Warning signs of burnout: the 12 stages of Burnout
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Evaluate your life satisfaction (self-assessment)
3-week burnout recovery plan (self-paced guide)
What are the signs of burnout?
Burnout is one of the most disruptive and difficult problems facing people in the modern-day world of work. At the shallow end of burnout, an individual may feel tired, unmotivated, or grumpy. At the deep end, burnout can feel like being forced to continue running an endless marathon — out of breath and panting, or being inside a lightless tunnel — losing hope with no light in sight, or even like drowning in a stormy ocean — flailing and choking on mouth fulls of water.
From my research in the causes and nuances of burnout as a burnout coach, here a few of the ways in which real people have described their own signs:
“A complete collapse of your day-to-day.”
“A complete lack of motivation paired with a high level of anxiety.”
“Stress to the point that it impacts daily and executive functioning — memory, sleep, hygiene, physical health, emotional regulation, cognitive processing.”
Tangible signs of burnout can include:
Mental fatigue
Agitation
Cynicism
Apprehension of the future
Lack of feeling
Migraines
Difficulty handling creative tasks
Worsening memory
Dysthymia
Antisocial behavior
Apathy
Sleep issues
When it comes to officially diagnosing burnout, there are many different ways to do so, but according to Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North, who officially coined the term “burnout,” burnout is the official 12th stage of a series of 12 progressive stages:
The compulsion to prove oneself — this compulsion, involving one’s self-esteem, expectations, and value, can become over-ingrained at the expense of one’s inner self and needs. It can be rooted in low self-esteem, driving one to “fuse” with one’s job or the object of a societal role.
Working harder — an early flag that working harder may precipitate a burnout is an unwillingness to delegate work for fear of losing control, assuming things will fall apart, or losing the reward/credit/status of the work. Obsessiveness sets in, as does a fear of not being enough in stage 2. Sensitive insecurities generally drive an urgency to work harder.
Neglecting needs — in stage 3, one feels pressed for time. Daily tasks and personal needs are sacrificed or ignored, like calling or seeing friends or healthy habits. One postpones, forgets, ignores, and lets their self-needs slip. One may also become over-serious, lose their sense of humor, become easily irritated, and start self-medicating with alcohol, food, or coffee.
Displacement of conflicts — this is a critical stage as this is when one becomes conscious of the rising problems and conflicts related to working harder. Manifestations of stress may have made one wonder, but these can be disregarded as threats standing in the way of the desired goal or future outcome. Conflicts engage the mind’s threat defense in denial, anxiety, dismissal. Concerns from others are also brushed aside or rationalized away, too, by a focus on achieving the future goal (even though the goal posts will only shift when the goal is reached). Displacement can also involve distracting one from conflicts with the real issue of work through self-medications like food, partying, spending money, working out, dating, or dieting. Sleep and fatigue become more pronounced in this stage.
Revision of values — with conflicts blocking work neutralized, time and investment in other, previously valued aspects of life are cut, such as vacations, relationships, dating, time with friends, or downtime – time is prioritized for work. The desire to achieve in work is mixed with a fear of losing one’s sacrifice, investment, or future reward by losing focus on work, which redoubles commitment to work and displacement of life elements competing with work. Working takes on a sense of survival; chronic stress has degraded one’s brain functioning so the mind narrows to a focus on survival. In the cloud of burnout, continuing to work is equated with continuing to survive. One’s work achievement is fused with one’s perception of self, and to stop achieving in work is to stop surviving. This is irrational, but rational thought was an early casualty of the burnout process. Relationships can experience damage in this stage, due to value-shifting and interpersonal conflicts being blown out of proportion, such as a friend wanting to vent being judged as overbearing.
Denial of emerging problems — this is an inflection point, where one now begins to deny reality. One retreats into an inner-world in a dysregulated, subconscious attempt to survive the increasingly serious toll burnout is exacting on one’s life. Energy can plummet and tolerance of interactions with others or new ideas can be denied as well. Anything but the same old, well-worn work routines may feel as though they would require too much energy to engage with. One can become rigid and inflexible, impatient whenever going too far from routines to return to the “safe,” known habits. This challenge in engaging with anything new can lead to further isolation.
Withdrawal — one withdraws further in mind and more isolated from the world, like an attempt to shelter an open wound by hiding it away. Cynicism drastically worsens in this stage, and can crate a self-fulfilling paranoia: one withdraws from the world and labels it as hostile, causing the world to react by distancing itself. One’s own cynicism is therefore affirmed, and paranoia grows, leading to further isolation. Note that high-functioning burnouts can still maintain a semblance of outer-normalcy by conserving energy to “perform,” only to collapse, exhausted when no one is looking or when in private. Ritualized behaviors are a sign of withdrawal, and an intolerance for spontaneity. Self-medication becomes more tempting, to try to regain energy or one’s “old self.”
Odd behavioral changes one’s withdrawal intensifies and one loses more control of emotions and perception of reality. One may not be able to differentiate between criticism and concern from others, and self-medicating can worsen. One’s behavior becomes erratic or manic, and may be hard to get a hold of. One’s decisions in this time bear the brunt of projections from an inner chaos, like a relationship that is suddenly ended.
Depersonalization — one loses touch with oneself, and at this stage other people. One has all but lost the ability to recover autonomously, and need help because one can no longer understand what one’s self-needs are. Consider seeking medical attention.
Inner emptiness — one feels hollow, useless, and void, yet reflexively tries in vain to refill with self-medication – anything to numb the empty feeling – despite the inefficacy of these methods. One may have panic attacks, and an over-indulgence in primal needs of food and/or sex. Consider seeking medical attention.
Depression — this is a medical condition in and of itself, but also a stage in burnout. It is characterized by hopelessness, despair, and giving up. Unlike stage 10 when self-medicating aims to restore a sense of feeling normal or excited again, self-medicating in stage 11 is just done in order to face another day. Over-sleep is a sign of this stage, as is skipping showers or neglecting laundry or taking out the trash; but denial may be so strongly rooted that even in this stage one may not be aware of the severity of the situation. Strongly consider seeking medical attention.
Burnout syndrome — life is rendered meaningless; mental of physical collapse are possible, and one’s condition may even be life-threatening due to a compromised immune system. Seek medical attention immediately.
Another means of assessing burnout is the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which is the most commonly used scientific method for officially diagnosing burnout and uses 3 criteria.
If the above describes how you’re feeling, then take these symptoms seriously. Burnout is a serious condition, and your health is far more important than your work.
Burnout is a serious and complex issue, and everyone’s recovery journey is different. Continue your recovery with these additional steps:
Start the free, self-guided 3-week recovery plan
Read stories from people who have burned out discover burnout resources at LearnAboutBurnout.com
Explore how working with a Burnout coach can help
Take this confidential self-assessment to evaluate your current level of burnout