5 signs you are suffering career burnout



Working in a stressful job can lead to exhaustion and burnout, which has several unpleasant effects, from insomnia to feeling like you have no support.

Speaking to Popsugar, psychologist and founder of online therapy service TAO Connect, Dr Sherry Benton, reveals how career burnout can negatively impact your mental health. She also posits that there is a marked difference between manageable job-related stress and complete burnout.

'Too often we think about mental health and mental illness as a single dimension, but the two are separate constructs,' she said.

'You can have a high level of mental health or a low level of mental health, and you can have more severe symptoms of mental illness or no symptoms.'

Here are five signs you could be suffering career burnout...

1. Insomnia and exhaustion

Having trouble sleeping and feeling exhausted all the time is one sign of burnout. Dr Benton suggests that working should leave a person feeling energised and satisfied not tired and stressed all the time.

2. No support

If you have bad management or feel like you don't have enough support at work, it can lead to burnout in the workplace. You should feel like you have a healthy support network to prevent this.

3. No sense of pride

When you work in a job that you find mundane and meaningless, you may lose any sense of pride in the role. Dr Benton explains that often people can experience burnout when they work in a job that isn't a lifestyle mismatch.

4. Trying to be perfect

Striving for perfection is often a good thing but if it causes frustration and stress it can lead to burnout.

'When that's your mindset, you arrive to the point of diminishing return,' she explains.

'Your concentration falls apart, it's hard to focus, and every task you do becomes more difficult and more complicated. It affects your entire brain's memory system to try to work in a burnout state in a long period of time.

'You actually become far less effective, and you're making yourself less competent by not having that balance in your life.'

5. No downtime

It's so important to achieve a work-life balance for your mental health. If you aren't able to make time for friends, family or hobbies it can lead to career burnout.

For those suffering from work burnout, a change of scenery and pace could be just what is needed. Perhaps you could invest your time and passion into building a small business by doing something you love?

Via Prima

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