What Is Burnout?
Burning the candle at both ends….Giving, giving, giving……Running on empty.
Have you ever had these feelings? They point to a type of mental and physical fatigue called burnout. We have all heard of it, but what is it really?
Burnout: exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation, usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration
We’re going for a while thinking, “I can do everything that life throws at me!” Then, before we know it, physical and/or emotional exhaustion sweep over us, we start to feel detached from what’s happening around us, and we feel a strong lack of effectiveness or accomplishment.
A section of the book I’m reading with my small group, Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist, really spoke to the heart of what burnout sounds like to me.
The seduction of public fruit and private wreckage.
Does everything look good on the outside? Are you presenting the picture perfect family, home, business, but on the inside your marriage and relationships are falling apart? Burnout.
I am not building a kingdom if the work is destroying me.
Are you working so hard building up a business, church, children that there’s no time to take care of yourself? Burnout.
It’s funny how burnout and it’s feelings can creep up on you and you’re in the throes of destruction and disaster before you know it. On the brink of divorce. Children who won’t speak with you. 15, 20, 30 pounds overweight. Not sleeping.
Fear not, hope is not lost! You can come back and start to recognize warning signs of burnout.