What is Burnout?

If you take anything away from it, it should only be that burnout isn't one thing, and that you can learn more about what you're experiencing by asking yourself if it's a fuel problem or an opportunity problem. Fuels can be addressed by finding a new story to tell yourself. Opportunity is harder to address, it takes longer, and sometimes, because of the deep inequality in our societies, cannot be addressed.

A lot of discussion around burnout is pretty specific to people who have opportunity, but have been sold the wrong kind of fuel for too long. Being grateful for and recognizing the opportunities we've been given is, I think, very important.

I also think it's important to find good fuel and do good work and work hard. I don't love the idea that burnout is a problem of being over-worked. I think it's more a problem of being overly convinced that work is the most valuable (or even only valuable) thing we do in our lives. It's especially important in our twenties, and the American reliance on all-capitalism-all-the-time is, I think, a really big part of how people have used that situation to exploit workers and put them in situations that are unsustainable.

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[TimPonjican]

In a YouTube environment that continues to encourage longer and longer videos, I am always thankful for the 4 minute vlogbrothers experience.

[laineygraham]

“Burnout is when the treadmill keeps going, but the dopamine runs out.”
That... is actually a really useful way to explain it.
I have definitely experienced that.

[emilybach]

The hardest part of burnout for me is realizing self care sometimes means eating vegetables and not always ice cream

[jtbwilliams]

My name is Jon so Hank's videos always feel pretty direct...

[LindsayEllisVids]

I experience burnout as a primarily emotional experience - when I attach anxiety to a task, especially a task that involves social or monetary capital, that decreases the ability to process "fuel". With regard to the Buzzfeed article, I do think that there is an increased societal focus on all tasks being reframed as "optimizing efficiency", where even things like yoga and bath bombs become ticking off "self care", and become tasks in and of themselves. The more one things of the activity in their life as a "task" that needs to be completed, the more likely everything in your life will make you feel burned out. At least, in my experience. On a related note, I can't remember the last time I haven't felt utterly exhausted.

[vlogbrothers]

I want to make a video now about the fuel! Some fuel is so bad! Some vehicles are so bad! This is so interesting. Great video, Hank. -John

[RainaRamsay]

1:32 It's a whole paradigm shift to hear Hank put "health" into the "opportunity" category. But honestly it feels more accurate. The frustrating part of my depression is that I _WANT_ to write, I _want_ to build a business, I _want_ to connect with dozens of different people each month. I have the motivation, I have the desire, I have a plan, and when I do manage to do it, it's dope as heck.

But depression leaves me so tired, it's a 50/50 shot whether I'll be able to shower, much less build a YouTube channel for teaching algebra and statistics. I have _so much fuel_, and all I have to put it into is, like, a Segway.

[jessicablauwkamp]

Hi, teacher here, for me, burnout is losing the fuel, but I think it's also secondary. I love my kids, but I feel like I continue to need more and more fuel to feel the accomplishment with my students. It's so hard, because they've all been through serious traumas, too, and school isn't what fuels their brains anymore, either. When my 13 year old students are wondering where their next meal is coming from, or if mom will come home from work today, or if there will be heat or light or cell phone access today, it's really not surprising to see that why they get burnt out. And when they burn out, so do I .

[kts]

Healthcare professionals, particularly physicians, are inundated with "work-life balance" and "reduce burnout" talks, as if it is a fuel allocation problem, not a vehicle efficiency problem.
One of the major predictors of employee satisfaction is a feeling of purpose, a feeling of being valued by your employer, and opportunities to grow and improve oneself. This is immensely related to burnout. From my experience and that of others, these fuel and vehicles are sorely lacking in current medical systems. Physicians have the highest burnout and suicide rate of any profession, despite receiving relatively high wages (insert argument about 6-digit student debt and delayed earning potential until mid 30s here). The "fuel" of having a purpose and helping people is useless in a system without the vehicle of opportunity to grow or feel valued.

[Sallyy]

Annnnd since we are at it, , can we also plz define success vs seeking validation, ambition vs painfully seeking unrealistic goals, hustle to achieve something vs patience to appreciate what you have.. because frankly I am super confused right now and can not figure which way to go!

[Wokanshutaiduo]

I'm a junior doctor in Australia, and for me burnout is not so much about the workload itself, but very much about the work environment and the satisfaction to be had from the work done. Burnout and suicide rates are stupidly high in my profession despite the financial security, and its largely due to system pressures as well as the culture among physicians to dismiss the struggles because they themselves also had to sink and swim to make it. The work itself actually is rewarding and enjoyable, but when the system is encouraging you to churn and burn rather than do your best in the way you see it, and when the patients don't value the hard work you're putting in, it can make it hard to remember why you're doing it to begin with.

Burnout doesn't necessarily mean you crash and burn and stop working. For us, a lot of the time it means becoming emotionally drained and disassociated. Mostly we keep working through it and the only time it really gets noticed is when we do crash and burn spectacularly - usually this is when there's a doctor suicide or a suicide attempt.

[notreallysure]

Burnout is a racing car game that features takedowns as a part of the game, takedowns are a mechanic where you can put a racer temporarily out of the race to advance yourself. The game was originally released on the playstation 2

[lee-the-lemon]

A lot of people talk about burn out when it comes to something positive like a cool project that's just gone on too long. But you can feel burnt out with negative things as well, like having to slog through a difficult class or a job that you do just for the money.
Burn out in a situation that I'm fighting with feeling like being nauseous, but there's nothing in your stomach. You just want it to be over but you can't really do anything about it but wait it out.

[k]

I’m experiencing burnout because I don’t feel valued, and I don’t feel my work is valuable. I’m a first year middle school teacher, and I feel invisible and unimportant to everyone around me (except for some of my fellow teachers). But the administrators demand so much of me, while simultaneously removing or denying the resources or support that I need. They think I should be able to handle everything on my own. The parents never seem to believe that I’m doing enough to help their kids, and harass me and expect me to be available to meet with them all the time, which is time I desperately need to perform the functions of my job. I work twelve hour days and have poured hundreds of dollars of my own (barely surviving on it) paycheck into just buying basic necessities that the school won’t give me. The kids disrespect me and defy me, and I try so hard to suppress my anger at being continuously disrespected, but sometimes I can’t, it’s too hard to tolerate, but also the administrators don’t really care if the kids disrespect me. I put so much energy and effort (and even love) into my lessons. But by now it feels pointless. The purpose I had is gone. I feel like a failure.

[musicalintentions]

"It helps us assign economic value to taking care of ourselves." That sentence really hits home.

[abbi]

I think this video has made me realise just how burnt out I am. I don’t know what type of burnout it is but I’m tired of everything and struggling more than I ever thought I would with the uni course I initially loved. It does feel a lot like I have no choice but to keep going though. I feel guilty for taking breaks but then don’t have enough fuel to do my work so I end up sat staring at the list of work I have to do and being utterly unproductive.

[yashkatare]

Heyy Hank
Love you both a lot

Burnout is when you have 100% battery but no internet connection.

[MikeyBustosVLOGS]

Great video! Been in the burnout zone several times. I agree that diversifying is key to not burning out! I've found that not obsessing over a single body of work and having several bodies of work occupying your mind helps you take the mini breaks needed, as well as keeping you grounded when baby projects are making mini "wins" amidst the "big wins" of the more established projects, because then there is no evergrowing scale or pinnacle to the burning fuels. Happiness/fulfillment of the burning fuel can be little things or the big things, and everything in between!

[jillfey]

The whole opportunity but lack of fuel is such an accurate way to describe my depression/burnout. I WANT to do things and be successful and I have a ton of opportunities but I just have a lack of motivation. I also don’t feel as happy when I am successful bc I know I should be doing better and more

[drewelliotjohnson]

You struck a chord with me today Hank. “If we don’t diversify what fuels us, we need more and more of that input to fuel the same amount of work.” Thx. 2:54