If you said you were suffering from "burnout" in the early 1970s, you might have raised some eyebrows.
At the time, the term was informally to describe the side effects that heavy drug users experienced.
However, in 1974, a German-American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger found the volunteers at his clinic were struggling, too: their work was tough, and many were lacking in motivation. Freudenberger defined this condition as a state of extreme tiredness caused by constant overwork－and borrowed the term "burnout" to describe it.
Late last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the problem will be recognized as a syndrome (综合征) "resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed."
Feeling the burn so how can you tell if you're almost burned out?
"A lot of the signs and symptoms of pre-burnout would be very similar to depression," says Siobhan Murray, a psychotherapist. She suggests looking out for bad habits, such as increased alcohol consumption and relying on sugar to get you through the day. Also watch out for feelings of tiredness that won't go away or not having the energy to exercise or go for a walk. As soon as you begin to feel this way, Murray advises going to see your doctor. "Depression and pre-burnout are very similar. But it is still classified as an occupational phenomenon which is still best tackled by making lifestyle changes."
And how do you know if you're really on the edge of burnout? "Stress is really important, and anxiety is what motivates us to do well," says Murray. "It's when we're continually exposed to stress and anxiety that it starts to turn into burnout."
You're pre-burnout: What's next?
"Sometimes they feel the need to be too perfect so they're having to work very hard to cover up that they're not quite as good as everyone thinks." Another therapist Walker says.
However, sometimes the work environment is the problem. According to a 2018 study of 7,500 US workers, burnout comes from unfair treatment at work, an unmanageable workload and not knowing what a person's role should involve. Workers were also stressed out by a lack of support from their manager and punreasonable time pressure.
Whatever the cause of your burnout, Murray's top tip is to be kind to yourself.
In Murray's experience, a key driver of burnout is today's culture of wanting it all. Often it's just not possible to have a healthy social life and complete a big project at the same time. She says it's vital to prioritize and not expect too much of yourself; when others seem like the perfect boss, parent and friend all at the same time, they're probably misleading us.
If you feel that you might be close to joining the burnout club, take a step back, figure out what's going wrong－and let yourself off the hook.
| Outline | Details |
| in the explanation of burnout | In the early 1970s, it referred to the side effects of drug . Freudenberger used it to describe the state of those volunteers under overworking conditions. WHO will recognize it as a syndrome arising from the to manage stress. |
| Symptoms of burnout | It shares some with depression, such as tiredness and of energy, due to people's continual exposure to stress and anxiety. |
| Causes of burnout | People are unwilling to admit that they are . Companies can't favorable working conditions. |
| Approaches to burnout | Be to yourself: accept what you are; step away from it. |
