Mental exhaustion:
10 burnout symptoms that could affect you
There is a vast difference between feeling a little tired and suffering from burnout. This can lead to both physical and emotional burnout symptoms that may not be erased by a single night’s sleep.
What is mental exhaustion and burnout?
Your mind and body can only push themselves so much before the cracks begin to show. While it can be normal, especially in busy careers, to have some minor stress each day, burnout is when you have carried heavy stresses for a significant period of time.
The time it can take for people to burnout will differ from person to person. This is based not only on your personal resilience, but also other factors going on in your life.
As an example, two people in the same job may both be under a lot of stress. One may start to experience burnout after two weeks, while the other may last six months before feeling the effects.
Therefore, it could be seen as the responsibility of an employer, as well as each individual, to consider how to mitigate, or at least reduce, the chances of burnout.
Negative thought patterns
It can be entirely normal for you to feel some level of negativity throughout the day. Situations such as your child misbehaving, or dealing with a difficult person at work can all make you feel temporarily bad.
However, there is a high chance that, if you are already looking for ‘what is burnout?’ online, you may be facing more than a temporary level of negativity. Some people find that these negative thoughts may plague them all of the time, rather than just in specific situations.
Negative thoughts, or cognitive distortions, can play a large part in making you continue to feel worse. They can be present in depression and other diagnosed mental health disorders, as well as with burnout.
Feeling exhausted
There can be different types of tiredness. You may feel a little deprived of energy after a hard day’s work, or sore and sleepy after a good workout.
The emotional exhaustion associated with burnout can be different altogether. This may be continuous, from the moment you wake up to when you go back to bed. It can also affect your ability to sleep, contributing to further fatigue.
Should you notice that you’re frequently tired, especially if you haven’t done anything to contribute to it, you may want to consider what stress factors could be playing a part, as well as to seek help to resolve them.
Feeling overwhelmed
Some people may be able to pinpoint when things got too much for them. Part of learning about what is burnout can be to identify mental exhaustion, how much stress you are under, and your general wellbeing. Should you notice that you feel like everything is on top of you, this can be an indicator that change is needed.
One of the quick and easy ways you may be able to feel a little better, or more in control, can be to partake in mindfulness exercises. These may take as little as five minutes, but help to ground you.
Following this, it could be a good idea to consider what has led you to feel overwhelmed, how it could be changed, and what support there is available to you.
Isolating yourself
Socialising with others can be a lot of fun yet, for some, it can also be a drain on one’s social battery.
Those experiencing burnout may no longer have the energy reserves or motivation required to spend time with others. You might also find that you don’t want to be around people simply because of how negative you feel.
For some, personal or work burnout may also cause them to feel like others dislike them, or are only being friendly due to social dictations.
While, at the time, isolating yourself may seem like a good idea, it could actually do significantly more harm. Spending too much time on your own can contribute towards poor mental health which, if you’re already struggling, may make you feel worse.
Lack of motivation
We use motivation to allow ourselves to get things done. This can include getting up in the morning, going to work or school, or even doing enjoyable activities.
When motivation is low, you may notice you are unable to do those same tasks that, previously, weren’t an issue.
Individuals suffering from this symptom of mental exhaustion may find it impossible to get up in the morning, especially if they consider their bed a safe haven.
The thought of participating in once-loved activities, or even doing little things like showering, reading a book, or playing games may feel completely out of reach.
Memory problems
Trouble with your memory may also occur once you have reached your limit and start experiencing burnout symptoms.
We can all be forgetful at times, wondering where we have put something, such as our phone or keys. When you start to forget bigger things, such as to leave on time for work or the school run, it can be a good idea to stop and think about why your mind is foggy.
Getting help for these symptoms, as soon as possible, can be key to allowing you to regain your normality. In the meantime, you may find it helpful to use a journal to jot down your thoughts, as well as key things you need to remember, to try and keep you on track.
Physical ailments
Burnout may be related to your mental health, but the symptoms don’t end there. High levels of stress can have an impact upon your body.
You may find that, when experiencing burnout, you:
- are more prone to headaches
- notice changes in appetite
- bowel movements change, especially combined with anxiety
- gain or lose weight
- suffer from heart palpitations
- get more breakouts from general spots, or acne gets worse
- other health conditions become less manageable
Difficulty with emotions
One of the most difficult of the burnout symptoms can be how much your emotions can fluctuate without reason.
Many people suffering from emotional exhaustion may become teary, angry, or unreasonable with no identifiable trigger. This may not only affect the individual themselves, but also family, friends, and colleagues who bear the brunt of these outbursts.
Getting help as soon as you, or someone you know, notices any emotional changes can be imperative. For some people, especially if they already have underlying mental health conditions, these emotional disturbances can lead to an increased likelihood of self harm.
Remember, self harm can include:
- Cutting, burning, or otherwise damaging the skin
- Taking prescription drugs outside of how they should
- Taking illicit drugs
- Drinking alcohol outside of their norm
- Gambling outside of their norm
- Engaging in sexual behaviour outside of their norm
- Engaging in risky behaviours
- Partaking in illegal acts
- Self-sabotaging their friendships, relationships, and career
Poor productivity
Even if a person has the motivation to complete a task, there is no guarantee that it will be done to a satisfactory level.
This could lead to issues at work, especially if poor productivity is raised by a manager. It can be incredibly beneficial to communicate with your workplace, or even friends and family, if you are struggling and unable to be as productive as normal. This may allow you to gain support, such as from HR or Occupational Health, or even reduce your hours so you are able to attend appointments and work in rectifying your burnout symptoms.
That being said, poor productivity can be better than nothing at all when dealing with emotional exhaustion. One great example of this can be the story regarding running the dishwasher twice. If you have done something you have succeeded, no matter how small it may be. Engaging with mindfulness techniques may help you to be able to achieve even a small fraction of what needs to be done without contributing to greater amounts of stress.
Can’t face having a shower? Brush your teeth and use a washcloth on your face and lower region.
Don’t want to style your hair? Brush it, at the very minimum.
Feel like you can’t deal with your homework? Do a small task and write a note for your teacher explaining how you’re feeling.
For the most part, people may be more willing to support you and make allowances if they can see that you have at least tried.
Low enjoyment
One of the ways that we manage the bad things in life can be by enjoying some of the good things. This can involve the people around us, food and drink, and leisure activities.
When experiencing mental exhaustion, you may notice that you aren’t having fun, or able to unwind like you used to. This is because stress can affect all aspects of your life. You can’t just leave it at work and ignore the issues until the following day.
The technical term for low enjoyment is anhedonia, and it can represent:
- physical anhedonia – inability to enjoy touch. This encompasses physical touch with others, such as cuddles, holding hands, stroking pets, and sexual encounters, as well as other tactile examples, i.e. eating foods.
- social anhedonia – inability to enjoy socialising with others. As mentioned above, you may no longer find spending time with others gratifying, and reduce contact as a result.
What do I do?!
It can be rather frightening to no longer feel in control of your life. Thankfully, mental exhaustion doesn’t need to be permanent. However, you may need to be willing to take steps to improve your mental health and, in effect, your life.
If you feel like you’re in crisis, or a danger to yourself or others, you should call 999 immediately to engage with mental health professionals and mitigate the risk.
For other types of crisis, you might want to consider the helplines and listening services suggested by Mind, the mental health charity.
Speaking to your GP during their opening hours can also be useful for gaining any medication to stabilise your moods, as well as referrals to talking therapies and other services.
Those in employment should discuss their issues with a trusted manager or HR. Many companies want to support their employees, especially if work is one of the factors that led to mental exhaustion. This can also make it easier for you to attend appointments should they fall during your working day.
The same can be said for those in education. Speak to your form tutor, school counsellor, or course leader who may be able to signpost you to support services both in and out of your institution.
If you aren’t the person suffering with burnout symptoms, you may instead want to offer support. Accompanying the person to appointments, helping them with chores, and reminding them that you are there can make a big difference. However, you may not want to allow the person to rely on you too much, as they also need to do some of the work themselves. Likewise, you don’t want to allow your own mental health to become compromised.
Have your say
Mental exhaustion can affect all aspects of your life. If not dealt with promptly, this could cause quite severe damage to your health, relationships, and career.
While these are just some of the symptoms you might notice, this isn’t an exhaustive list. Any mental or physical changes, especially paired with an overfilled schedule, could be an indicator that you need help.
Should you notice symptoms, either in yourself or someone you know, it can be imperative to speak to a GP as soon as possible.
If you have some ideas regarding burnout symptoms and mental exhaustion, or how to work on wellness in general, you might want to think about writing a guest post for Mindful Me.
Together, we can feel better both inside and outside ourselves, and break the stigma associated with struggles.
Freelance writer for 3+ years, currently working in marketing.
I love walks in the woods, Asian dramas, and cooking up delicious food.
2 Comments
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