When people experience too much stress, it can lead to burnout.

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It can lead to feelings of cynicism, detachment, self-doubt, and physical symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia, and headaches. If left untreated, burnout can have severe consequences, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse.

Burnout can be caused by secondary traumatic stress. Secondary trauma is indirect exposure to trauma and often occurs in professionals who work in high-stress or trauma-exposed fields, including health care professionals, first responders, fire fighters, therapists, child abuse investigators, prosecutors, judges and others. Secondary trauma can also occur in civilians or people who do not have high-trauma careers but are deeply impacted by witnessing the suffering of a loved one, stories they’re exposed to, such as watching graphic news accounts or listening to their friends stories of a traumatic experience.

Suffering from secondary trauma can lead to a host of adverse consequences, including increased risk of clinician burnout, severe fatigue, medical errors, and even suicidal ideation. There’s a clear link between trauma and increased turnover rates among healthcare workers, leading to even more distress. Secondary trauma is a serious issue that requires professional intervention. A culture with strategic wellness initiatives and trauma-informed leadership can mitigate the risk of nurses, physicians, and other healthcare providers suffering in silence.

Since the beginning of the pandemic first responders and healthcare providers have been mostly impacted with burnout. They have been exposed to secondary trauma and are overwhelmed dealing with high patient ratios, workloads and demands. Caring for dying patients and witnessing the suffering of their patients, leads to compassion fatigue. The feeling of helplessness reduces the feelings of empathy and sensitivity towards their patients.

The lack of support from management or administration can make them feel unappreciated for all their efforts. When they are not receiving the support they need, it makes it difficult to manage their responsibilities. It puts them in a position where they can’t perform at their best, because they’re running on empty. This level of exhaustion can lead to harmful outcomes for their patients.

In addition, the ongoing stress of not making mistakes, working long hours, and lack of support, causes negative effects on the brain. The pre-frontal cortex that allows you to make complicated decisions is highly impacted, making you prone to mistakes. The amygdala, which is the part of the brain responsible for your fight-or-flight response, is enlarged, causing anxiety. Being under high levels of stress and anxiety affect memory, plus impacts the ability to focus and retain information.

Burnout can create brain fog that makes you feel sluggish and fuzzy. It dramatically affects your thinking processes by slowing it down. You’ll experience cognitive issues such as: lack of mental clarity, confusion, problems with memory, and concentration.

Since the brain becomes imbalanced, it affects sleep. The brain isn’t relaxed enough to fall asleep or stay asleep. Even if you are able to fall asleep, you find yourself frequently waking up and not getting restful sleep. Lack of consistent quality sleep can be dangerous, resulting in a decline of your mental and physical health. Your work performance, relationships, and overall well-being are threatened.

If you are suffering from burnout, and are ready to address it, follow these recommendations.

1) Seek a professional coach or therapist who will help you pinpoint the root cause of your burnout and help you overcome it. You’ll be able to process your feelings and learn effective ways to manage stress and anxiety. Having someone help you shift your perspective can have significant benefits. Your perspective whether negative or positive, impacts how you will emotionally feel.

2) Prioritize taking care of yourself by doing things that will help relax your mind and body, such as; exercise, meditation, massages, walks in nature, journaling, warm baths, and listening to calming music. A relaxed mind will contribute to getting quality sleep.

3) Do things that you enjoy such as; hobbies, fun activities, traveling, playing sports, and spending time with people that uplift and inspire you.

4) Practice self-compassion and compassion for others. When you help yourself and others, it promotes a feeling of accomplishment and self-worth. It gets you out of your head and into your heart. Connecting to your heart in compassionate ways can help calm the nervous system.

5) Give your body a well-balanced diet that promotes ultimate health. Having a healthy body will contribute to a healthy mind.

6) Set clear boundaries and ask for help at home and at work. If you can’t get the support and the respect you need from your employer, share your overwhelm with co-workers who can potentially share your work-load. If you are not able to get the support you need at home, ask friends or other family members for help.

If you have tried everything in your power to overcome your burnout and aren’t overcoming it, then it’s time for you to remove yourself from whatever is causing it. Your mental and physical health needs to be a top priority. Do all that you can to change the part of your life that’s overwhelming you. Remember, your mental and physical health is the most important thing. Without it you are not going to be able to give your best to yourself or others.