3 signs that you’ve hit clinical burnout and should seek help | Laurie Santos

This interview is an episode from @The-Well, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the @JohnTempletonFoundation.

In the last few decades, the concept of “burnout” has become ubiquitous in modern discourse around work and academia. However, there is a common misunderstanding about what burnout actually is. To many people, burnout is synonymous with being overworked and stressed.

But cognitive scientist and Yale professor Laurie Santos wants you to know that that’s not the case. Rather, burnout is a clinical syndrome with specific symptoms of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism, and a sense of personal ineffectiveness. It can be caused by a heavy workload, but it is often due to a mismatch in values, unfairness, or a lack of intrinsic reward.

Properly understanding burnout — and knowing how to identify it — is crucial for employing practical steps to proactively avoid the syndrome. To do so, Santos suggests four simple, actionable steps that can help you not only spot burnout, but stop it in its tracks.

0:00 3 symptoms of clinical burnout
1:51 3 causes of burnout
3:39 Questions for assessing your burnout
4:59 How to treat burnout

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Laurie Santos:
Dr. Laurie Santos is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Her research provides an interface between evolutionary biology, developmental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, exploring the evolutionary origins of the human mind by comparing the cognitive abilities of human and non-human primates. Her experiments focus on non-human primates (in captivity and in the field), incorporating methodologies from cognitive development, animal learning psychology, and cognitive neuroscience.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read more from The Well:
Why the search for meaning is not a job for science — or religion
Eastern philosophy says there is no “self.” Science agrees
I’m “spiritual but not religious.” Here’s what that means for a physicist

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About The Well
Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.

Together, let's learn from them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Join The Well on your favorite platforms:

[OneKillQuota]

I love how the fix to this is to take a sabbatical and re-align yourself...something a vast majority of us can't ever afford to do. It's just not a plausible fix in reality.

[DanielWahlig]

As someone born in the US, but living the last 4 years in the Netherlands - it's very interesting to see how differently the subject of burnout is addressed in each country. In the US, the best burnout treatment most people can hope for is a compassionate boss that will help prioritize your mental health by making small, temporary adjustments to your workload. In the Netherlands, you're able to take up to two years off with a government mandated 70% minimum of your pay to allow you to focus on your mental health and truly treat your symptoms. And many companies will even add additional pay up to 100% of your salary. And yes, we do pay high taxes for the privilege of prioritizing mental health, other healthcare, transportation, education, etc - but in my mind - it's absolutely worth every penny to know that if and when I need help, I'm able to seek it - regardless of pre-existing conditions or financial pressures. Not trying to push this structure on anyone else, just some food for thought for those that might share a similar vision for a balanced and secure human existence.

[gravestone]

This isn't a clinical problem, it's a perfectly natural reaction to American businesses grasp on us. We are constantly driven to work ourselves to death with no hope of real growth. We fulfill other men's dreams and ours die in the process.

[Malavander]

As someone with ADHD + sensory processing sensitivity I feel like I walk around with this dirty secret that I've been burned out every waking moment of my life and no amount of vacation can ever remedy it.

[lilaworley]

I'm pretty sure we live in an age and society...that creates burnout.
Our lifestyles are so unnatural and nonstop. The large majority also deal with real financial stress just trying to survive and get to work and pay for childcare.
Then there's all the greed and corruption that dictates and shapes important social structures like access to medicine and education.

Our entire species is burned out.

[socialmoon]

I'm so burned out that I'm abandoning friendships in a desperate attempt to have more time for myself. I just don't have the time, energy or inclination to maintain them anymore, & the idea of someone wanting to hang out with me makes me irrationally angry to the point where I want to physically lash out.

But people just expect so much. People at work want to hang out afterwards. People outside of work want to infringe upon my decompression time once work is over. People assume that my weekends are free for socialising, when I need them to recover enough energy to lather, rinse & repeat the next week.

Honestly, if I never interacted in-person with another human being in my life, it would be too fucking soon.

[liveslisa]

I ended up in the hospital because of burnout. I called it a nervous breakdown, but my shrink said I was suffering from emotional and physical exhaustion. I did recover eventually. It was a long road. I had to learn how to take care of myself. I don't run myself ragged anymore. I say no to people if I need too.

[saltykat]

I suffered clinical burnout, severe clinical depression and diagnosable adrenal fatigue from my job. Brought on by a toxic boss, working in a pressure cooker, and a hostile work environment. Coupled with a personal loss, and a work injury that resulted in severe chronic pain, that I had to learn how to absorb/sit in the pain because nothing worked to relieve it.
I ended up struggling for another year, concentrated on eliminating my monthly outflow of cash (bills), paid off credit cards and cancelled them. And saved as much as I could.
I was able to quit work for two months and then found a part time job. I would ride my motorcycle almost daily. Sleep as long as I wanted and just sit in my hammock and watch the birds for hours. It was bare bones living but I somewhat healed my body, mind and soul. That was 3 years ago. I still struggle when I feel the least bit stressed. It is a long road to recovery, of which I really don't know if I will ever completely recover from.
I now try to live the most peaceful, calm, drama-free life I can. I have walked away from people and jobs to maintain my peace and contentment. Your mental health, people is one of your most precious resources.

[WholesomeDough]

It's crazy that the "symptoms" of burnout are directly in line with the normal modern "work environment".

[ethernet]

1. Increased workload
2. Values mismatch
3. Unfairness
4. Sense of reward

[mitul]

I just quit my job for being burnt out. I don't think I can work anymore. After quitting I feel so good and alive again. But cannot be without job much longer, gotta take care of my family.

[_Julia.K_]

Emotional burnout doesn't happen only at work. I've got a burnout being a stay-at-home mother with three kids.

[airline_peanuts]

There is no question I've hit clinical burnout. I even took a vacation/travel sabbatical of sorts a few months ago; about 5 weeks long which is much longer than most Americans would be able to do. It was great, but when I got back to the job it was almost as if I never left. Just as cynical, fuse just as short, motivation shot, stress level rocketed back up again. Been at this 15 years. For those who are feeling the same but only a couple years in, it doesn't always get better. Sometimes a total change is in order.

[CarrieMHB]

Only those in higher paying careers or those with a spouse who makes a lot of money can choose to go on sabbatical. Those of us who have struggled to build a career or are undereducated just have to suck it up when burnout happens.

[spenserphoenix]

"the best thing you can do is look after yourself" gee who would've thought of that, how fkn profound

[l.]

The work environment really contributes. Micro-managers will criticize your one 'mistake' and overlook the 100 ways you do the job well. The boss has 'favourites' who get away with anything. People sense the toxicity and quit so their workload is dumped on the survivors. Salaries not keeping up with inflation Constant scheduling changes and workplace wants you available 24/7 and on short notice. Every day I go to work I wonder if this is the day where I just walk out.

[sgringo]

As a former software engineer, the notion of "emotional burnout" resonates strongly with me. I experienced it in the final job of my career. (I retired early because of it.)

If you've ever experienced sleep paralysis, that's what burnout felt like to me. When I would sit down at my computer to start working, my arms felt paralyzed; it took all of my will to lift my hands to the keyboard to start working.

That was five years ago. Even today, the thought of putting together a resume and starting the interview process for another engineering job feels daunting and stress-inducing. Even worse, the experience was systemic; it left me unmotivated and apathetic toward all aspects of my life. It's a malaise that persists to this day.

Prior to my last job, I always felt considerable passion for my work. This was such an unfortunate, unexpected end to my career.

[nogf]

What an eye opener. I started a new job 9 months ago 'cause my old company downsized and I needed to make rent and since then my mental (and even physical) health went downhill real fast. This new job doesn't let me do what I do best, I provide almost no value, and I'm even doing something that I wasn't hired for. Some days there's literally zero work to do but I still feel the pressure to do something. Most people would say "oh cool you get paid for doing nothing" but the kind of stress and emotional drain coming from feeling useless and doing things wrong just because the company works a certain way it's eating me up from the inside. I've been sleeping either 2 hours or 12, snapping at friends and family and just generally dreading going into work at 9.

[toni]

For me personally, the talk I hear about burnout makes me angry. I got burnt out mainly from having to care for myself, literally from self care itself, like going to the doctors, cleaning, eating, exercising etc. while having unadressed health issues/disabilities. And the solution I hear to burnout is always caring for yourself better. Aaaagh. Like mate. That being so hard is what got me there in the first place.

[killerpussy]

Currently in acute burnout (day 6?) and the thing that's made/making me realize it is burnout is: no matter how little I do, no matter how much I rest, it is not enough. I am still exhausted.
Every noise, every glimpse, every move takes away, even the things that used to be fun and relaxing.
The difference between depression and burnout to me is: depression is "everything is useless, why bother making me good food, a chocolate bar will do" and burnout is "I need some sleep and a meal but I don't have the energy to make myself the food I need".