THE DIFFERENT KINDS, HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM
___
Burnout is defined as a combination of exhaustion, pessimism, and inefficiency. When we are burned out, we don’t have the emotional energy to invest our time and effort, we often distance ourselves from family, friends, and coworkers. Instead of feeling excited and motivated about aspects of your life, you feel apathetic, overwhelmed, resentful, and may also feel incompetent!
We live in a fast paced society, practically designed against neurodivergent people. Burnout is becoming increasingly common, ranging from different professions, lifestyles, medical conditions, etc; what is typically seen as only occupational, job related stress, actually affects us in all aspects of life! Take a look at how burnout can show up for you.
DIFFERENT TYPES:
There are the 5 most commonly seen types! This is no particular order, and symptoms may vary. Did I miss any other types? Feel free to comment on it!
Career Burnout: Job burnout is a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity. "Burnout" isn't an official medical diagnosis. Some experts think that other conditions, such as depression, are behind burnout. When people hear the term “burnout,” they typically think of this kind. Due to low prioritization for occupational mental wellness, toxic work environments, and a “hustle” mentality, job burnout has become more and more common
Parental Burnout: “Parental burnout is the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that one feels from the chronic stress of parenting,” - Dr. Puja Aggarwa. Extracurriculars, school trips, parent teacher meetings, playdates, birthday parties, finding childcare…it stresses me out just remembering those days. When you sacrifice your needs and desires, not taking time for yourself, this causes burnout! You can’t pour from an empty cup. And, when you model self care, it teaches your children the importance of it, and sets boundaries for your own wellbeing. Boundaries will likely be met with difficulty, but are valuable lessons to learn.
Relationship Burnout: Typically refers to individuals in a romantic relationship gradually developing feelings of exhaustion, resentment and pessimism about their partner or dynamic. This can also apply to other relationships, such as your coworkers, family, friends, and community. For marriage burnout, couples counselling can be great if issues are mutual. Sometimes though, these are internal issues we should receive separate support for. If it isn’t dealt with, this will likely seriously harm your relationship (breaking up, infidelity, toxic behaviour, etc).
Caregiver Burnout: Caregiver Burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. It may be accompanied by a change in attitude, from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned. Often responsibilities will become difficult, and neglected. This can be dangerous, as it not only hurts you, but the dependent you are caring for. Burnout can occur when caregivers don't get the support they need, or if they try to do more than they are able, mentally, physically or financially. It can also stem from abuse inflicted by the dependent, causing resentment towards them.
Medical Related Burnout: Taking care of your health, both mind and body, majorly influences stress levels! Coping with chronic illness, injuries, mental illness, and addiction can cause health burnout. Appointments, medication, therapies, treatments, and keeping track of it all - this can drain someone fast. Unfortunately this is a cycle which can feed into itself, not taking care of yourself causing you more medical problems to deal with! Autistic Burnout is experienced by folks on the spectrum trying to appear neurotypical, “masking.” Symptoms include a loss of abilities, regression, sensory sensitivity, and even physical pain. Masking is something that’s taught to all of us growing up, and that showing mental health is something to shame. This discourages people to reach out for support, and receive necessary accommodations.
Of course we can experience these types of burnout differently: What are your symptoms like? Feel free to let me know your burnout experiences. I am here to support you through them :)
Combating Burnout
While burnout is discouraging, especially if you once felt excited and motivated about your career. By making some crucial changes, you can move past it and into a healthier, comfortable, life balance.
Getting Support
Do you feel under-appreciated at work or at home? Under-challenged? Neglected? Whichever feelings best fit your scenario, use your symptoms to create a plan moving forward. Many people struggle to overcome burnout on their own, and that's okay. You shouldn’t fight your battles alone, support is here! Together let’s create a plan to get you living your best life.
Getting support from a specialist can help you discover practical ways to cope with and overcome burnout. By recognizing what type of burnout you have, you can discover ways to conquer it and get back to enjoying your life. Take the quiz and see if you could be experiencing burnout.
Contact me today to take the first step in recovering from burnout.