What are the symptoms of burnout?
The sub title that should come here and is utterly more important than the first questions is - ‘And why should I care?’. We are great at acknowledging something is wrong with us for a second, and then straight away push the thought away from our minds because we are too busy with the important things right? Have yo already done that this year, 16 days in? Be honest.
So much has been written on burn out, its symptoms and causes. However I do feel a bit less of an emphasis is put on why should one care when experiencing those symptoms and pay attention. Burn out is not a joke of a condition. If untreated, it can have serious and permanent damage to a person’s wellbeing and day to day activities.
Common burnout symptoms:
Headaches
Mood swings
Difficulty focusing
Overwhelming negative emotions and struggle to see any positive outcomes
Stomachaches/intestinal issues.
Fatigue
Frequent illness
Changes in appetite/sleep
Burn out usually occurs after a person has been put under constant stress and has entered survival mode. If untreated, burnout can lead to anxiety and depression. I also feel that term burn out is a little milder compared to the actual condition, and the physical, emotional and mental experience we go through, when we reach that point. Burn out equals to total exhaustion - mental, physical and emotional. Do you know what has very similar symptoms? A nervous breakdown. Now this sounds serious right?
It is very difficult to step away from the situation that is causing the burn out. More often than not, this is our job. A lot of us have at some part in our lives been stuck in really toxic working environments. A toxic boss? A toxic workplace culture? Unreasonable deadlines? Lay offs? There are so many reasons that can cause burn out.
Fact is, we all feel it. Our body is great at telling us something is not right. When I went through it, I had some classic symptoms - I could not sleep, I ate really, really bad, I was constantly exhausted, and super irritable. To quote my mother, she referenced this period of my life as being like a wired spring - even the most gentle event could trigger me. The worst part was that I knew something was terribly wrong, I just kept pushing it down because I had work to do and shareholders to make money for - you know the really ‘important’ things in life. Until the moment I got COVID, it took me almost a month to recover, my blood pressure was through the roof and I could not stop crying.
Opening my laptop used to make me cry. I had to turn off my camera on calls because my tears would just get going. I realised something needs to change.
If you see yourself in any of these examples, if you feel seen. I urge you to pause, even stop for a few days. Trust me the world will still keep spinning even if you miss the deadline of a project. Consider a few steps, to assess what the real situation is.
Steps to assess your workplace burn out situation:
When did you start feeling this way?
Is there a person/people causing it?
Is it you being overloaded with projects (time pressure)?
Is it lack of recognition for your efforts?
Is it a mix of situations that consistently escalate and you do not see it getting better (being treated unfairly)?
You will need to take a few days off in order to assess the situation. I would suggest talking to the HR department of your company, and request mental wellbeing time off. This will allow you to slow down and not have the usual stressors around you.
The first step towards feeling better is acknowledging there is a problem. Trust me it does not make you look weak, under achiever or a failure. It makes you a pragmatic individual who is doing the best for themselves to ensure longevity and wellbeing. There is no better gift we can give ourselves than our wellbeing. If we are not well, ultimately, we would not be able to deliver on any of our goals. So, number one, always and forever - take care of yourself. You always see those memes going around social media about if you died, your family would be sad while your company will have a job ad out in 10min. I would like you to think about this because although it is a huge cliche, it does actually hold true. We like to think that we singlehandedly hold a company together and the reality is - we do not, in the end it really does not matter. Take it from someone who was a Vice President of Digital, for a global company with a huge team. It absolutely does not matter when you walk away. The world keeps spinning.
Once you pause, you take the time to look inside and assess what the stressors are, you make an action plan.
Steps to manage burn out
See a therapist - many companies offer a number of complimentary sessions with a therapist. If you are not in such environment you can try online help tools, where you can connect with a digital therapist that can provide you with some useful tips
Get a friends support group together - you forget the power of your friends. The real ones. It can be the most sobbering, yet healing interaction you can get. Do not be afraid to reach out for help. Chances are you are not alone in your struggle and you will face more understanding that you imagined.
Make a list of all the things in life that bring you joy - then remember when was the last time you did them. They do not need to be big. Then make a commitment to yourself to start doing 1 a day. My example is that I love making a coffee in the morning, I like to fuss about it. Then I like to sit down and enjoy it. Even if it is for 10 minutes. When I went through this exercise I realised I had not done that in more than a year. Why? Because being on calls at 6 or 7 am was really important. Given I could not really sleep easily, it turned into a poisonous cycle of never having time for me.
You may want to consider what next steps are in order to completely omit the cause of burn out - you can talk to HR, you can ask to switch projects, you can consider taking some time off. You can also consider looking for a new job if the stressors are too ingrained in the company and you do not see how the above options can work
My one advice is - healing will take time, do not give up. It is completely possible to live a better life. It is within your reach. However, you need to take the first step. Obviously you can always consider one of our retreats that will help you do that. However, even if you do not, come back to the blog here, where I will always share useful resource to manage this game of life. To answer the initial question of why should you care? Because it is your life, your well being and that is more important than anything else. Remember that when people try to dump their lack of planning, or mediocre leadership skills on you, there is one natural response to have even if you do not say it out loud - it sounds like a you problem love ;)
