.jpg)
Let's Talk about Burnout
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion resulting from chronic stress that hasn't been managed. Burnout is becoming more and more common as work stress and life stress rise simultaneously, and people are tasked with trying to manage it all. APA’s 2021 Work and Well-being Survey found that roughly 3 out of 5 employees were experiencing negative impacts of work stress, with 44% of participants experiencing fatigue. It's important to know where you are on the Burnout Cycle so you can intervene accordingly to get your life back in balance.
This blog post breaks down the five stages of the burnout cycle so you can identify where you are and what you can do to begin taking back your time, energy, and passion today.
In 1974, psychologist Herbert Freudenberger defined burnout as a "state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by one's professional life. Freudenberger also proposed 12 stages of burnout progression. These 12 stages have seen been condensed into a five-stage model, which I am using for the purposes of this discussion.
The early stages of burnout generally include feelings of being overwhelmed, emotional fatigue, irritability, and a lack of motivation. Early-stage symptoms are manageable, but if they continue to go unnoticed or are ignored, they progress to the later stages of burnout.
The later stages of burnout are more severe and require immediate attention because they have detrimental effects on a person’s cognitive and physical well-being. The later stages include apathy, depression, mental breakdown, and in severe cases, even suicidal thoughts. The furthest progressions of burnout often require medical and mental health interventions.
It can be tempting to blame burnout on stressors in our environments, but it's not really the stressful situations or environments that cause burnout - it's the lack of stress management along the way. We can't avoid stressful situations, as nice as that sounds. Even the most fulfilling careers and personal lives will have stress, hardship, and challenge - this is part of life. Burnout happens when we try to white-knuckle our way through stressor after stressor without actually addressing our stress proactively or making changes to build our resilience to stress.
Before we dive into the stages of burnout and what you can do at each stage, I want to clarify some key things about the stress cycle.
Let's Talk About Stress
Stress lives in the physical body and has a natural rhythm that it moves through. Stressors are the things happening around or within us that trigger the stress response.
Stress, the physiological response in our bodies, doesn't go away when our stressors are removed. Instead, it continues to impact our physiology until we do something to signify to our bodies that the world is a safe place (Nagoski & Nagoski, 2020). If we do not do anything to signal to our bodies that the world is safe, the stress cycle is left incomplete. This means when dealing with stressor after stressor and never completing the stress cycle - we are just stewing in stress hormones most of the time (Nagoski & Nagoski, 2020). That's right - stress requires us to act to manage it and return our physiology to baseline.
Some things to complete the stress cycle and give your body a chance to reset are physical activity, breathing exercises, positive social interaction, laughter, affection from a loved one, a good cry, and creative expression (Nagoski & Nagoski, 2020). These need to be done on a regular basis because our stress occurs on a regular basis.
For more on this, read the book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD and Amelia Nagoski, DMA.
Okay, now that you understand a little more about stress - let's dive into the stages of burnout.
Five Stages Of Burnout
Stage 1: Honeymoon Stage
You are probably familiar with the honeymoon stages in life - the times when things are new, fresh, and exciting. You typically feel ambitious, excited, and invincible in this stage. You aren't burned out, and you aren't really cognizant of the stress to come so you aren't preparing for it well. In this stage, individuals are likely to set unrealistic goals and expectations for themselves which can lead to overworking and overcommitting. It can be challenging for people in this stage to recognize the need to implement interventions to prevent burnout, but if you do it will save you a lot of time, energy, and stress buildup.
If you are in stage 1 of burnout, it's time to practice time management, learn to say no, delegate tasks when possible, pace yourself, create a self-care plan, and balance your schedule with things outside of work that bring you joy and fulfillment. You can also focus on caring for your physical health by getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, and exercising regularly. These things will help you to create physical resilience to stress and will build in healthy habits that will help you maintain balance.
Unfortunately, many people aren't practicing stress management at stage 1 of burnout because they don't feel stressed or tired yet and may be disconnected from the fact that this phase will pass.
Stage 2: Onset of Stress
Stage 2 is when the novelty and excitement that kept you going in stage 1 fade away, and the reality of the stress involved in the job, project, or life situation emerges. The very earliest signs of burnout begin to appear here. You may be starting to feel irritable or fatigued more easily than you did in stage 1. You may try to ignore your personal and social needs as you work harder to return to the previous state of excitement and creativity you felt in stage 1. Sleep might be disturbed your perception of work pressures increases.
The symptoms are still fairly subtle in this stage, so people may try to ignore them, thinking that the stress will pass on its own. Remember the stress cycle we talked about above? Time to implement those strategies and ensure you are completing the stress cycles so the stress doesn't build up over time. Other things you can do in stage 2 include limiting work hours, incorporating work-life balance strategies, and engaging in stress-reducing practices such as yoga or meditation. If you can manage your stress effectively and implement healthy lifestyle routines here - the burnout cycle stops!
But, if you do what many of us do and deny your needs and deprioritize the things that support your well-being, you will likely progress to the next stage of burnout.
Stage 3: Chronic Stress
If you are here, you've likely been neglecting your needs and focusing heavily on your work. The signs and symptoms intensify here, usually to the point where you realize ignoring them isn't an option anymore. Symptoms of this stage may include social withdrawal, increased cynicism, apathy, exhaustion, trouble focusing, sleep disturbances, snap emotional reactions, absences from work, and decreased professional accomplishment.
At stage 3 of burnout, you will likely need some support. You can try seeking social support from family and friends. You can also look into working with a coach or mentor to get additional support related specifically to your challenges from someone who understands. Some other things you can try include engaging in stress-reducing activities outside of work, finding healthy ways to complete the stress cycle, getting in touch with your needs and acting to meet them, and focusing on your physical health.
If asking for help or listening to your needs is challenging, you may be tempted to keep pushing through without getting support or making lifestyle changes. Those who take this approach typically progress to stage 4.
Stage 4: Burnout Crisis
The consequences of unmanaged stress and neglected personal needs are impossible to ignore at stage 4. This is where people begin to consider a dramatic intervention such as quitting their job or taking FMLA leave - and these make sense given the severity of the impact of chronic stress reached by this point. Some signs and symptoms that you are here include disengagement, hopelessness, challenges in personal relationships, preoccupation with stressors, escapist/numbing/addictive behaviors, and emotional exhaustion. Physical symptoms such as high blood pressure, insomnia, and digestive problems may also appear at this stage due to the impact of chronic stress on our physical bodies.
At stage 4, you need more drastic interventions than in previous stages because the impact is severe now. You can try taking some time off - although time off alone won't fix your burnout - it can give you the time and space you need to reflect on what isn't working and create a plan to make changes. You may also need to seek medical help at this stage, especially if you are experiencing physical symptoms. Similarly to step 3, you are going to need support. Talk to your HR professional at your place of employment, seek out support from friends and family, and strongly consider professional support from a coach or therapist (depending on your needs). Make sure you are incorporating regular self-care practices such as exercise, good nutrition, and rest (but don't expect these alone to solve the problem). Radical self-care and self-love are needed at this stage because you need to make radical changes in how you live to recover from burnout and create a life that you enjoy again.
Many people do intervene at this stage because the pain is fairly unbearable. This is where I was when I burned out and realized things had to change. However, some people continue to ignore the devastating symptoms or struggle to take the steps needed to begin their recovery journey.
Stage 5: Chronic Burnout
When you live in a state of burnout for a prolonged period of time, the negative consequences multiply. In this stage, serious mental health conditions like clinical depression and anxiety have developed alongside burnout. Many experience things like chronic pain or debilitating physical illness. Social isolation, mental and physical collapse, or drug and alcohol abuse can appear in this stage.
In this burnout stage, medical and mental health support is immediately required. Symptoms of this extreme stage may include a complete inability to function, suicidal thoughts, and severe physical conditions such as heart disease and chronic fatigue syndrome. If you or someone you know is at this stage, seek professional help immediately. To prevent getting to this stage, learning how to manage your stress, meet your needs, and develop a healthy work-life balance is important.
What Stage Are You In?
It's time to take responsibility for your health and well-being. Spend some time reflecting on these stages and identify where you are at. Once you know your burnout stage, you can act accordingly to reclaim your life. Changing the habits that burn you out is difficult; it often requires deep internal growth and honest self-reflection. You need to ask yourself these questions honestly:
"How much of this am I putting on myself?"
"What needs am I ignoring?"
"Is this lifestyle sustainable?"
"Who can I turn to for support?"
"What is one step I can take toward the life I want today?"
Burnout can be prevented and overcome if recognized early and addressed with strategies to cope with stressors and manage the stress. If you are burning out, consider seeking professional support to give you guidance on your journey. If you are a leader at an organization that is struggling with employee burnout, offer training on stress management and mental health resources to monitor and prevent burnout from taking hold and support employee wellbeing.
Take care of yourself - today and every day.
Warmly,
Kayla
If you are experiencing or on the verge of burnout and ready to take your life back, schedule a free discovery call with me today. You will leave the call with clarity about what you need to transform your life from Burnout to Balance.
Kayla M. Sweet is the owner, operator, and primary service provider at Internally Guided Leadership Consulting LLC.
Kayla has her BA in Psychology and her MA in Consciousness and Transformative Studies. She specializes in Transformational Leadership and Consciousness and Healing.
Kayla has over a decade of experience in leadership and management and has most recently served in human resources and mental health settings. She currently offers leadership coaching, consulting, and training in alignment with her mission to make the world a more loving place by empowering heart-centered leaders to live with balance and purpose.
Sources:
Ashley Abramson. "Burnout and stress are everywhere," American Psychological Association, accessed 5/7/2023
Alexandra Michel. "Burnout and the Brain," Association for Psychological Science, accessed 5/7/2023
Calmer Staff. "What are the 5 stages of burnout?" Calmer, accessed 5/7/2023
Erin Eatough. "How to recover from burnout and love your life again," BetterUp, accessed 5/7/2023
Nagoski, E., & Nagoski, A. (2020). Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books.
Don't forget to read the fine print:
The Internally Guided Leadership Blog is the property of Internally Guided Leadership Consulting LLC. It is not to be reproduced, sold, or distributed without permission and appropriate credit given to Internally Guided Leadership LLC and content creator Kayla M. Sweet. This blog promotes Internally Guided Leadership LLC's services, including but not limited to coaching programs, 1:1 coaching, and leadership consulting.
Comments