Burnout

We have all at one point or another have achieved what is called burnout. You know the feeling; you begin to feel completely drained both mentally and physically. Burnout can be brought on by keeping up a fast pace for a lengthy period of time. Eventually, it just becomes too much.
Burnout is a condition that happens when your body or mind can no longer cope with overwhelmingly high demands that you have placed on yourself. You are in a constant state of exhaustion. Sleep doesn’t seem to help because the demands are still there when you wake up. You begin to get the feeling that you just don’t care about what you do or how well you do it. There is guilt associated with these feelings, but the exhaustion overcomes that feeling of guilt.
While burnout can be caused by many things, some of the more common causes include:

• Heavy demands that you have placed on yourself or have been placed on you.
• Constant difficult or stressful work with no clear goals established.
• Feeling as if you will never be able to get “caught up.”

What is important is that you recognize the fact that you are close to reaching burnout. Working on this before you have fully hit the brick wall is a lot easier to come back from.

Once you have achieved burnout, it can be very difficult to get yourself back on track. Be aware of how you are feeling physically and emotionally, take time for yourself and regroup, and slow down. Accomplishing everything single thing you set for yourself may not be realistic, but you may be able to manage things better if you plan accordingly and don’t try to do everything yourself.