4 stages before burnout- a stage after excess stress, leading to indifference and chronic ailments. Be aware and take care of your health.
Burnout starts with emotional exhaustion leading to loss of compassion and, lastly, a decreased sense of accomplishment [Burnout, Nagoski et al., 2019]. In other words, it is that feeling where we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, overworked, and yet feel we are not good enough!
Before I dive into the stages, here is a snippet of my trajectory: I went from Ph.D. at Stanford to Hardware Engineering at TI, then Apple, and then Tech-lead from one project to the other but then took an unfortunate turn into burnout and chronic ailments. After getting into remission, I found a passion for wellness and went on to earn certifications in health coaching.
So, now, I am a certified Master-health coach and help other people-in-tech manage their health with their busy routines. Here is my coaching page: Coaching and Testimonials. If you or someone you know needs help managing health with work, please reach out. I’d be more than happy to help.
Coming back to the post, here I share four stages before burning out. I sincerely hope that this post helps you.
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1. Enthusiasm
‘Enthusiasm’ is the stage where you start work, and if you love it, you’d be keen to learn, contribute and perform. In this stage, expectations might be low, and working hard might come naturally. Therefore, one can deliver projects and gets appreciation. This stage can be marked by excitement to learn and contribute.
2. Pushing Through
After a while of working, if one takes care of health and learns effective communication, then work can still be a breeze. However, responsibilities pile on as one progresses, and tasks get challenging. The result? One might start to push through and start putting in more hours to work.
3. Down-prioritize Self
After stage two of working harder than before, it is essential to start delegating, prioritizing better, and working on one’s wellness to continue working and delivering. On the other hand, neglecting the above can increase stress, self-doubt, and down-prioritizing health.
4. Exhaustion
‘Exhaustion’ is the stage where if stress builds a lot, one might become disinterested in work, face body aches or chronic ailments, and also fear in expressing one’s viewpoint. Therefore, it is essential to take a step back and prioritize one’s health to thrive.
There are clear signs before burning out. Therefore, please be aware, and if you or your colleagues are affected, please reach out for help. It isn’t hard. We can intervene early and manage our health to prevent burnout. Also, please remember that work will suffer if we compromise our health for work if our health is not by our side.
As cliched as it may sound, burnout is real; but preventable. In my group wellness program, we discuss strategies to manage stress and consciously have a stress mitigation routine. Stress per se isn’t bad. But, letting it not settle down certainly is! You may reach out to me for a discovery call – I’d be more than happy to help. Apply here or on the page link below..
Prioritize your health, and it won’t take much of your time. Stay well!
