Burnout literally means burned out; ‘out of fuel’, ‘out of energy’. And that’s how it feels! You are completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. You try for a while and deny these feelings (often new to you). You more and more cancel your social appointments to find peace, especially during the weekend. Or you hope to be able to fully refuel on vacation. But in the end you are no longer able to charge your battery again.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is a reaction of your body due to long-term stress. People with burnout symptoms are physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted and can hardly really achieve anything. It feels as if the elastic has been fully stretched, cannot return to its original position and can break due to the constant tension.
Burnout is clearly different from depression: burnout is in first instance an ‘energy disorder’, and depression a ‘mood disorder’. Burnout and depression have similar symptoms, but other causes.
Burnout background
Various aspects play an important role in a burnout:
“Energy” disorder
We consider a burnout primarily as an ‘energy’ disorder. You are physically ‘burned out’. You have no energy, do not feel like anything and all activities take a lot of effort. Often due to long-term stress your hormone balance has been considerably disrupted (e.g. adrenaline, cortisol). A long-term production of a lot of cortisol depletes the body and that in turn can lead to energy loss, fatigue, listlessness, etc. In short: all those symptoms of the burnout.
Underlying causes
The burnout complaints naturally have an underlying cause. Why does it happen to you now? Why do you experience so much stress for a long time? Why do you always think you should take the initiative? Why are you always the first to respond to e-mail, etc.? Why don’t you say “no”?
Do you want to know if you have a burnout?
Take the free Burnout Test and test yourself for a burnout. And receive a short report and personal advice!