It's no secret that living post COVID-19 pandemic is HARD! Just calling it hard may be the understatement of the year. There has been so much change and added stress coming from all sides that it has been difficult to maintain a sense of well-being. Staffing shortages have meant higher workloads. Many of those who were able to work remotely struggled to keep a healthy work life balance as their job crossed the threshold into their home. Many schools just started full- time again this year which meant parents were tasked with working from home while simultaneously caring for their children as well as ensuring they were getting an education. Inflation in the economy means people are paying a lot more to get a lot less. Need I keep going?
When it's laid out like that it's no wonder that people feel stressed. The important question is: Is it stress or is it burnout? I think in order to answer that question "BURNOUT" needs to be defined. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, burnout is defined as "physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance, and negative attitudes towards oneself and others." Burnout can be insidious and you may not realize the early signs. Burnout can start out as a stress response, but as the stressors continue over long periods of time without relief it can turn to burnout.
What are the symptoms of burnout? Burnout can affect someone physically, mentally, and or emotionally. According to an article written by Dr. Borland at the Cleveland Clinic called, "What Is Burnout?" the symptoms of burnout can include: fatigue, feeling apathetic or dissatisfied with your work, headaches, changes to diet or sleep. People can also experience decreased motivation and feel like even the simplest tasks take an disproportionately high amount of effort.
Now you may be thinking, wait a minute. That sounds an awful lot like depression. And in many ways it does. In the aforementioned article, burnout and depression were differentiated as "burnout tends to be a response to a specific environment or situation...depression doesn't have to be in response to one specific trigger." Dr. Borland clarified by providing the example that depression is more general whereas burnout is more localized. Dr. Borland explained, "imagine you're experiencing depression and visit a villa in the South of France. The reality is, those depressive symptoms are going to accompany you on that trip. If you're dealing with burnout, however, you'll have a different experience visit that same villa. Once you detach from work or whatever it is that's causing the burnout, you're going to be able to enjoy that vacation and relax.
HOW CAN THERAPY HELP WITH BURNOUT?
Therapy can be a valuable tool to those facing the daunting task of recovering from burnout. Finding a therapist that you trust and connect with is crucial to having productive and effective treatment. Your therapist will work with you toward figuring out if what you're experiencing is in fact burnout. Depending on your individual needs, your therapist can offer support, help be a sounding board for identifying both challenges and solutions, provide coping strategies to help you more effectively manage stress, help you gain awareness as to your own person needs in regards to boundary setting and so, so much more.
RESOURCES
If you haven't already, check out this other awesome and informative blog from The Unconventional Therapists called "How To Find The Right Therapist When You Think Therapy Sucks".
Below is the link to the full article from the Cleveland Clinic.
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