Understanding Burnout Part 1: Symptoms
How burnout affects us physically, psychologically, and relationally
“I didn’t see my body as a place of infinite wisdom, but instead saw it as a tool to be used to push, create, figure out, and do.”
My interest in burnout stems from my personal experience. The above quote is from an activist named Tricia Hersey [1], author of Rest is Resistance, and it captures how I have felt towards myself for much of my life.
I have felt burnt out as an employee working in fast-paced, demanding roles at companies including Procter & Gamble and Intuit. I have felt exhausted by academic demands and family responsibilities. I have also experienced burnout on a physical scale, and in my relationships.
In my five-year psychotherapy education, I decided to dedicate a year of research exclusively to understanding burnout both due to its impact in my own life, as well as its prominence for so many of my friends, coworkers, and family members.
This post is one of several that I will be writing to share my understanding of the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for people suffering from burnout. In this first post, we will explore the symptoms of burnout.
So what is burnout?
At a high level, burnout is defined by CAMH (The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) as “A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress” [2].
“Burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress”
What are the symptoms of burnout?
Burnout can exist in many different forms; this post will mostly explore workplace burnout, but I want to call out that parenting is another major context for burnout. While parenting is generally devalued in our society, it is arguably one of the most important forms of work. Many of the burnout symptoms, causes and solutions I will share are relevant both to formal work as well as parenting.
Physical symptoms
Burnout can show up in our bodies in many forms including digestive issues, musculoskeletal issues, reproductive system issues, immune system issues, chronic illness, and increased blood pressure. Burnt-out individuals often find themselves physiologically stuck in trauma-coping states such as fight, flight, freeze, and fawn [3]. Christina Maslach, one of the pioneering psychologists in the study of burnout, found correlations between burnout and physical symptoms such as substance abuse, suicidality, insomnia, migraines, and ulcers [4].
Psychological symptoms
There are many psychological symptoms of burnout including emotional exhaustion [5] [12], low self-esteem [6], obsessive thoughts [3], disproportionate reactions to events [3], depression [5], and poor impulse control [7].
A sense of inefficacy is a major symptom of burnout, which refers to feeling like a failure in one’s work [4]. Interestingly, Byung-Chul Han, a philosopher, writes about how a common indicator of burnout is hyperactivity and over-functioning [5], which he states are common states for people constantly living in a state of dissociation.
Dissociation is another common symptom of burnout, which is a coping mechanism people use in the face of both chronic and one-time event trauma, and it allows us to disconnect from ourselves to survive [10].
Social/relational symptoms
Finally, several burnout symptoms impact our social and relational experiences. Insecure attachment tends to be correlated with burnout [11]. Somebody with insecure attachment tends to be drawn to relationships where they aren’t able to feel trust, security, and stability, and in psychotherapy we explore how formative relationships with caregivers might have played a part in setting up this pattern of relating. Burnout coexists with a lack of reliable social support [11].
Depersonalization is another relational symptom of burnout, which refers to when someone develops an uncaring, cold, even dehumanizing response to others [4]. Depersonalization causes individuals to actively criticize and dislike others, often expecting the worst from them.
Burnt-out individuals often struggle with social media and internet addiction [7], and while social networks tend to promise friendship, they tend to contribute to a sense of emptiness and exhaustion [5].
People who are burnt out tend to make more impulsive decisions such as gambling or having affairs [7].
Often people will experience several or more of these symptoms at once, making it very challenging to function in day-to-day life. In therapy, we work to gently identify which symptoms each person faces; these are often areas that we need to be extra sensitive towards. In therapy, we look at these symptoms as evidence of underlying conflict and treat the symptoms with curiosity and compassion.
If you found yourself identifying with several of the above-mentioned symptoms and are interested in learning more about potential causes and solutions for burnout, check out the other posts in this series:
References
[1] Hersey, T. (2022). Rest is resistance: Free yourself from Grind Culture and Reclaim Your Life. Aster.
[2] Career Burnout. CAMH. (n.d.). https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/career-burnout
[3] Nagoski, E., & Nagoski, A. (2020). Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books.
[4] Maslach, C. (1983). Burnout: The cost of caring. Malor Books.
[5] Han, B.-C., & Butler, E. (2015). The Burnout Society. Stanford Briefs, an imprint of Stanford University Press.
[6] Baldissarri, C., Andrighetto, L., & Volpato, C. (2014). When work does not ennoble man: psychological consequence of working objectification. Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 21(3), 327–339. https://doi.org/10.4473/TPM21.3.7
[7] Price, D. (2022). Laziness does not exist. Atria Books.
[10] Maté, G., & Maté, D. (2023). The myth of normal: Trauma, illness and healing in a toxic culture. Vintage Canada.
[11] Carson, J., & Dennison, P. (2008). The role of Groupwork in Tackling Organisational Burnout. Groupwork, 18(2), 8–25. https://doi.org/10.1921/81122
[12] Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. (2001). Job Burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1146/psych.716
