How to Identify Burnout

Have you ever felt burnt out? Actually, let me clarify. Do you know how to identify burnout or what burnout feels like?

I certainly didn’t.

Until I went through it myself, I didn’t fully understand what burnout meant or what it felt like. Prior to my own experience at the end of 2019, I perceived burnout as a euphemism for giving up. An excuse for quitters or people who lacked resilience. Even though burnout has taken on a new meaning for me now, still, when I hear the word, I visualize Janis Ian’s cafeteria overview in Mean Girls. (Anyone else see this, too? Really hoping I’m not alone here!)

One of the reasons this experience was so eye-opening for me is because I didn’t realize I was burnt out. I didn’t know what it felt like or how to identify burnout. I knew I was stressed, but I thought I was battling depression. And because I thought I was depressed, I went to see my therapist. It wasn’t until talking with her, over the course of multiple sessions, that she helped me uncover how to identify burnout.

6 Signs of Burnout

Below, I’m sharing with you the 6 signs of burnout I experienced. While there are more signs of burnout and everyone will exude symptoms differently, this is a recap of my experience. Hopefully my struggle will help you learn how to identify burnout should you be in a similar situation. Or at least shed light on what some of the signs of burnout can be should you find yourself burnt out in the future.

Regardless of what you may take away from this post; please note, I am not a mental health professional. All of the information I’m sharing on how to identify burnout is based on my own personal experience and is not advice from a medical doctor.

1. Consistently High Stress Level

This sign is a double-edged sword for me because I typically thrive under pressure. To me, stressful situations at work keep life interesting. I HATE being bored. Stress and pressure help keep me motivated. And I usually perform at my best when these factors are in play. (Shout out to my fellow Enneagram 3’s!) However, I do think a consistently high stress level can lead to burnout. (In hindsight, I realize part of my high stress level was self-inflicted, but that’s a topic for another day.)

Just like a runner can’t always be sprinting, it’s not feasible to always be operating at max capacity at work, or anywhere, really. Your body and mind need a break. And that’s ok! Even Olympic athletes need a chance for recovery. In my experience, I learned that you have to take small moments for rest and recovery along the way to keep stress levels manageable. Because once you’ve reached that stressed-out, point of no return, everything else starts to get wacky, too.

2. Exhaustion

When I was burnt out, I was always, always, always tired. No amount of sleep was enough to make me feel rested. And then sleeping became the only thing I wanted to do. I love my sleep and going to bed early, but this was next-level. I could only convince myself to get out of bed by counting down the hours until I could return to my hiding place under the covers. That is until my phone rang and I would immediately fly into work mode.

3. Chronically Not Feeling Well

You know that feeling when you can tell you’re coming down with something? Like that edge of the cliff right before you fall into an abyss of sickness? So I started to feel like that all the time. Except I would never really get “sick.” My body was just hanging out on the edge of the cliff but would neither take the plunge into sickness nor would back away from the cliff and back into a healthy, safe zone. Nothing felt right — my head, stomach, sinuses. I just felt off and not healthy. Pretty sure this is the textbook definition of your body being rundown. And to top it off, I acquired a stress-induced eye twitch that lasted from mid-September all the way to Thanksgiving.

4. Unusually Irritable

I like to think I’m pretty laid back and not a lot upsets me. But last year, even the tiniest little things would send me over the edge. I think (keyword think) I held it together pretty well at work, at least while inside the building. When things really hit the fan, I’d grab one of my girls and we would rage walk around the block until I settled down. We got A LOT of steps together last year. Outside of the office, I just could not deal. Not being able to find parking, hitting traffic, a dirty dish…normal everyday things that I typically could care less about would turn me into a hot head. My poor husband witnessed so many of my irrationally irritable moments that he nicknamed me “rage cage.”

5. Stress Eating

I feel like people fall into one of two categories when stressed – those who lose their appetites and don’t eat and those who stress eat. Unfortunately, I fall into the latter category. I continually struggle with stress eating, especially when in the office. There’s a delicious café upstairs, free snacks, my lovely friend regularly brings in homemade baked goods…the temptation is real, y’all. I’m still working to kick my stress eating habit. For me, the urge to eat compulsively comes down to searching for comfort and finding that comfort in food. I’m blaming my Southern heritage for this one. I also tend to stress over things I can’t control. Eating is something I can control, however, and boy does it feel good to be in the clean plate club when it seems like I can’t accomplish anything else.

6. Drinking

This topic is hard for me to address. No one likes admitting they find comfort in drugs or alcohol. It’s not really how I like to envision my most fabulous self. I guess the bright side is that I wasn’t into hard drugs? Just good ‘ole garden variety binge drinking.

What I learned about what I’m now calling “stress drinking” is that it’s a cycle. Here’s an overview of my inner monologue and work-day breakdown when I’m at the height of feeling stressed and burnt out:

My Average Day in Burn Out Hell

• APPROXIMATELY 6-7PM DAILY: Rough day. I need a drink. Let’s go to happy hour.
• MULTIPLE DRINKS LATER: Cheeseburgers sound good!
• POST CHEESEBURGER-INFLICTED SOBRIETY: Crap. It’s late. I need to go home. I still have work to do.
• THE NEXT MORNING: I need to be watered. My head hurts. Maybe that sinus infection is actually setting in.
• MID-MORNING: Rage walk break because that conference call was a complete circus.
• EARLY AFTERNOON: Quick let me stuff this quesadilla down my throat as I run from meeting to meeting.
• MID-AFTERNOON THROUGH EOD: Meetings, snacks, emails, calls, snacks, rage walks, meetings, mild panic attacks in the bathroom.
• 5PM: God bless working in advertising where it’s perfectly acceptable to drink at your desk.
• APPROXIMATELY 6-7PM DAILY: Rough day. I need a drink. Let’s go to happy hour.

See the pattern?

It’s a tough cycle to break. But your body, brain and your bank account will thank you for it.

In talking through each of the above symptoms with my therapist, I learned how to identify burnout. Yes, these symptoms can exist independently or be indicative of a larger problem. Based on my experience, if you’re facing these same challenges, I recommend spending some time being honest with yourself. Look inward to identify why you might be feeling or acting a certain way. If your why consistently ties back to work or you’re noticing another recurring theme within your why, chances are you could be burnt out.

The good news is that burn out is not a permanent state. There are things you can do to overcome it! It just takes a little time and willingness to embrace change.