Burnout: Signs, Symptoms,
and Recovery
You’re an ambitious person, and you work really hard — maybe too hard. More and more often, you’re finding yourself staying late at the office to take on extra tasks. It’s becoming harder to find time to spend do the things you love to do outside of work. Maybe you’re even neglecting your basic physical needs — you’re not sleeping nearly enough, and you’re skipping meals.
Sound familiar? If so, you might be experiencing burnout. And burnout is more common than ever, with 4 in 5 Australians experiencing burnout in 2020. If you’re one of the many people feeling burnt out, there’s good news: our team of Organisational Psychologists are experienced in helping people recover from burnout.
What is Burnout?
Burnout can happen when the stress of your job and everyday life becomes too overwhelming to manage. You might feel mentally, emotionally, and even physically exhausted.
Usually, burnout comes when you’ve been pushing yourself too hard over a long period of time. You are ambitious, which is a great quality — and that ambition drives you to work hard. But working too hard, and neglecting your other needs, might lead you to become too stressed and eventually burn out.
Burnout is most often associated with the workplace, but your job isn’t the only area where you can feel burnt out. Any life responsibility you have that causes a high amount of stress can lead to burnout. Most people end up feeling burnt out at work, but research has shown that parents and carers can face burnout, too. Emotional burnout might happen when something in your personal life, like a relationship, is mentally and emotionally exhausting.
Burnout is much more than just feeling exhausted.
Burnout has been officially defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a combination of exhaustion, loss of empathy, and reduced performance at work. Burnout can look differently for everyone, but there are some common signs of burnout to look out for. The signs and symptoms of burnout include:
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Cynicism: You feel jaded or critical of your job (or other responsibility).
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Hopelessness: You feel like no matter what you do, nothing will get better, and nothing you do makes a difference.
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Decreased satisfaction: You used to feel like what you did mattered, and you felt a sense of satisfaction at succeeding. Now, you don’t get any satisfaction at all from your work.
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Dread: You wake up in the morning and are filled with dread and anxiety about your job or other responsibility.
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Lack of focus: You have a hard time concentrating on the task-at-hand.
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Apathy: You just don’t care anymore. This is especially common in the helping profession; you feel like you’re losing the compassion you used to have for your clients.
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Increased substance use: You’re finding yourself using more drugs and alcohol than usual to try to cope with or escape from stress.
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Fantasizing about escape: You frequently daydream about running away from it all and starting over somewhere else.
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Low energy: You’re constantly exhausted or fatigued, and it may be hard to get out of bed in the morning.
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Physical symptoms: Some people experience physical symptoms, like frequent headaches, stomach aches, and sleep issues.
Do you recognize any of these burnout symptoms in yourself? If so, it might be time to schedule an appointment with a psychologist. If left untreated, burnout can lead to more serious mental health problems like depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder. Research has found that chronic stress can even increase your risk for physical illnesses, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
How can a psychologist help with burnout recovery and stress management?
The recovery process and signs of burnout can be different for everyone, but with the support of a psychologist, you can learn to recognise the initial signs and put in place practical strategies to recover from burnout. Although the treatment plan will be different for everyone, in general, working with a psychologist trained in burnout recovery can involve:
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach that looks the way our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours can cause us to burnout and then keep us stuck in a cycle of burnout. A psychologist trained in CBT for burnout can help by identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts and behavioural patterns that keep us stuck. We bring an understanding of workplace dynamics and can help put in place proactive strategies to manage expectations, relationships, deadlines, and more!
Mindfulness-based approaches for burnout can help you learn how to manage your stress in healthy ways. By using breathing, meditation, and relaxation techniques, you can sit with these uncomfortable feelings without judging yourself. Mindfulness approaches have been supported by science to counteract the effects of stress and help you feel more relaxed.
These are just some of the evidence-based ways that our psychologists can help you get through burnout. We never use a one-size-fits-all approach, and you’ll always play an active part in the treatment planning process.
For some strategies on preventing and recovering from burnout, check out our resources on burnout here.
Ready to get started?
At Reimagine Psychology Melbourne, our Organisational Psychologists have completed further specialised training in workplace psychology. We take an evidence based and practical approach to burnout recovery and tailor the treatment plan to your specific situation and workplace dynamic.
Our Organisational Psychologists have extensive experience in professional consulting services and have worked with clients across almost every major industry in Australia. We’ve worked on major change projects, national people and leadership development initiatives, wellbeing initiatives, and with small to multinational businesses!
We’re able to bring our experience working with business to connect in our sessions and to take a holistic approach to support you with burnout recovery. For more information or to book an appointment with one of our psychologists, give us a call on (03) 8330 5588 or send us a message using our contact page here.
