Burnout: How to recognize it?

Hello all,

How are you today?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), burnout is characterized by "a feeling of intense fatigue, loss of control and inability to achieve meaningful results at work."

We all have periods when we feel stressed. But when this state of stress is prolonged, it can lead to burnout.

Signs of burnout include: exhaustion, lack of enthusiasm at work, reduced work productivity or performance, worry and anxiety, sleep problems, and more.

What about you? Have you ever experienced burnout? What were the symptoms that let you know something was wrong? How did you overcome the situation?

Feel free to share and exchange in the comments below!

Take care,
Courtney

@Courtney_J  Thank you for the support. I’ll read into it. 

Thank you so much for this article. The exact reason I took a weeks vacation right now. It is very stressful at work. Being a nurse in a nursing home during a pandemic with hardly any kind of acknowledgement of how hard we are working to keep our selves and our residents safe. Hardly any positive reinforcement. Lack of staff to care for the residents takes a toll. But we are told our work numbers don't support any of us saying we are burned out so we can't be burned out.  That would be like a resident saying they need a pain pill because they are in pain (we have to take what they say about their pain, even if they dont look in pain) and us saying  well you dont look like you are in pain so I am not going to give you a pain pill. Burn out is real despite the 'numbers' not supporting it.  I have had several conversations with fellow nurses and some of us are looking to either reduce work days or quit nursing all together. I have been a nurse for 32 years and have never done anything else and some days after work I wonder why I am still doing it.