“I thought I was just tired. It turned out that I had been living in a state of exhaustion for two years.”

That’s what one of my clients told me last week. And honestly? I hear stories like this quite often.
It’s not about weakness. And it’s not about “not being able to cope.”
Burnout is a looooong process. Most important to notice it before your body starts to shut down.
➢ 1974 – Herbert Freudenberger introduced the concept of “burnout” while observing volunteers in a hospital;
➢ 1976 – At the annual conference of the APA (American Psychological Association), the term “emotional burnout syndrome” officially entered the lexicon; to scientific
➢Nowadays – “a phenomenon resulting from chronic stress at work.”
It’s not a diagnosis.
It’s not laziness.
It is not a lack of discipline.
It is a condition that develops gradually.
First, stress appears.
And stress itself is not the enemy.
There is stress that mobilizes us.
It gives us focus, energy, and a sense of the importance of the task we are currently performing.
And there is stress that exceeds our resources.
When there is an inner feeling that the demands exceed the capacity for recovery.
Exceed support.
Exceed sleep.
And then something else begins.
Not “too many emotions,” as with stress.
On the contrary — numbness.
Work begins to seem meaningless — even if objectively everything is fine.
Mornings feel heavy — no matter how much you’ve slept.
Little things that didn’t bother you before are now annoying.
And the thought arises: “Something is wrong with me.”
Burnout has three key signs:
1.   Emotional and physical exhaustion
2.   Detachment and cynicism towards work
3.   Decreased efficiency (you work more but get less done)

And it doesn’t happen overnight.
First comes the stage of enthusiasm — the “honeymoon.”
Then comes the “fuel shortage”: fatigue, forgetfulness, lack of focus, and sleep problems. Sometimes somatic manifestations such as headaches and overeating are added to the mix. And then comes the crisis.
It is important to understand that burnout does not occur solely because of the amount of work.

It is formed at the intersection of:
Ø work demands
Ø personal characteristics (perfectionism, hyper-responsibility, inability to say “no”)
Ø and the presence or absence of resources for recovery and support
When there are many demands and few resources, the system becomes depleted.
This problem requires a systemic solution. Just vacation and meditation don’t help. It’s reality.
Our nervous system needs cycles of relaxation and tension, not a survival mode as a way of life.
In the following posts, we will go deeper:

* How to distinguish stress from burnout
* What stage are you at right now
*  a short screening (some tests)
*  What really works in prevention

In the meantime, here’s a question:
When was the last time you felt your energy returning, rather than just not decreasing?