What is Burnout? Signs, Causes, and How to Recover
I recently started watching The Pitt, a show that follows a 12-hour emergency room shift in Pittsburgh, PA. As a former hospital employee, I was struck by how realistic it feels. Watching the staff move from one crisis to another—patient emergencies, staffing shortages, and personal stress—I found myself wondering: How do they recover after a shift like that? If you’ve ever ended your workday feeling completely drained, overwhelmed, or numb, you’re not alone. Burnout is incredibly common, especially in healthcare and other helping professions—but it can affect anyone. The good news is that there are ways to recognize it, address it, and begin to recover.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is a term that many people use, but not everyone actually knows what it means. In Emily Ballesteros’ book, “The Cure for Burnout,” she identifies three different types of burnout.
1. Volume- too much work. Are you constantly overwhelmed? Is your “to-do list” constantly growing?
2. Social- too many demands from others. Are you in a situation of trying to be available to everyone? Are your relationships one-sided?
3. Boredom- Not enough stimulation or growth. Has your skill set plateaued? Do you feel disengaged and unchallenged? Sometimes, surprisingly boredom can be a huge factor of disengagement and burnout.
And yes, as Ballesteros highlights in her book, it’s quite possible to be burned out out in all 3 of the listed ways to be burned out!
Burnout first became a phrase in the 1970’s but has only in recently years been identified as a syndrome rather than a symptom. In January of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) re-labeled the designation from a “state” of exhaustion to a “syndrome” resulting from “chronic workplace stress,” According to the WHO, Burnout is a syndrome of chronic work stress. It can leave you feeling emotionally and physically exhausted, detached from co-workers, and unmotivated.
Factors of Burnout:
Some factors that can contribute to burnout:
· Chronic stress: a job might be a good fit but significant chronic stress can lead to burn out.
· Workplace trauma: Primary or Secondary trauma; Individuals who experience a traumatic event at work or experience symptoms of trauma from hearing others’ stories, and not processing it may experience symptoms of burnout.
· Caregiver burnout- individuals who are responsible for caring for dependents and don’t have enough support or adequate breaks can experience burnout.
How to Recover from Burnout:
Suggestions for your individual mental health and well-being:
· Take a vacation! This may sound simple but often with work burnout due to high work volume, individuals feel like they can’t take time off. Monitoring how you feel after the vacation can be important information for considering additional steps for your well-being.
· Reduce workload, set boundaries to ensure better work/life balance and expectations. Start small- what is one less thing you can do today?
· Offer yourself check-in days. Can you find a time once a month to really check-in with yourself? A solo day of hiking, journaling, or resting can help you get a sense of how you’re doing and process things.
· Working individually with a therapist that you trust can help you monitor how you’re doing and how you can minimize burnout.
· Consider changing roles or careers. Is there a different role that would better serve you at your organization? Is it time to think about using your skills in a different setting?
Suggestions for organizations and employers to support employees from burnout:
Offering flexible leave policies that allow employees to take time when they need it without judgement or justification.
Normalizing taking time off and leaving work on time.
A protocol for processing changes (layoffs, restructuring) and traumatic events (unexpected events such as natural disasters or violence in the workplace).
Review and add opportunities for growth, advancement, and mentoring.
Acknowledging employees beyond their professional role.
Recovery from Burnout: Next Steps:
Assessing burnout needs ongoing monitoring. Particularly in high stress jobs and helping professions, it is important to have strong social support and consider working with a therapist to process things. It’s important to keep checking-in with yourself because what works for you at one point in your career, may not continue to work for you.
If you’re noticing signs of burnout, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Working with a therapist can help you better understand what’s contributing to your burnout and how to recover in a sustainable way.
If you’re located in Washington and are interested in individual therapy, you’re welcome to reach out to learn more about working together.
If you’re an employer, leader, or part of an organization, I offer consultation to help teams better understand, prevent, and respond to burnout. This can include support around workplace stress, team dynamics, and processing after difficult or traumatic events.
Feel free to contact me to discuss your needs or set up an initial consultation.
