Are You Heading For Burnout - How To Spot The Signs

Have you ever spoken to your Grandmother about what life was like in her 30’s and 40’s? Did she tell you they were the mst stressful and overwhelming years of her life? That she was in a heightened state of panic most days?

I’m guessing probably not. And it’s not because she’s looking back with rose-tinted glasses either. It’s because the load which women, specifically working women, are carrying is huge when compared to half a century ago. We are burned out.

If we drill down further into the load working mothers are carrying, it gets even heavier and harder. Start to look at single working mothers and the potential stressors jump off the scale. We are facing an epidemic of burned out women, struggling to meet the demands which home-life and work, put on them.

Recent data from the United States show that men are not suffering the same levels of burnout, neither are they reporting similarly high levels of either work-related stress or home-related worries as their female counterparts.

Burnout is not to be underestimated. It can lead to anxiety and depression, severe weight gain or loss and a variety of physical illnesses manifested from the psychological strain.

So, what’s going on here? Are the men simply hiding the strain, playing the tough guy and not complaining when the researcher ask the questions? Or is it that women are really the weaker sex? Not cut out for tough workplaces and not as good at multitasking as we’d have ourselves believe?

As I’m sure you’ll know; neither of those lazy answers are correct.

There are instead a myriad of contributory factors which result in women experiencing greater levels of burnout than men.

Of course in a majority of 2.4 children families, there will still be an unequal load on mothers when it comes to childcare, housework, family admin. It even has it’s own term now: the maternal load. And what those two words encompass is simply huge. Enough in fact to have been a widely accepted full-time job for our grandmothers.

Staying on home-life, studies show that extra caring responsibilities such as ageing parents or children with special educational or medical needs; you’ve guessed it; they are far more likely to fall on the shoulders of the woman of the household too.

So if you can find the time in the day to work because a)you financially have to, or b)because you actually want to and find work rewarding and empowering… you’ll likely have to accept that you will be stuck on lower pay than that of your male counterparts. In the US women still earn approximately 82 cents for every dollar earned by a man. In the UK, where the gender pay gap currently stands at 11.3%, women are effectively working for free from the 20th November until 31st December. This would be terrifying enough in normal times; but in the midst of a cost of living crisis, the financial pressures, particularly on single income households are enormous.

It’s also worth noting that women tend to experience slower progression and a tendency to be overlooked in the workplace. Again not because of a lack of ability, but because of time spent off on maternity, or because the childcare responsibilities ultimately fall on her. Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to shoot out of an important meeting to get to nursery before it closes, while your male counterparts sit there discussing after-work drinks.

Yep. I see you.

So now we know why women are so much more prone to experiencing burnout. But if like me, you’ve been tired for about 15 years; how do you spot the signs that something more serious could be occuring?

Physically; these are the things you need to look out for:

● Persistent exhaustion

● Lack of motivation to exercise or be outside in nature

● Loss of appetite or mindless comfort eating

● Insomnia

● Heart palpitations, panic attacks or other symptoms of anxiety

● Constant colds, infections and signs of lowered immunity such as coldsores and styes

Mentally, you may experience the following:

● Lack of interest in activities you previously enjoyed

● Disconnecting from friends and family

● Changes in mood; becoming irritable and angry

● Feeling negative or hopeless

● Find small stresses increasingly hard to cope with

Behaviourally this may result in:

● Avoiding social situations

● Using drugs or alcohol to numb feelings

● Reduced productivity at work

● Procrastination around tasks at home or at work

There is so much advice out there about how to spot the signs and symptoms of bunot, and importantly how to recover from it.

The charity Change Mental Health recommends the following strategies which may help:

• Set clear boundaries so the line between work and home doesn’t become blurred. That eans finishing at your agreed time, not taking work home and not reading emails on your phone.

  
  

• Invest time in self-care, whether that be exercise, mindfulness, grounding techniques or spending time in nature.

  
  

• Take breaks - both the big ones and the small ones! Every hour you should get away from the screen for at least five minutes, and for the love of all that is holy… take all of your annual leave! The stats on women in the workplace who don’t is staggering!

  
  

• Cultivate strong trusted relationships in the workplace, so you can be honest if you’re feeling overloaded. Build those friendships outside of work too to give your life meaning. People with strong friendships typically suffer less prolonged stress.

  
  

• Promote healthy habits and coping strategies. This means becoming aware if you are comfort eating, using alcohol as a crutch or detaching from loved ones. Instead try to foster connection with loved ones, take up a new hobby and nourish your body with a healthy diet.

Ultimately, the strategies we use to conquer burnout will be as individual as the factors which brought us to burnout in the first place. Most importantly when you’re under this level of stress; self-compassion is vitally important. Talk to yourself the way a good friend would and give yourself time to find a way through.