Burnout: Assessment, Treatment, & Prevention

If you’re feeling negative, exhausted, detached, and frustrated with your work or role, there may be a very understandable explanation for it. You may be suffering from a common but dangerous syndrome known as burnout. While many people will encounter burnout in their lifetime, it’s important to know that it is treatable and you can absolutely recover from it. The key to successfully navigating an episode of burnout is to be able to recognize it for what it is, and get professional help in a timely manner.

Feeling “burned out” is a ubiquitous human experience. It can happen to anyone. However, the phrase “burnout” entered our lexicon in the 1970s based on the work of psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. Initially, the term was used to describe the harmful impact of chronic stress and unrealistic expectations based on high ideals of those in the “helping” professions (e.g., doctors, nurses, therapists). These helpers often helped until they had nothing left to give and they were running on empty; experiencing exhaustion, feelings of listlessness, and inability to cope effectively. In our current era, the term burnout refers to anyone who is suffering from feeling overworked and unfulfilled to the point of mental and physical depletion. It can apply to the helping professions, first responders, driven professionals, overworked employees, teachers, caregivers, and parents or homemakers.

Assessment of Burnout

Types of Burnout

Did you know there are several types of burnout? It can arise from a variety of situations. Here are several of note:

• Overload Burnout

• Underchallenge Burnout

• Neglect Burnout

Overload Burnout occurs when you are working so hard that you become depleted or exhausted from helping others. You only have so much mental and physical energy to give to the things you do on any given day. Consider this energy like speed on a car. If you are experiencing overload burnout, you’ve likely been “redlining” your speed for quite some time. You literally can’t go any further or faster at this rate, but you desperately keep pushing the pedal in search of your goals. If you’re maxing out your hours at the office, only to open up your laptop after hours, or you’re answering office emails late into the night, this applies to you. If you’re taking care of kids or a relative full-time and have no help or time to care for yourself, this could apply to you as a form of Parenting or Caregiver Burnout. This could also reflect your experience if you’re struggling to balance your professional life and caregiving duties and feel stretched too thin. You’re likely to find yourself complaining about your roles and experience to anyone who’ll listen. The problem is, complaining doesn’t replenish your tank or address the root causes of the burnout. Eventually, the pace at which you’re going will take a mental and physical toll.

Underchallenge Burnout results from being in a situation wherein you don’t feel you’re being utilized to your full potential. You may feel unappreciated, bored, or not presented with ways to grow or learn. This can leave you feeling cynical, disinterested, and disengaged. You’re likely to avoid responsibilities in your role because it no longer brings you enjoyment or doesn’t feel meaningful. Instead of feeling overworked, your burnout stems from feeling underchallenged and down about the monotony of your daily experience.

Neglect Burnout results from not being given the necessary information or tools and means to adequately perform in your role. This may happen when you are unfairly critiqued or evaluated on performance for which you did not know there was an expectation, or if there are expectations that you cannot realistically meet. It’s like playing a game with a moving target that you have no way to anticipate. You’re likely to feel passive, demoralized, incompetent, and lack motivation to engage in your job or with coworkers.

Symptoms of Burnout

Burnout usually presents itself in three main areas: exhaustion, disconnection, and poor performance.

Exhaustion: People affected feel drained and emotionally exhausted, unable to cope, tired and down, and don't have enough energy. Physical symptoms include things like pain and gastrointestinal (stomach or bowel) problems. When we’re exhausted, it’s harder to hold space for our emotions. Where over-full with unprocessed stress, so we tend to overflow much easier. This can result in frequent mood changes. When over-stressed, it’s also common to find that we cope less well. We may attempt to avoid painful emotions like depression or guilt, by engaging in excessive drinking, eating, or drug use.

Alienation: People who have burnout find their jobs increasingly stressful and frustrating. They may start being cynical about their working conditions and their colleagues. People often feel very guilty about the fact that, despite their frantic work pace, they can’t accomplish all their tasks or achieve work-life balance. At the same time, they may increasingly distance themselves emotionally, and start feeling numb about their work. This can lead to alienation from both their work environment and their sources of social support in their personal life. Burnout can result in shame in their work performance, which can be related to depression. Depression is notorious for increasing the odds that they will be socially isolated. Less social interaction perpetuates this cycle of alienation.

Reduced performance: Burnout mainly affects everyday tasks at work, at home or when caring for family members. People with burnout are very negative about their tasks, find it hard to concentrate, are listless and lack creativity. Ironically, stress has a negative effect on cognitive abilities, which in turn stresses us out even more.

Burnout vs. Depression: How Are They Different?

Certain symptoms that are considered to be typical for burnout also occur in depression. These include:

• low energy

• low mood

• cognitive difficulties (i.e., problems with memory and concentration)

Because the symptoms are similar, some people may be diagnosed with burnout although they really have depression. So it's important to not (self-) diagnose burnout too quickly. Doing so could lead to the wrong treatment: For instance, advising someone with depression to take a long vacation or time off work. People who are “only” exhausted because of work can recover if they follow that advice. But if people with depression do so it might actually make things worse because the kind of help they need is very different, such as psychological treatment or medication.

Some characteristics of burnout are very specific, though. For instance, in burnout most of the problems are work-related. In depression, negative thoughts and feelings aren’t only about work, but about all areas of life. Other typical symptoms of depression include:

• low self-esteem,

• hopelessness and

• suicidal tendencies (thinking about killing yourself).

These aren't regarded as typical symptoms of burnout. So people with burnout don’t always have depression. But burnout may increase the risk of someone getting depression.

Diagnosing Burnout

There are various questionnaires for self-assessment. But because there's no generally accepted definition of burnout, it isn’t clear whether questionnaires can actually “measure” burnout and distinguish it from other illnesses. Online questionnaires on the risk of burnout aren't suitable for determining whether someone has burnout or whether the symptoms are caused by something else.

The symptoms that are said to be a result of burnout can generally also have other causes, including mental or psychosomatic illnesses like depression, anxiety disorders or chronic fatigue syndrome. But physical illnesses or certain medications can cause symptoms such as exhaustion and tiredness too. So it's important to consider other possible causes first together with a mental health professional, and not to conclude you have burnout straight away.

Treatment for Burnout

If you think you may be experiencing burnout, it’s important to contact a mental health professional. There are evidence-based strategies that our psychologists can implement to help you regain a sense of calm, and renew your sense of purpose and meaning.

We assist you in addressing burnout by providing you with perspective, skills, and support that you can enact in real and meaningful ways in your daily life.

You can absolutely recover from burnout. Whether you’re already “burning” and need help getting back to a safe place, or if you are worried it may be a possibility and need assistance preventing a burn, we’re here for you.

Prevention of Burnout

This falls into two categories: behaviors to preemptively prevent burnout from occurring in the first place, and behaviors to prevent relapse of burnout once it has occurred. Our psychologists have great success in helping our clients navigate these important pathways.

Don’t suffer alone any longer. Let us be your guide to healing from burnout so you can return to your life in a refreshed and empowered way.