In the world of online coaching, whether business or personal, overwhelm is a huge problem. That is, learning to control or cope with having “too much” to do. This begs the question whether overwhelm is a different issue from burnout or, rather, if overwhelm is actually one of the warning signs of burnout.
After all, for high performing leaders (and others), burnout occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands; a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
Unfortunately, the generally accepted description of burnout is somewhat simplistic, for example: “Simply put, you experience burnout whenever you feel that stress is too much for you to handle, and that you cannot satisfy constant demands even if you want.” (Explorable.com)
This definition of burnout seems to ignore the fact that many sufferers continue to produce, despite the emotional, physical, and psychological exhaustion they experience. In fact, the very definition of a high performing leader is someone who can produce results despite negative influences, such as overwhelm and burnout.
Causes of Burnout
Perhaps the most significant of the warning signs of burnout is not “feeling tired all the time”. It is, instead, feeling truly exhausted – to the extent that you are unable to perform not just at your best, but at a level you find acceptable.
This is frequently the case for leaders who are given too many tasks with few resources and a greater workload than they can reasonably be expected to perform. This is very common for organizations with high achievers; to overload them because they can “handle anything”.
Similarly, perfectionist tendencies prevent high achievers from asking for hep and support, believing that seeking help is a sign of ineffective leadership. This leads to a vicious cycle of over overachievers feeling overwhelmed yet, by refusing to seek help, they force themselves into even more overwhelming situations.
Symptoms of Burnout
With these causes in mind, there are symptoms of burnout to watch for:
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Loss of motivation
- Feeling disinterested
- Physical exhaustion
- Emotional exhaustion
- Sense of being powerless
- Feeling ineffective
As with most negative situations, managing burnout begins with recognition and early detection. Be aware of your situation and your response to stress. Further, employing stress management techniques will help you resist the causes of burnout, including: healthy nutrition, exercise, sleep, meditation, and other techniques.
In most of the cases, however, burnout is not a “quick fix” situation, but rather a result of certain thoughts and emotional patterns that have been played in one’s mind and heart for so many times, that it became the new “norm”. In this case, the situation requires a systematic approach and hiring a professional who can correctly “diagnose” what the underlying issue is and offer a plan to address it. This is a key to successful transition to the “other side” of burnout, where creativity, flow, and motivation become the norm again.
Don’t Be a Candidate for Burnout
Needless to say, some people are more prone to experiencing burnout than others, based on situation, mindset, emotional resilience, personality type, and other factors. Are you a candidate for burnout? You may very well be, if:
- No downtime: you refuse to allow yourself time for yourself (or family) because you must always be busy.
- Can’t delegate: you refuse to share responsibility for tasks that others can easily perform (fear of letting go).
- Mission impossible syndrome: you set yourself up for failure by seeking environments, situations, and systems where you cannot win.
- Quitting: though you’ve never been seen as a “quitter”, when you fail you give up, feeling defeated and overwhelmed.
The inability to manage stress and the demands put upon high achievers is one of the clearest warning signs of burnout, and will lead to a variety of negative effects on your physical, emotional, social, and mental health. It will also effect your ability to perform as a high performing leader.
Learning to manage stress more effectively will go a long way toward preventing job burnout and overwhelm.
If you find yourself trying to cope with burnout, and failing, I can help you with emotional intelligence exercises designed to reduce stress and feel more balance between work and life.
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