Burnout Counseling

Burnout Counseling: Burnout is NOT Your Fault

While the signs of being burned out may present a bit differently from person to person, the cause of burnout is universal: work. In other words, burnout is a condition caused by chronic workplace stress. If you are seeking burnout treatment or burnout counseling, you are likely in a job that places you at risk for burnout. These are often jobs that focus on helping others. Although burnout is increasingly common and is found in all industries, the following professions are significantly impacted by burnout.

• Medicine, including physicians, surgeons, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians

• Mental health, including social workers, marriage and family therapists, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists/psychiatric nurse practitioners

• Education, including K-12 teachers and university faculty

• Emergency response (aka first responders), including firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, EMS workers

• Hospitality, including managers, sommeliers, chefs

• Airline industry, including flight attendants, pilots, air traffic controllers

• Various professional roles in the non-profit sector

In addition, across industries, some roles require additional responsibilities that can increase stress and therefore increase your risk for burnout. These roles include managers, executives, supervisors, department heads and chiefs, to name just some examples. For many professionals, what starts as a welcome and well-deserved promotion can become a hellish combination of a) overseeing too many projects and people, b) inadequate support, and c) overworking. This becomes more commonplace during times of economic uncertainty when minimizing staff often leads to each worker taking on additional responsibilities.

In addition to demanding work roles, you might be facing demanding roles in your personal life, such as parenting and caregiving. These obligations can contribute to an unrelenting stream of stress day-to-day. For a more thorough article about burnout, I recommend this explanation by clinical psychologist Debbie Sorenson.

Signs That You Need Burnout Counseling

The World Health Organization describes burnout as a syndrome characterized by three factors:

1. Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion

2. Increased mental distance from one’s job, or negative or cynical feelings related to one's job

3. Reduced professional efficacy

Some common signs of burnout include:

• Irritability or moodiness

• Feeling helpless

• Frequent anger in the job or at your co-workers

• Missing deadlines

• Severe procrastination

• Not wanting to get out of bed in the mornings

• Trouble sleeping

• Fatigue

• Low energy

• Constant feeling of overwhelm

Why It’s Difficult to Acknowledge You’re Burned Out

It’s hard for people to admit they’re burned out because it’s often accompanied by a sense of failure that they couldn’t overcome the problems or stressors of the job. Please understand that this is normal. It’s also normal to feel shame or embarrassment about being burned out because a common cultural assumption is that the person is to blame, rather than the job or the system in which the job exists. The truth is, burnout is not your fault. There are many factors that lead to burnout and in my experience, the individual experiencing burnout is doing the best they can to cope and survive, often in an organization or system that burdens workers with disproportionate responsibilities.