Is Burnout Clouding Your Decision-Making? Strategies to Overcome It

Have you ever experienced such extreme fatigue and overwhelm that it was difficult for you to do your everyday tasks? Do you often find yourself experiencing periods of acute fatigue, irritation, and irritability? In that instance, burnout may be setting in. There is no denying that one’s life has been profoundly touched by the numerous life-altering events that have occurred recently, such as the pandemic. While the idea of burnout is not new, the pandemic brought to light the extent of the problem and the risk factors for burnout.

What is Burnout?

You can be approaching burnout if ongoing stress is leaving you feeling hopeless, demoralized, and totally worn out. Find out what you can do to get your equilibrium back and experience optimism and hope once more.

Burnout is a condition of extreme physical, mental and emotional tiredness brought on by extended periods of high stress. It happens when you’re feeling emotionally spent, overburdened and unable to keep up with demands. You start to lose the interest and drive that first prompted you to accept a particular role as the stress mounts.

How to Find out If You’re Effected?

You might on the road of burnout of

• Every day is not good.
• Taking care of your family or career seems like a complete waste of energy.
• You’re constantly worn out.
• You spend much of your day doing things that you find overwhelming or mind-numbingly boring.
• You have the impression that nothing you accomplish matters or is valued.

Most of us have days when we feel worthless, overburdened, or unappreciated; on these days, getting out of bed takes Herculean resolve. But if you consistently feel this way, you can be burned out.

The process of burnout is gradual. Though it doesn’t happen right away, it can sneak up on you. At first, the symptoms are mild, but they get worse over time. Consider the preliminary symptoms as warning signs that require attention. A serious breakdown can be avoided if you pay attention and take proactive steps to manage your stress. You will eventually run out of energy if you ignore them.

What are the Negative Effects of Burnout?

Burnout lowers output, depletes your energy and makes you feel more and more hopeless, cynical and bitter. You can eventually feel as though you are at your breaking point.

Burnout has detrimental impacts on all facets of life, including relationships, employment and home life. Long-term physical changes brought on by burnout might also increase your susceptibility to infections like the flu and colds. Burnout must be addressed immediately due to its numerous repercussions.

Here are some of the main effects that burnout can have on one’s physical and mental health, as well as on personal and professional facets of life:

1. Mental Health Effects:

• Chronic Stress and Anxiety: Excessive feelings of stress and anxiety can lead to mental exhaustion.
• Depression: Prolonged burnout can contribute to the development of depression, which is characterized by feelings of hopelessness, sadness, and lack of motivation.
• Cognitive Impairment: Common cognitive effects of burnout include memory issues, difficulty concentrating, and impaired decision-making.

2. Physical Health Affects:

• Sleep Disorders: Burnout is often accompanied by insomnia or irregular sleep patterns.
• Weakened Immune System: Prolonged stress can weaken an individual’s immune system, leaving them more vulnerable to infections and disease.
• Chronic Fatigue: This condition typically affects general physical well-being and is characterized by poor energy and persistent weariness.
• Cardiovascular Problems: Heart disease, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular issues can be attributed to chronic stress and burnout.

3. Impacts on Personal Life:

• Relationships Get Strained: Burnout can cause irritation and emotional detachment, which harms bonds with friends and family.
• Diminished Quality of Life: A general decrease in one’s level of personal contentment and happiness may have an effect on one’s overall quality of life.
• Reduced Life Satisfaction: A disengaged and dissatisfied mindset might lead to a decrease in life satisfaction in general.

4. Professional Life Impacts:

• Diminished Job Performance: Work performance and efficiency can be negatively impacted by decreased motivation, creativity, and productivity.
• Higher Absence: Burnout frequently results in a higher frequency of sick days and absences.
• Increased Turnover Rates: Burnout can make workers more likely to quit, which raises the possibility of turnover and the expenses businesses incur as a result.

5. Socio-Economic Challenges:

• Increased Medical Costs: Burnout-related medical problems might result in an increase in healthcare costs.
• Decreased Economic Productivity: Two factors that lead to a decrease in economic productivity are poorer work performance and more absenteeism.

How to Deal with Burnout?

Ignoring the warning signs of imminent burnout or realizing you’ve already reached your breaking point won’t make it easy to fight through the tiredness. If you carry on it will harm you as it will only damage your physical and emotional health. It’s time to take a step back and reverse course by finding out how to support yourself in overcoming burnout and experiencing good health and positivity once more. Use this basic strategy to cope:

• Acknowledge. Keep an eye out for burnout’s warning signals.
• In reverse. Repair the harm by getting help and controlling your stress.
• Fortitude. By attending to your physical and mental well-being, you can increase your ability to survive stress.

How to undo the Effects of Burnout?

You must make a change as soon as you’ve realized and acknowledged that you’re really burnt out. Burnout takes time to develop, and it may also take time to reverse. You will have to be prepared to commit to and maintain significant changes over time. The good news is that you should regain your motivation once you begin implementing these modifications. Change is frequently the essential spark that gives you hope that things will get better. You can stay on track by implementing these adjustments gradually over an extended period of time (such as a year or longer).

Following are the tips to prevent or avoid burnout; can help you cope with symptoms and regain your energy, focus and sense of well-being.

1. Work-life Balance: Finding a balance between work and personal time is crucial. It’s important to establish boundaries and schedule leisure time to prevent overworking oneself. Personal time should be used to relax, so put away work-related documents and fully engage in the moment.
2. Manage Blurred Lines: Although the ability to work from home during the pandemic has been a lifesaver for many, it can also lead to excessive working hours. To prevent this, establish a routine, distinguish between work and leisure time and find a comfortable place to work from home.
3. Acquire the Ability to Refuse: Even though it can be difficult, declining requests from coworkers after hours and from social events when one is exhausted is an important aspect of self-care. Pay attention to your health and needs for rest; this will help you maintain a more sustainable lifestyle.
4. Investing time in enjoyable pursuits: One way to effectively control stress levels is to return to healthy hobbies that you used to enjoy. People engage in these activities in different ways. Exercise, television, and spending time with friends, family, and oneself are a few examples of activities that help people unwind and lower their stress levels.
5. Adopt Healthy Sleeping Practices: Humans need sleep in order to function. Establish a regular sleep schedule. Refrain from staying up late or working through the night since this can negatively impact your energy and focus the following day at work.
6. Plan Brief Pauses During The Course of the Day: An extended duration of mental effort reduces productivity. As a result, taking quick breaks can aid in keeping attention. One way to start the day off right is to set aside a specific amount of time for the tasks that need to get done. Once you’ve completed a few of those things, schedule some downtime. When you return to work, you may find that reading, watching TV, working out, or going for a stroll helps improve your productivity and attention.

How to cut-off the Burnout Source?

You must determine which modifications are pertinent before you can make any others. Most of the time they will rely on ‘What caused your burnout’. You have to shut off whatever is causing it. If your source of burnout is related to your work, identify the issue and take the necessary steps to resolve it. It could be time to leave your employment if there is no chance for you to change. Regardless of the present unemployment rate, that’s a frightening thought, so make sure you have enough funds or have another job set up to last for at least a few months.

Not every source of burnout can be swapped for something better. If for whatever reason there is no way for you to cut off the source of burnout entirely, you need to get as much help as possible to lighten your load. Ask your friends and family to assist where they can so you have more personal time to figure out a long-term solution to your problem.

Conclusion

Burnout can be potentially harmful. It can negatively impact one’s physical and mental health if left unchecked. Setting aside personal time can be difficult, especially when one has a lot of responsibilities and expectations. Setting boundaries, however, is an essential part of living a more sustainable lifestyle. “Prevention is Better than Cure,” manage your task & time wisely, take time off when necessary and turn to your loved ones for support when you’re feeling overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities. Get help right now if you discover that you are caught in this downward cycle.

SOURCES

The Psychology Practice 2022 – Understanding Burnout

Inside Eastern Washington University 2023 – Understanding & Managing Burnout

World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 – Stress Management

HISTORY

Current Version
September 3, 2024

Written By:
BARIRA MEHMOOD