Why do we feel so burned out?
I’m a learner. I cope by learning. I break through barriers and challenges by learning. I survive and THRIVE by learning.
Seven and a half years ago, I had my first child. He was born with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (or SCID). Remember the “bubble boy” from the 70s that had to live in a plastic BUBBLE because he didn’t have a functioning immune system? So crazy!
We spent 6 months in the hospital and all I could focus on was learning everything I possibly could about what was happening in my son’s little body, how we would fix it, and the threats that I needed to prepare for throughout his first year of life. I was also learning how to advocate for this little human of mine who couldn’t advocate for himself.
At six months old, he had received chemo and a bone marrow transplant (forever grateful for our donor, who also goes by Kiki oddly enough) and I had learned how to draw blood, inject medications, and provide “sterile” dressing changes. I developed a binder with procedures, med tracking, notes from doctor visits, and my own research spirals from when I would pump in-between meetings (sometimes even DURING meetings). Thank you to all those coworkers who made me feel comfortable enough to do this, and for dealing with the loud background noise! Then, ensuring everything was tucked back into its proper place, while also checking for leakage, prior to the next in-person meeting. Yikes.
This was my first (of many) personal experience with burnout. My son will be 8 this year. He has a working immune system (thanks to modern medicine). He’s healthy, he’s smart, and he’s ALIVE! He does have some gray hair and vitiligo, and a heavy dose of risk adversity, but to me it is a reminder of his miraculous strength. This just adds to his unique character!
This was the start of my (first) burnout story.
We often hear about burnout in the professional world - we know it decreases productivity, engagement, and overall success. Did you know that workplace stress is estimated to cost the U.S. economy more than $500 billion dollars, and each year, EACH YEAR, 550 million workdays are lost due to stress on the job (APA)?
Over the course of our lives, we experience stress from a variety of stressors, and there are BILLIONS of stressors that each person experiences in a unique way. It could be long hours at the office, or as simple as finding a parking space. These factors can have a huge effect on mental health and overall wellbeing.
Factors that lead to burnout aren’t just professional things either, it can happen in any situation where there are ongoing demands with unmeetable or extensive goals or expectations (any fellow recovering perfectionists out there?). The pandemic has also highlighted burnout in other areas too (fellow pandemic parents, parental burnout is REAL, I see you!).
With everything happening in the world, it’s time to understand burnout. Do you know how to best manage your stress and wellbeing, while supporting others to do the same? However, without fully understanding burnout, and how it manifests itself physically, emotionally, and mentally, we can only continue down the path of perpetual burnout.
And guess who has just gotten out of a massive research spiral on burnout? THIS GIRL! Even after burning out (& recovering) three separate times, I’m still continuously learning. Therefore, over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing information on what burnout is, the difference between stress and burnout, what causes it, who it impacts, how it works, techniques to get out of the burnout cycle, and techniques to integrate to mitigate burnout.
If burnout is something you’d like to better understand, follow and share for more information in the coming weeks!
