Psychotherapy | 3 min read | 2024-11-11 | 28 Views
Understanding Burnout: How to Recognize, Prevent, and Recover
Burnout is a widespread issue affecting people across various life stages, from students to professionals to parents. Originating from intense stress and high expectations, burnout can result in chronic exhaustion, diminished motivation, and feelings of inadequacy. In school, high expectations and social pressures contribute to academic burnout, particularly among older students. For parents, balancing multiple responsibilities can lead to emotional exhaustion and decreased satisfaction, affecting both themselves and their families. Addressing burnout requires setting priorities, seeking support, and establishing habits that promote mental well-being
In today’s fast-paced, high-demand world, burnout has become a common struggle across various roles. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a parent, the pressure to meet expectations, juggle responsibilities, and perform at peak levels can lead to exhaustion, frustration, and feelings of inadequacy.
The term “burnout” was introduced in the 1970s by American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. He used it to describe the effects of intense stress and lofty expectations often experienced in caregiving professions 1 As a matter of fact, burnout isn’t just feeling tired after a long day—it’s a state of chronic physical and emotional depletion that can impair health, productivity, and mental well-being.
For instance, school burnout is a growing concern, particularly among high school and college students. Academic pressure, tight deadlines, extracurricular commitments, and social pressures can lead to chronic stress, resulting in physical exhaustion, a sense of inadequacy, and lack of motivation. A study in university students showed 3rd and 4th year students had higher academic and personal burnout than 1st and 2nd year students2. As the growing pressures of growing up converge with heavier responsibilities, the young adult in today's world ends up submerged in stress. The solution focuses on behaviors, life concerns, emotions, and strategies for managing and treating stress as well as recognizing that academic success is not the sole measure of self-worth2.
What about later in life. Parental burnout (PB) occurs when there is a lasting mismatch between perceived stressors and resources in the parenting domain3. Parents experiencing burnout may feel exhausted, irritable, and emotionally distanced from their children, leading to feelings of guilt and frustration. Balancing so many responsibilities leave little time to recharge, which can eventually lead to emotional exhaustion and decreased parenting satisfaction. Parents in burnout are at risk for a host of negative consequences that affect not only themselves, but also their children. PB is both a collective and individual responsibility3. Connecting with other parents for support, sharing parenting responsibilities, and prioritizing small moments of joy with children can help alleviate stress, along with professional mental health counseling.
Burnout may feel overwhelming, but it is also an opportunity to rethink priorities, create boundaries, and incorporate habits that support mental and emotional well-being. Whether it’s in school, work, or parenting, managing burnout requires self-compassion, a willingness to seek help, and small, consistent actions that support balance.
References
InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2006-. Depression: Learn More – What is burnout? [Updated 2024 Apr 15]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279286/
Svavarsdottir, E. K., Flygenring, B. G., Bernhardsdottir, J., Thorsrteinsson, H. S., Svavarsdottir, M. H., Kristofersson, G. K., & Sveinsdóttir, H. (2023). Educational and personal burnout and burnout regarding collaborating with fellow university nursing students during COVID-19 in 2020–2021. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 37(4), 1016–1027. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.13177
Mikolajczak, M., Gross, J. J., & Roskam, I. (2021). Beyond Job Burnout: Parental Burnout. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 25(5), 333–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2021.01.012
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