Burnout will never go away on its own. We're quick to dismiss mental disorders and feelings because they aren't immediately visible like a broken leg might be–but ignoring them can be just as painful. The more you ignore burnout, the greater the risks in the future. Remember: You don't have to get better in a day.
Despite the grip that burnout has over so many of us, recovery is possible. While there's no quick fix to burnout, there are many ways to alleviate stress levels and return to a healthier state of being.
It takes an average time of three months to a year to recover from burnout. How long your burnout lasts will depend on your level of emotional exhaustion and physical fatigue, as well as if you experience any relapses or periods of stagnant recovery.
Research shows that not only does burnout affect your mood and productivity--it actually affects your brain function. Participants in burnout studies showed enlarged amygdalae, and thinning of the frontal cortex.
People don't burn out because they're weak. They burn out because they overdo it and live with stress for so long that their bodies take over in defense. But by the time the body takes over, it's usually too late. Even after making professional and personal changes, the effects of burnout might linger for a lifetime.
Friends and family members may also notice behavioral changes. If left untreated, burnout can become a part of your everyday life and eventually lead to anxiety or depression. You can also begin to experience chronic mental and physical fatigue that prevents you from working.
Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don't see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress feels like you're drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up.
Burnout causes the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain that is responsible for cognitive functioning – to thin. This happens normally with ageing but in people who are stressed for prolonged periods of time, it occurs much more rapidly. Parts of the brain that control memory and attention spans are weakened.
For instance, in a review of this research, Kahill (1988) found that burnout often leads to poor physical health, depression, turnover, unproductive work behaviors, proble- matic interpersonal relations, and reduced job satisfaction.
Burnout can leave its handprint on our brain structure. Our brains can change due to burnout, so after many months of experiencing burnout, we need to grant our brain the appropriate time for healing.
Our boy and Victory Stunt Team rider, Joe Dryden, made it in the Guinness World Records by completing a massive burnout. 2.23 miles to be exact, at Orlando Speed World on a Victory Octane. Oooo mama, that's a humdinger!
Your brain on burnout
Chronic stress has long been known to contribute to mental and physical diseases, and now researchers are able to capture what happens to the brain. “One of the most striking (effects) is thinning of the gray matter of an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex,” Arnsten said.
Burnout is when a person reaches a state of total mental, physical and emotional exhaustion and it has some similar signs and symptoms to a nervous breakdown. Your doctor can prescribe medicines for many mental health conditions, and refer you to other healthcare professionals, such as psychologists or psychiatrists.
“Burnout” is now classified as a mental illness caused by unmanaged stress at work. Many lifestyle factors can be adjusted to help reduce the effects of Burnout such as changing diet, effective supplementation and self-care protocols.
Burnout can be a cause of a mental health disorder, but mental health conditions can also cause burnout. According to a study conducted by the University of Macedonia, burnout has an interconnected relationship with both depression and anxiety.
“New research has suggested exposure to stressors in the workplace can alter personality over time,” says Gemma Leigh Roberts, organisational psychologist and founder of The Resilience Edge.
Several studies conducted to identify the association between emotional exhaustion and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by excessive work stress have showed a strong positive correlation between burnout and PTSD [19-21].
Yes, burnout is real and is now a legitimate medical diagnosis according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) handbook, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), that guides medical providers in diagnosing diseases.
If you feel chronically exhausted or frustrated with your work, keep making small mistakes or feel stuck in a cycle of unproductiveness, you may want to take a trip to your doctor.
Burnout levels are higher among female K-12 workers than their male counterparts; however, this is consistent with all workers nationally. Still, male K-12 workers are significantly more burned out than their male peers working in other industries (38% vs. 26%, respectively).