Question
What is burnout?
Answer
What is burnout? This word is everywhere, but let's dissect it. Before burnout is languishing, which is a fairly new phrase that has been created by Adam Grant. Grant is a researcher and public figure in the field of self-help, mental health, and self-care. Languishing refers to a state where you still have some level of energy and maybe some hope, but you feel joyless and aimless. It's the opposite of flourishing. It's a sense of stagnation and emptiness. When you're languishing, you may feel like you're muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield. The symptoms of languishing can mimic depression, but they are externally caused by your circumstances. The next step is burnout if you don't address or recognize languishing.
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress that can leave an individual feeling helpless, disillusioned, and exhausted. As the stress continues, you begin to lose interest and the motivation that led you to take on a specific role in the first place. Many of us got into allied health professions because we care about people and we want to make the world a better place. When we feel like we are being crushed under the weight of all of our expectations, both personal and professional, we stop remembering why went into healthcare. Jobs with higher pay and fewer hours start to look really attractive when you're burned out, as does quitting altogether.
Burnout can also lead to long-term problems with your body that make you more vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. It reduces productivity and zaps your energy, leaving you feeling helpless.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the webinar, Navigating Burnout: Managing Your Own Stress While Taking Care of Others, presented by Jenny Maenpaa, MSW, EdM, LCSW
