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 is a syndrome defined as a “prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job” characterized by exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and lack of accomplishment from work according to burnout theories Maslach and Leiter.
Being a "Type A" personality (or even just working closely with someone who is) can cause chronic stress, which increases your risk for burnout. If you find yourself being impatient with people and life's minor hassles and having trouble keeping from lashing out at people, you might be a "Type A" personality.
In the present study, neuroticism was the only personality type associated with all three burnout dimensions; higher levels of neuroticism were associated with lower levels of accomplishment and higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.
“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.
Job burnout risk factors
The following factors may contribute to job burnout: You have a heavy workload and work long hours. You struggle with work-life balance. You work in a helping profession, such as health care. You feel you have little or no control over your work.
Neuroticism. Neuroticism is one of the “big five” higher-order personality traits in the study of psychology. If you dig into the definition, it makes sense that this trait correlates to higher rates of burnout.
Physical signs and symptoms of burnout
Feeling tired and drained most of the time. Lowered immunity, frequent illnesses. Frequent headaches or muscle pain. Change in appetite or sleep habits.
Anyone exposed to chronically stressful conditions can experience burnout, but human services employees, first responders, and those in educational services are at an even higher risk, especially as the public continues to resist COVID-19 prevention measures.
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).
Type A behavior (hard-driving, competitive, time-urgent, hostile-irritable) has been linked to high stress levels and the risk of eventual cardiovascular problems (i.e., coronary heart disease, CHD).
First of all, the main difference between burnout and laziness is that one exists and the other one doesn't. Put simply, laziness is not a thing. What we call laziness is a symptom, not the problem itself. Sometimes it's a symptom of de-prioritisation, sometimes of an illness.
How Long Does Burnout Last? 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.
A person experiencing relationship burnout may begin to feel disengaged or disconnected from their partner. Mutual activities they used to enjoy together will become boring, aggravating, or stressful. One may also start thinking about their partner less often to further distance themselves.
Burnout and depression have overlapping symptoms, including low energy, trouble with sleep, and lack of focus. Despite this overlap, burnout and depression are different. Burnout can usually be resolved by taking time away from the activities that cause you stress.
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.
Habitual burnout phase
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. Your job status may be put in jeopardy if you continue on this path.
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.
1 Burnout symptoms include feeling exhausted, empty, and unable to cope with daily life. If left unaddressed, your burnout may even make it difficult to function. Learn the physical and mental symptoms of burnout, factors that may increase your risk, and a few recovery strategies.
Others may note an odd change in behavior when this type reaches burnout as they can start to become increasingly irritable, cynical, and uncooperative.