Burnout: The Unpopular Conversation No One Is Having
PHOTO: Aryka Randall
It’s 2023. We survived a global pandemic (kind of), inflation has reached an all time high, the housing market is in shambles, and there are several wars against queer people, women, and education taking place. A feeling of grief and anxiety washes over us but we’re not sure how to describe the emotional impact it leaves behind. Clinical burnout is quietly taking a toll on peoples physical and mental health and for some reason, it’s not being addressed in mainstream media.
The phrase “burnout” has been overused and abused in pop culture. As a result, many are unfamiliar with the signs and very real repercussions of what happens when a person experiences actual burnout after pushing themselves too hard. After 2020, many people expressed feelings of overwhelming grief, depression, irritability, and helplessness they hadn’t experienced before. All of these feelings are valid but often go unchecked as most peoples obligation is merely making it through the day to pay their bills.
There’s a vicious cycle of overworking and reaping little to no reward taking place. Throw in being a target of prejudice on a regular basis and the trials and tribulations of everyday life, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for burnout. This conversation matters and today as a community, we’re take steps to make ourselves more aware of how we can all avoid being burned out in the future. Let’s start by diving into a few general signs of clinical burnout.
Irritability and exhaustion- These are some of the first signs you’re approaching burnout. We all have a threshold for what we can and can’t tolerate but when you’re burnt out, that threshold becomes very limited. You may find yourself extra grumpy, isolating from others regularly, or mentally overstimulated in social settings you typically don’t mind.
Hopelessness- Feeling hopeless is a huge sign of burn out. Life starts to feel bleak when you’re too tired to feel motivated and moving through life in a way that’s robotic. Being hopeless makes you feel blank.
Feeling Unmotivated- Losing motivation to do the things you once loved is another very obvious sign of burnout. Often times the loss of motivation is coupled with the feeling of hopelessness. You may feel like life will never have meaning again or that things feeling mundane will never change.
Restless Nights- You would think being burnt out would make you sleep better at night but in most peoples experience, that’s not the case. Anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and overthinking also play a part in burnout. Worrying about the burnout creates more burnout. Go figure.
Disassociating- Drifting off mentally, staring spells, and zoning out when sensory things become too overwhelming is the brain and bodies way of letting you know it needs a break. If you find yourself zoning out often, you may want to scale things back where you can.
PHOTO: Aryka Randall
So what’s the solution to existing in a place where the everyday person is working themselves to the point of burnout, and how do we deal with the constant reminder that being queer is a threat to extremist who care more about their guns than their own kids? We unplug. We set boundaries, we unplug, and we give ourselves time and grace after acknowledging that we in fact are not doing well mentally 24/7 and that’s ok.
Society demanding too much from us at work isn’t the only issue at hand. Social media and peoples need to be accessible all the time is also an issue. Our minds need rest just like our bodies do and being constantly overstimulated by electronics, emails, texts and phone calls is a nuisance.
Give yourselves time to recharge whenever you can. To be clear, recharging doesn’t mean going out on days off or spending hours doom scrolling on social media. Recharging means meditating, sleeping, going for a walk, sitting in nature, or reading a book. These are all things that help you naturally regulate your nervous system which plays a huge part in dealing with burnout.
The other thing to understand about burnout is that it doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t disappear in a day. Lifestyle changes will need to be made and boundaries will have to be set if you want to get back to being you. Changing your diet and incorporating more movement into your day can also be helpful for avoiding and combating burnout.
As someone who's been on an upswing from burnout for about three months now, I want to encourage you all to stay the course and know that it will get better. One day you’ll start to feel like yourself again and when you do, it will be all the motivation you need to keep going. Until then, take care of yourselves and know that you aren’t alone.
