Burnout / Stress Management

Cincinnati, Ohio

Burnout is common among people with high-stress jobs, so it is important to address it before it affects other areas of your life, too.

What is burnout?

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or chronic stress. Though it is most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships. Occupational burnout is characterized by three dimensions:

  • Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion

  • Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job

  • Reduced professional efficacy

Burnout in the workplace is extremely common

In a 2020 survey, Gallup reported that when asked how often participants experienced burnout:

  • 48% answered sometimes.

  • 21% answered always.

How to differentiate between burnout and stress

Burnout is characterized an extended period of stress that feels as though it cannot be ameliorated. If stress is short-lived or tied to a specific goal, it is most likely not harmful. If the stress feels never-ending and comes with feelings of emptiness, apathy, and hopelessness, you’re probably experiencing burnout.

What causes burnout?

There are many causes of burnout, but of the most common is too much stress and too few ways to mediate it. Other factors leading to burnout may include:

  • Unrealistic occupational expectations such as an unmanageable workload, unrealistic deadlines, and time pressure

  • Micromanagement from bosses or having no control over your work environment

  • Poor instruction, guidance, and training from management

  • Isolation from colleagues and support systems

  • Lack of support and unfair treatment

Common symptoms of burnout

Burnout can manifest both physically, psychologically, and behaviorally.

    • Feeling constantly exhausted

    • Slower recovery time from sickness

    • Frequent headaches

    • Frequent gastrointestinal problems

    • Sleep disturbances

    • Shortness of breath

    • Heightened irritability

    • Heightened emotional responses (quick to cry, quick to anger)

    • Suspicious and paranoid about colleagues

    • Substance abuse

    • Stubbornness, rigid thinking, and unwillingness to listen to other people

    • Negative attitude

    • Appearing depressed

Stress and Burnout Treatment

  • Cognitive Behavior Therapy

    The science of changing troublesome thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. CBT places an emphasis on helping individuals develop coping skills, whereby they can learn to change their own thinking, problematic emotions, and behavior.

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

    Mindfulness based therapy focused on increasing psychological flexibility through six core ACT processes including acceptance, the opposite of experiential avoidance; cognitive defusion, in which negative thoughts are observed mindfully instead of avoided or reasoned away; chosen values; and committed action.

  • Mindfulness Training

    Mindfulness is the human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. Mindfulness helps us put some space between ourselves and our reactions, breaking down our conditioned responses.