consider doing the same with yourself too? Take some time off to take care of self-care. Rest well, spend time with your loved ones, take time off for your hobby, do yoga, meditate, go for a walk, do anything that makes you feel better.
- Talk: When you are stressed out and are unable to find a way out, talking to someone you trust can help. Even if the person is unable to help you, pouring your heart out to someone might feel better. And, if the person has also faced a similar situation, he/she might be able to share some tips with you that might help.
If nothing helps, you can consider therapy. The expert can better help you identify the cause behind your situation. He/she can better recommend coping tips that are better suited for your situation. Hence, these are some of the ways you can deal with burnout and get the power over your life back.
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