Find your reset button and use it!

Here you will get more information about burnouts and you will also discover some things that can help you press your reset button.

Burn what?

Burnout is a specific form of stress often found in professions that involve frequent and intensive personal contact. For example, jobs in the education, health care, and management sectors all entail a higher risk of burnout.

The name burnout is symbolic but has very real effects. It is caused by a prolonged period of excessive stress, a process that can last years before eventually leading to a sense of emotional exhaustion.

The burnout process is reversible, but it takes time. There are no ready-made solutions for dealing with burnout or recognising and positively addressing its warning signs.

Lack of energy, motivation, or passion

One of the main symptoms of burnout is a lack of energy and motivation, even for the smallest of tasks. Neither work nor activities at home seem meaningful or worthwhile. From playing with your kids, to exercising with friends, or making love to your partner – everything feels like too much, impossible. You lie exhausted on the sofa, staring blankly at the television – a hollowed out version of yourself.

Constant worry and poor sleep

Constant worry and poor sleep are also indications of burnout. You spend the entire day dreading work, the stress that comes with it, colleagues bound to slack off, or targets you probably won’t meet. That worrying drags on day and night. In the end, you don’t get enough sleep, feel increasingly listless, your performance suffers and, as a result, worry even more. The end result is that you drive yourself into a state of complete exhaustion, increasing the risk of burnout.

Poorer physical condition or lack of self-care

Chronic fatigue is one of the most common signs of burnout, which is often accompanied by a weaker immune system. Hard work and unhealthy diets often go hand in hand. After a while, this has major repercussions on your health. It makes sense then that colds, flu-like symptoms, headaches, and gastrointestinal complaints are common burnout symptoms.

Touchiness and irritability

Being hyper focused on your work can make you touchy and short-tempered, which is why you should seek some peace and quiet after a long day of work. However, unless you live alone, that’s not always possible. Your children, partner, or other housemates demand attention, want to play, turn up the sound on the TV or radio (too loud), slam doors, etc. That sensory overload is infuriating and causes your stress levels to skyrocket. Does this sound a little too familiar? Be careful, because those are clear signs of impending burnout.

Apathy and insecurity

A decrease in involvement at work, behaving apathetically, distancing yourself and/or losing interest in your or your colleagues’ work are all classic burnout symptoms. The same goes for insecurity about your work performance, low self-esteem, and a pessimistic or cynical mindset.