
End of year burnout can feel like you’re limping to the end. Like there’s a chain around your ankles, weighing down every tiny step you make to that distant finish line.
This year, burnout is as pervasive as ever, as the pain of the pandemic has seen mental illness spike. The toll this year has taken on our mental health has never been greater. It can feel like your mind is an elastic band, already stretched to its breaking point, ready to snap with just one more pull.
Burnout is a real syndrome, recognised in May last year by the World Health Organisation which labelled it as an “occupational phenomenon” caused by chronic stress in the workplace.
As workplace closure and Christmas chores collide, the risk of burnout is heightened.
“They know there is a break coming,” Amanda Gordon, an Associate Professor and Director at Armchair Psychology, tells Mamamia, “but there’s a lot of pressure on people to complete everything before the year has ended and it feels like such a long way away until it actually stops.”
So, how do you know if you’re actually suffering from this end-of-year burnout?
Psychologist Amanda Gordon has shared the symptoms and signs along with ways to manage until your holiday arrives.
The signs and symptoms of burnout.
According to Gordon, emotional symptoms include irritability, feeling miserable, easy tearfulness, sleep disturbance and nightmares.
As for physical symptoms, Gordon explains the main sign is exhaustion, as well as headaches, aches and pains.
Plus, Gordon adds: “If you’re choosing to have alcohol to calm down at the end of the day, it’s always dangerous.”
Listen: How to know if you’re suffering from burnout. Post continues below.
So, what can you do about feeling burnt out?
“Treat yourself as though you are recovering from a physical illness,” the psychologist tells Mamamia.
“Eat well, get as much sleep as you can and try to pace yourself as much as you can at work.”
Gordon adds that taking proper breaks during the workday for lunch, having decaffeinated drinks and, if you can, ending your day at a reasonable time are all ways to manage the feeling of burnout while still doing your job.
“Go home smiling.”
How to recover from burnout once you’re on holidays.
“It takes time to recover,” Gordon says. “You’re not going to feel better in a day.”
“You really need to take time out for yourself so you can care for yourself,” she says, adding that diet and doing “gentle” exercise are important methods of self-care, as well as spending time with friends and family.”
Side note… Sarah Wilson on why she believes women burnout, get tired and sick. Post continues below.