{"id":844,"date":"2019-07-19T17:48:52","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T22:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/?p=844"},"modified":"2019-07-19T17:49:37","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T22:49:37","slug":"are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You on the Road to Burnout?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Credit: Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Are you snippy and irritable? Do you procrastinate on things\nthat are important? Has complete exhaustion and disillusionment overtaken your\nlife? Is every day a bad day, with seemingly insurmountable problems? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then you may be on the road to burnout, a serious obstacle\nto well-being. Burnout is caused by excessive\nand prolonged stress<\/a>\u2014it\u2019s stress multiplied. As the following table shows,\nstress produces a sense of overload, whereas burnout produces a sense of emptiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Stress\n vs. Burnout<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
\n Stress<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Burnout<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr>
Characterized by over-engagement <\/td>Characterized by disengagement <\/td><\/tr>
Emotions are over-reactive <\/td>Emotions are blunted <\/td><\/tr>
Produces urgency and hyperactivity <\/td>Produces helplessness and hopelessness <\/td><\/tr>
\n Loss of energy\n <\/td> Loss of motivation, ideals, and hope <\/td><\/tr>
\n Leads to anxiety disorders\n <\/td>Leads to detachment and depression <\/td><\/tr>
\n Primary damage is physical\n <\/td> Primary damage is emotional <\/td><\/tr>
\n May kill you prematurely\n <\/td>May make life seem not worth living <\/td><\/tr>
Source:\u00a0Stress and Burnout in Ministry<\/em><\/a> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Burnout can emerge gradually from insufficient sleep and\nrelaxation, or from drowning in stress. It\u2019s best to address the triggers before\nthey reach a breaking point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep-deficient Trigger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Parents of newborn babies and people taking care of elderly\nor ill relatives often put in too many hours without respite. The same thing\ncan happen when you stay up late studying for exams, juggle a second job or\naspirational career, or even partying late into the night. Over time the lack\nof sleep saps motivation and caring, sometimes to the point of being hazardous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many studies\u2014from Harvard<\/a>\u2019s\nDivision of Sleep Medicine to citations in the Sleep\nHealth Solutions<\/a> and WebMD<\/a>\nblogs\u2014have proven the negative effects of sleep-deprivation. These include\ndecreased alertness, cognitive impairment, and numerous health problems.  Extreme long-term sleep-deprivation, such as techniques\nused by the CIA<\/a>, can cause hallucinations and memory lapses, and (in\nextreme cases) even death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to take time for oneself. People who are\nselfless may not realize they reduce their ability to help others if they don\u2019t\ntake care of themselves. As the saying goes, \u201cyou can\u2019t pour from an empty cup.\u201d\nWhen you need a break, get assistance. Asking for help is not a sign of\nweakness. It\u2019s a sign of wisdom. Unfortunately, sometimes ego gets in the way\nand we refuse to ask for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of wisdom.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was a working mother. I know how draining it can be trying\nto get everything done. I used to do my book writing in the middle of the night\nwhile my kids and husband were sleeping and the house was quiet. Then I would\ncatch a few hours of sleep before the alarms went off to start a new day. At the\nsame time my mother was staying with me after her cancer surgery. (She had a\nthird of her stomach removed.) There were times I went into work with mismatched\nclothes and spit-up on my shoulder. I was fortunate to have a husband willing\nto help. But I wanted to be the person who could do it all. And too often, I\ndidn\u2019t ask for help when I should have. (So much for wisdom.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in life I cared for elderly relatives for years. But\nby then I was wiser. Getting Companion-Care and Meals-on-Wheels allowed some\ntime for me to be me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compound-stress trigger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives. And\nit\u2019s not always bad. In business, some amount of stress can be beneficial. It\ncan motivate people toward objectives and quotas, or toward a specific level of\nperformance.  And I suspect all\nbusinesses (and lives) have recurring stress at points in time. The issue is\nhow long, how frequent, and how intense those periods are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re feeling symptoms of \u201cnormal\u201d stress, you can apply\n\u201cnormal\u201d stress-reduction tools. Meditation. Deep Breathing. Mindfulness.\nExercise. Social relaxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when stress starts creeping toward burnout, life changes\nmay be necessary. That\u2019s when you feel ready to snap, in a rut, hopeless, and\nyou don\u2019t know what to do about it. I\u2019ve experienced early-stage burnout a few\ntimes in my life. I realized I needed a strategy. Here\u2019s what I learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reducing Burnout<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Start at the beginning. Take an inventory of your stressors.\nIt\u2019s a proactive step that\u2019s within your control. Since burnout is the cascading\nof many stress triggers, identifying the worst offenders jumpstarts the\nprioritization. According to Marlynn\nWei M.D., J.D.,<\/a> \u201cstress accounts for over 60% to 80% of medical visits to\nthe primary care doctor.\u201d Just remember that pharmaceuticals are usually NOT\nthe answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Try to rediscover your passion<\/strong>. Read books like Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It<\/a>by Marshall Goldsmith; \u00a0What Color is Your Parachute<\/a> by Richard N. Bolles; and The Artist\u2019s Way<\/a> by Julia Cameron. \u00a0Are you in the right job, the right occupation, the right company? If you\u2019re not sure, rethink your definition of success. Is your success self-directed or other-directed? By that I mean are you pursuing a goal because you<\/strong> want it, or because you want others to see you achieving it? Be true to yourself and don\u2019t fear a pivot. Scary though it may be, change can be a good thing. Even a great thing, if it leads to less burnout and more satisfaction in life. The earlier you can pivot, the more likely you can avoid full-blown burnout. Build on small wins. Avoid negativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talk to others<\/strong>. Find people who are good listeners, especially if they have experienced what you\u2019re going through. If you don\u2019t have friends or relatives who can help, look for support groups at a local clinic or online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elevate your stress-reduction techniques<\/strong>. Yoga, meditation, exercise, sleep and other self-help techniques are still relevant\u2014even more so. Keep testing techniques until you find one or more that work for you. Then build them into your daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burnout doesn\u2019t have to be terminal. It can be reversed. And\nthe sooner you can curb it, the happier and more fulfilling your life will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Resources:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Save\nYourself from Burnout<\/a> by Loomis and Genly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burnout\nPrevention and Treatment,<\/a> by Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.,\nLawrence Robinson, and Robert Segal, M.A.  June 2019, HelpGuide<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10\nStrategies to Fight Job Burnout<\/a>, Marlynn Wei M.D., J.D., May 25, 2016 , Psychology Today<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you snippy and irritable? Do you procrastinate on things that are important? Has complete exhaustion and disillusionment overtaken your life? Is every day a bad day, with seemingly insurmountable problems? Then you may be on the road to burnout,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-and-well-being"],"yoast_head":"\nAre You on the Road to Burnout? - Linda Gorchels blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Has exhaustion and disillusionment overtaken your life? Then you may be on the road to burnout, a serious obstacle to well-being. Learn how to curb it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You on the Road to Burnout? - Linda Gorchels blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Has exhaustion and disillusionment overtaken your life? Then you may be on the road to burnout, a serious obstacle to well-being. Learn how to curb it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Linda Gorchels blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-19T22:48:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-19T22:49:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Gorchels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Linda Gorchels\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Linda Gorchels\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d03589cc039ef6caee0738b0e16bdd4c\"},\"headline\":\"Are You on the Road to Burnout?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-19T22:48:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-19T22:49:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1078,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Well-being\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/\",\"name\":\"Are You on the Road to Burnout? - Linda Gorchels blogs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-19T22:48:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-19T22:49:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d03589cc039ef6caee0738b0e16bdd4c\"},\"description\":\"Has exhaustion and disillusionment overtaken your life? Then you may be on the road to burnout, a serious obstacle to well-being. Learn how to curb it.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/07\\\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are You on the Road to Burnout?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Linda Gorchels blogs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lindagorchels.com\\\/blogs\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d03589cc039ef6caee0738b0e16bdd4c\",\"name\":\"Linda Gorchels\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are You on the Road to Burnout? - Linda Gorchels blogs","description":"Has exhaustion and disillusionment overtaken your life? Then you may be on the road to burnout, a serious obstacle to well-being. Learn how to curb it.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are You on the Road to Burnout? - Linda Gorchels blogs","og_description":"Has exhaustion and disillusionment overtaken your life? Then you may be on the road to burnout, a serious obstacle to well-being. Learn how to curb it.","og_url":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/","og_site_name":"Linda Gorchels blogs","article_published_time":"2019-07-19T22:48:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-07-19T22:49:37+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Linda Gorchels","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Linda Gorchels","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/"},"author":{"name":"Linda Gorchels","@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/d03589cc039ef6caee0738b0e16bdd4c"},"headline":"Are You on the Road to Burnout?","datePublished":"2019-07-19T22:48:52+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-19T22:49:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/"},"wordCount":1078,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg","articleSection":["Well-being"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/","url":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/","name":"Are You on the Road to Burnout? - Linda Gorchels blogs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg","datePublished":"2019-07-19T22:48:52+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-19T22:49:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/d03589cc039ef6caee0738b0e16bdd4c"},"description":"Has exhaustion and disillusionment overtaken your life? Then you may be on the road to burnout, a serious obstacle to well-being. Learn how to curb it.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/adult-brick-depression-262075-Pixabay-300x214.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/are-you-on-the-road-to-burnout\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are You on the Road to Burnout?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/","name":"Linda Gorchels blogs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/d03589cc039ef6caee0738b0e16bdd4c","name":"Linda Gorchels"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":850,"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions\/850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}