We use the term “burnout” so often that we most likely hear of someone burnt out on a daily basis. The rise of burnout is associated with many factors (think pandemic and increasing job demands). However, it is also partially due to the fact that we don’t actually think about the definition of “burnout.” We also rarely see all of the signs of burnout that lead to full-blown burnout. As a whole, we have come to associate the term with “stress” or even “temporary overwhelm.”
Burn out is much more than just being “stressed”. It is a serious state of chronic stress that, now more than ever, so many of us experience. There are signs of burnout to look out for, but sometimes they can sneak up on us.
As you may have read in my previous blog post, I completely burnt out from the field of education. The sad part is that my story with burnout is not unique. Spending years as a people-pleasing caretaker, I let myself become overworked. I had poor boundaries and rarely stood up for myself in situations at work that warranted it. Battling depression and anxiety after my son was born did not help in my feelings of inadequacy at work. I constantly tried to prove myself and saw little benefit of this.
Am I In Burnout?
If this sounds like you but you want to stay in the job you are in now, there is definitely hope. I had unique circumstances around my resignation and decision to leave my job. Just because you recognize these early signs of burnout, does not mean that your destiny is the same as mine.
At the same time, if you feel you needed to get out of your job yesterday, I can help. I will offer tips and advice on how to navigate this all-encompassing, life changing decision in future blog posts. While difficult, you will find relief and at peace with yourself at the end of this journey.
What is Burnout?
Most psychologists define burnout as “a psychological syndrome emerging as a prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job” (Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P., 2016). The World Health Organization describes burnout as a “workplace phenomenon characterized by feelings of exhaustion, cynicism and reduced efficacy” (Burn-out an “Occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases 2019).
There are also a host of other symptoms that come with burnout, and it is not just feeling cynical about your job. Fatigue, difficulty concentrating or “brain fog,” anxiety, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, and general negative outlook on life (Signs of Burnout 2021). Earlier warning signs include feeling less creative, inability to concentrate at work, feeling less productive, absenteeism, listless feeling, low mood, loss of purpose, exhaustion, frustrating easily, general aches, coming down with colds often or just generally not feeling well. Burn out for a chronic period of time leads to a whole host of physical problems as well. Some of the ailments chronic stress and burnout bring include anxiety, insomnia, blood pressure changes, depression, and alcoholism (Bakker & Costa, 2014).
Burnout is not just for work. Burnout can occur with caretaking, parenting, and relationships as well. Not surprisingly, individuals in the caring fields (aka nurses, doctors, teachers, etc.) experience some of the highest rates of burnout in professions (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). However, over the years, researchers have seen an increase in burnout across all professions, with various factors playing into burnout. Job strain and skill development, in particular, consistently linked to burnout across the three samples. These results are in line with a large body of findings (e.g., Schaufeli et al., 2009; Verweij et al., 2017), including findings pertaining specifically to teachers (e.g., Santavirta et al., 2007; Bianchi, 2018).
Teachers and Burnout
So, why over the past few years has burnout increased so dramatically? Well, it really does not require a rocket scientist to figure this one out, folks. The pandemic, increasing job demands, the imbalance of work-life balance, inequities, racism, sexism, ableism–the list could go on and on. Teacher’s tasks and responsibilities require them to keep children sitting in seats and learning for 7 hours a day. On paper, this sounds impossible. However, amazing teachers–day in and day out–accomplish this very task.
Many teachers also feel the emotional exhaustion of trying to have these children comply all day. In many cases, it falls onto the teacher to force the child into submission instead of working as a team with administrators, families, and students to problem solve solutions for successful learning. We all know that this does no good for the child–but it also does no good for the teacher, either.
Teachers also work with two, sometimes three jobs (if they are a case manager) as an educator. They not only creating the lesson plans, but execute the lesson plans each day for their classrooms. Sometimes this is 30 children, sometimes it is over 200 children (depending if the teacher is teaching a specific subject). If you are an intervention specialist or case manager (sometimes referred to a special education teacher), then you likely create the lessons, execute the lessons, AND manage the IEP caseload. This level of responsibility is unheard of in other professions. Yet in education it is expected in many scenarios and districts.
“Teachers and Medical professionals are the two professions with the highest amount of burnout”
(Signs of Burnout 2021)
You may be thinking, “Yeah, I already KNOW all of this. I am a teacher after all.” And to that I say of course you do! But what may strike you is that our profession ranks one of the highest professions to experience burnout. Teachers and Medical professionals are the two professions with the highest amount of burnout (Signs of Burnout 2021). There is also extensive research on why teachers experience burnout the way that they do. Although many factors play into teacher burnout, researchers found that two of the main signs of burnout in these fields are high job demands and low job resources (Bakker & Costa, 2014). Many schools post-pandemic are underfunded or staffed as well. With academic and social pressures higher on teachers now more than ever, it is no wonder that there is a giant exodus from the field of education.
The Difference Between Stress and Overwhelm (Burnout)
This may go without saying, but stress and burnout are not the same thing. Chronic stress can lead you to emotional and physical burnout. Although stress is a sign of burnout, stress in it of itself is not the same as burnout. In Brene Brown’s book, “Atlas of the Heart,” Brene discusses this very difference.
Her definition of overwhelm is actually “our perception of how we are coping with our situation, not actually how we are handling it.” She tells the difference between stress and overwhelm by telling a story of when she worked at a restaurant. She said, “When it was busy, we would get in “the weeds.” This meant that it was hectic, but you could “Still stay on top of it.”
Then Brene explains being overwhelmed, or “blown.” Brene stated, “every now and then, someone would walk into the kitchen and say “I’m blown […] [If this was you] the rule is that you have to leave the floor of the kitchen or restaurant for at least 10-15 minutes.” Brene described how co-workers would immediately get to work to cover for you.
Brene describes overwhelm as “an intense amount of stress where actually you can no longer function in it.” The cure? Funny you should ask. Brene says, “the only empirically based solution to overwhelm is nothingness.” (Brown, 2021).
Wow. When I first read that passage. It BLEW (no pun intended) my mind. Nothingness. To do nothing. Now, I am not sure about you, but as a caregiver, parent, and teacher, the concept of nothingness really did not even cross my mind. “How could I do nothing?” I thought as I read that passage. However, something pulled at my heart and gut when I read that. The pull was my inner self, attempting anything to get the conscious part of my mind’s attention. It was trying to say (or rather, scream) “HEY YOU! YES, YOU! YOU NEED THIS. DO NOTHING. STOP BEING IN CONSTANT OVERWHELM.”
How Overwhelm Leads to Burnout
Overwhelm is when we know we cannot go on. It is when we know we have had enough. Sometimes (if you are like me) it is someone else tapping you out for your own good. This was the case when my doctor listened to me speak about how I didn’t know how I could live anymore like this. My doctor took one look at me and said “you need a break.”
Being “in the weeds,” sounds a lot to me like being stressed. Maybe a day or two, or a whole week of a lot of stressful situations where you need help. But you are getting by. However, being overwhelmed sounds a lot like where I was in my last few months of teaching. Constantly treading water, in a state of despair, and chronically stressed. Chronically stressed to the point where the stress affected my blood pressure and heart rate.
Okay, so What’s Next?
If you find yourself resonating with this definition of overwhelm- you are not alone. If you realize you have been in this state of overwhelm or chronic stress- do not beat yourself up. It is so hard to recognize this when we are in the thick of it. Constantly being in the weeds leads to being blown. Sometimes the transition is so steady and so slow that we do not see it right away. Signs of burnout are tricky, and can sneak up at any time. However, I would argue that we do feel it. If we don’t listen to our bodies, our bodies begin to force us to listen.
It is at this point where we can make the decision. Do I need help right now or do I need nothingness until this can subside? Needing nothingness is not a weakness. In fact, recognizing that we need this is by far one of the bravest and strongest things we can do. It means we care about ourselves so much and know we bring value into the world. we know we need to reset and rejuvenate so we can bring our best self out into the world. And we could all use a little more of our best selves out there right now.