What is Burnout?
Burnout also known as “over achiever” syndrome does not happen overnight and creeps up on people who are generally highly successful, driven and passionate about what they do. Their “I can do everything” attitude often means they ignore the warning signs and when their tipping point is reached it can lead to:
- physical and emotional exhaustion
- cynicism and detachment
- feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment
Sometimes the tipping point might be triggered by some other major life event happening such as bereavement, divorce or a major set back at work but there are often earlier warning signs.
So what are the signs and behaviour changes to look out for?
- Tired, exhausted all the time, but keep pushing through
- Leaving earlier in the morning and coming home later than normal
- Skipping meals or eating more convenience or processed food
- Uncharacteristic snapping at colleagues or staff
- Waking up at night more frequently thinking about work
- Not doing as much exercise as before, or stopped altogether
- Spending less quality time with the family
- Always checking their emails and sending emails really late at night
- Getting frustrated with small things that would not normally bother them
- Forgetting where they put things
- Drinking more alcohol in the week
If you recognise any of these in yourself or someone you know there are things you can do to reduce the stress in the body building up to burnout. See my blog on “Easy Steps to Avoid Burnout” https://wellnessforsuccess.com/easy-steps-to-avoid-burnout
Evelyn Kaluza | Wellbeing Coach