What’s the main cause of burnout?
Burnout doesn't just come out of nowhere.
Specifically, burnout, capitalist fatigue and chronic stress typically happen over a period of time. And they typically start with a stressor.
Imagine this: say a new stressor has entered your life.
Imagine that this stressor is demanding of your time, energy and resources. It doesn't have a simple and easy solution. This stressor pushes you and challenges you -- and because of this, your body decides to send out an alert that something needs to be done to take care of it. This alert could look like your palms starting to sweat. Or your heart rate increasing. Or your head starting to hurt. But . . . you've already got a lot on your plate today. You don't have time to stop, listen to this alert and do something about it. You've got other things to do.
So, you decide to push through.
You'll take care of that stressor later. Or you'll just ignore it 'til it goes away.
You continue your day without acknowledging and addressing this stressor. Then, you wake up the next day to the same alert from your body. Only this time, your body turns up the dial to be heard. You start having trouble concentrating on your tasks. You can't shake this eerie feeling like something is wrong. It's hard for you to stay focused and you feel anxious. But, that to-do list is still calling. Your responsibilities need attention too. And you know what, those deadlines are coming up fast.
So, you decide to push through again.
You'll take care of that nagging stressor later. It's not that bad. I mean, you’re "fine" . . . right?
The truth is: this repetitive cycle of the body not addressing stress is the one of the main causes burnout.
But it’s just not as simple as not acknowledging the stressors. Sometimes the cycle of burnout occurs because:
You aren’t sure how to address the stressors
You’re faced with multiple stressors at one time
You can’t remember the last time you’ve felt relieved from stress
Stress has become the norm in your life
The stressor(s) require more attention than you’re able to give it right now
You’re unaware of how your body communicates that you’re stressed
You have been conditioned to not address stressors
It doesn’t feel safe to address the stress
You’ve been taught to always be strong. Admitting to feeling stress is “weak”.
Burnout, capitalist fatigue and chronic stress are also the result of:
The demands of late-stage capitalism
The impact of systemic oppression and white supremacy
The self-sacrificial pressure of toxic productivity
The over-identification of professional titles and roles
Learning to understand your experience of stress and burnout is a key component to recovering from it. There’s a good chance that your experience is complex and requires attention, care and self-education to heal. This is why I created my series of burnout recovery and stress relief workshops.
Each burnout recovery workshop is designed to address the complex components of the burnout recovery process and each workshop includes mindfulness practices, guided journaling prompts and practical guidance to inform you of what you need to not only recover from your experience of burnout, but to begin living the well-rested life you deserve to live.
To take your next steps to learn more my workshops and how to bring them to you, click here.
To take my self-paced course on understanding your stress and burnout cycles, click here.
