Burnout, a form of chronic stress and exhaustion, has been on the rise since the Covid-19 pandemic. It is currently being experienced by more than half of young people around the world.
An amalgamation of 44 studies, surveying 26,500 students worldwide, found prevalence at "56.3% for high emotional exhaustion (EE), 55.3% for high cynicism (CY) and 41.8% for low personal accomplishment (PA)”.
What causes burnout?
While burnout can be caused by stress, they are not the same thing; stress typically dissipates once a task has been completed, whereas burnout is a prolonged, pervasive, chronic condition. It is caused by a buildup of stress that has long been left unaddressed.
Contributing factors may include overwhelming workloads, unfair treatment at work, school or home, confusing responsibilities, lack of control, lack of sleep, constant criticism, a chaotic environment, unreasonable expectations, or an overall lack of support.
The spiral of burnout
Psychologists Gail North and Herbert Freudenberger identified twelve stages a person goes through while burning out. First, an at-risk person becomes excessively ambitious and feels compelled to over-achieve because they fear falling behind their peers.
They then take on more work or study harder. It becomes difficult to balance work and personal life. In order to complete more assignments, they begin skipping meals or losing sleep.
Depite realising that this pattern is unhealthy, they deny that there might be a problem. They dismiss anxiety, ill health or insomnia as being trivial.
Over time, they find themselves revising their personal values. They forget the things that used to be important to them and only prioritise work or school.
This causes new problems, which a person burning out would also deny. They ignore conflicts that may arise from their unbalanced life. Others are deemed lazy or unreasonable.
Next, the person starts withdrawing socially and ignoring family and friends. This naturally impacts others, but the person involved no longer follows through on their social responsibilities (such as caring for younger siblings or older relatives).
Eventually, this leads to depersonalisation. A person feels detached from oneself, or like nothing is real.
In turn, this causes inner emptiness (apathy and feelings of worthlessness) and later depression (exhaustion, problems focusing, lack of interest in life).
The final stage is full burnout syndrome. This is a breaking point, where a person collapses or has a mental breakdown. At this juncture, medical intervention becomes necessary.
Symptoms of burnout
1. Physical exhaustion, aches, and frequent illness
2. Lack of creativity or motivation
3. Feelings of self-doubt, helplessness, or failure
4. Loss of appetite
5. Insomnia
6. Irritability and behavioural changes
7. Reduced performance at work or school
8. Brainfog, or feelings of unreality or dissociation.
The symptoms of burnout overlap with depression. The difference between the two is that burnout can be remedied by readjusting work and study life.
Depression, however, needs therapy and medication to be treated, and cannot go away just by taking a break.
How to treat it
The best solution is to distance yourself from the stressor. However, this is not always feasible; we do not necessarily have control over school assignments, parental pressure or work responsibilities.
Instead, here are some ways to manage burnout while keeping up with life.
1. Examine what lead to this point
Burnout can come from many places — for instance, parental pressure to succeed, an unreasonable workload, poor time management skills, or underlying health conditions. To mitigate these factors, the first step is to correctly identify them. Once they have been identified, try tackling them at the root. You may, for example, need to have a discussion with your parents about their expectations, or ask for help in managing your time or assignments.
2. Lighten the workload
While it may not be possible to let go of all commitments, you should consider cutting out what is unecessary. For example, to keep up with school, you may need to cut down on extra-curricular activities. Streamline what you absolutely need to save your energy for. Other commitments may need to be put on hold.
3. Be as compassionate to yourself as you are to others
If constantly achieving straight As is no longer feasible, make peace with the idea that sometimes you will perform better than others. You likely would not blame a friend for not getting a perfect score on their exam. Why shouldn’t you extend that same understanding to yourself?
4. Communicate
Speak candidly to a supervisor, boss, parent, counsellor, friend, or anyone whom you believe may be able to help. Even if they cannot do the work for you, they may be able to check in on you and make sure you are taking care of yourself.
5. Do not neglect your needs
Skipping meals, erratic sleep patterns, and isolation will make burnout worse. As far as possible, try to keep your body healthy and functioning.
6. If taking a long break is not possible, try several small ones
Forcing yourself to work or study non-stop is not sustainable. Short, frequent breaks are necessary to recharge the brain and maintain focus. Consider trying something like the Pomodoro technique; follow every 25-minute work session with a mandatory 5-minute break.
7. Re-examine what is important to you
As outlined in the twelve stages, burnout can make a person lose sight of that they value in life, such as relationships and good health. If you find that work or school has suddenly become your only priority, it might be worth taking a step back and refocusing your attention on the things you truly hold important.
An amalgamation of 44 studies, surveying 26,500 students worldwide, found prevalence at "56.3% for high emotional exhaustion (EE), 55.3% for high cynicism (CY) and 41.8% for low personal accomplishment (PA)”.
What causes burnout?
While burnout can be caused by stress, they are not the same thing; stress typically dissipates once a task has been completed, whereas burnout is a prolonged, pervasive, chronic condition. It is caused by a buildup of stress that has long been left unaddressed.
Contributing factors may include overwhelming workloads, unfair treatment at work, school or home, confusing responsibilities, lack of control, lack of sleep, constant criticism, a chaotic environment, unreasonable expectations, or an overall lack of support.
The spiral of burnout
Psychologists Gail North and Herbert Freudenberger identified twelve stages a person goes through while burning out. First, an at-risk person becomes excessively ambitious and feels compelled to over-achieve because they fear falling behind their peers.
They then take on more work or study harder. It becomes difficult to balance work and personal life. In order to complete more assignments, they begin skipping meals or losing sleep.
Depite realising that this pattern is unhealthy, they deny that there might be a problem. They dismiss anxiety, ill health or insomnia as being trivial.
Over time, they find themselves revising their personal values. They forget the things that used to be important to them and only prioritise work or school.
This causes new problems, which a person burning out would also deny. They ignore conflicts that may arise from their unbalanced life. Others are deemed lazy or unreasonable.
Next, the person starts withdrawing socially and ignoring family and friends. This naturally impacts others, but the person involved no longer follows through on their social responsibilities (such as caring for younger siblings or older relatives).
Eventually, this leads to depersonalisation. A person feels detached from oneself, or like nothing is real.
In turn, this causes inner emptiness (apathy and feelings of worthlessness) and later depression (exhaustion, problems focusing, lack of interest in life).
The final stage is full burnout syndrome. This is a breaking point, where a person collapses or has a mental breakdown. At this juncture, medical intervention becomes necessary.
Symptoms of burnout
1. Physical exhaustion, aches, and frequent illness
2. Lack of creativity or motivation
3. Feelings of self-doubt, helplessness, or failure
4. Loss of appetite
5. Insomnia
6. Irritability and behavioural changes
7. Reduced performance at work or school
8. Brainfog, or feelings of unreality or dissociation.
The symptoms of burnout overlap with depression. The difference between the two is that burnout can be remedied by readjusting work and study life.
Depression, however, needs therapy and medication to be treated, and cannot go away just by taking a break.
How to treat it
The best solution is to distance yourself from the stressor. However, this is not always feasible; we do not necessarily have control over school assignments, parental pressure or work responsibilities.
Instead, here are some ways to manage burnout while keeping up with life.
1. Examine what lead to this point
Burnout can come from many places — for instance, parental pressure to succeed, an unreasonable workload, poor time management skills, or underlying health conditions. To mitigate these factors, the first step is to correctly identify them. Once they have been identified, try tackling them at the root. You may, for example, need to have a discussion with your parents about their expectations, or ask for help in managing your time or assignments.
2. Lighten the workload
While it may not be possible to let go of all commitments, you should consider cutting out what is unecessary. For example, to keep up with school, you may need to cut down on extra-curricular activities. Streamline what you absolutely need to save your energy for. Other commitments may need to be put on hold.
3. Be as compassionate to yourself as you are to others
If constantly achieving straight As is no longer feasible, make peace with the idea that sometimes you will perform better than others. You likely would not blame a friend for not getting a perfect score on their exam. Why shouldn’t you extend that same understanding to yourself?
4. Communicate
Speak candidly to a supervisor, boss, parent, counsellor, friend, or anyone whom you believe may be able to help. Even if they cannot do the work for you, they may be able to check in on you and make sure you are taking care of yourself.
5. Do not neglect your needs
Skipping meals, erratic sleep patterns, and isolation will make burnout worse. As far as possible, try to keep your body healthy and functioning.
6. If taking a long break is not possible, try several small ones
Forcing yourself to work or study non-stop is not sustainable. Short, frequent breaks are necessary to recharge the brain and maintain focus. Consider trying something like the Pomodoro technique; follow every 25-minute work session with a mandatory 5-minute break.
7. Re-examine what is important to you
As outlined in the twelve stages, burnout can make a person lose sight of that they value in life, such as relationships and good health. If you find that work or school has suddenly become your only priority, it might be worth taking a step back and refocusing your attention on the things you truly hold important.