We’ve been hearing the word burnout thrown around more often in recent years than ever, it seems that everyone’s feeling burned out these days. Whereas people used to think it was just an exaggerated statement, and though it took 50 years, burnout is now finally categorized as a “syndrome” that results from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” according to the World Health Organization.

What is it?

Burnout, as we understand it today, is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It happens when you feel emotionally drained, overwhelmed – but here’s the caveat: burnout is accompanied by a variety of physical and mental health symptoms. If left unaddressed, can make it difficult for a person to function normally in their daily life. According to FashionBeans, psychologists have called it a “silent epidemic that most of us witness every day.”

WHO’s new report identifies three common elements to burnout: it starts as feeling detached from your job and suffering from mental fatigue during work hours. Then performing poorly as a result.

You’re probably thinking, who has the time to “successfully manage” work stress? Better to just push through, have a couple drinks after work, and hope it’ll magically solve itself. Well, that’s not the case. Burnout is no joke, with long term health effects which can obliterate your career prospects, and contribute to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and depression. Stress hormones affect not only the body, but also how we think, clouding our judgement, which of course – insert deadly cycle – stresses us out even more. 

If you find yourself consistently feeling exhausted despite a good night’s sleep, chronically anxious, and are unable to meet even simple work demands – you may be suffering from burnout syndrome. Don’t worry, there are ways that you can prevent a burnout. 

Cures

• Assess your work load and commitments, then delegate!
• Cut down on any activity that worsens your anxiety (i.e. web browsing, toxic interactions, social media). 
• Explore holistic anxiety remedies like meditation and/or exercise.
• Ask for support.

Getting back into good mental health is an achievable goal, and is more common than you think it is. It’s not always a doom and gloom scenario. Our bodies have a way of warning us and telling us that something has to be changed. If you are experiencing burnout, use this as an opportunity to alter your life and health for the better. A solution isn’t set in stone, after all, each individual reacts to stress differently. Take a couple of deep breaths and take it easy.

Lastly, and we can’t stress this enough, talk about how you feel on a regular basis – to your friends, family, a professional, or colleagues . It will help you feel less isolated and relieve whatever additional bottled up anxiety you’re harboring.

For more advice, head over to WHO’s informational website for some tips and resources.

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Gif by CRPTC CHILD.