Burnout: 5 most common warning signs
Feeling exhausted almost always? Maybe beyond exhausted, like having a brain fog? There is a high chance that you might be experiencing burnout. Burnout is a state that comes with long-term, unresolved stress that can negatively affect both your work life and personal life. Before you start working towards preventing it, it's important you understand its symptoms. Read on to know about them.
You are getting brain fog
You may start to experience brain fog, and your ability to pay attention or concentrate may reduce. Starting to forget things and having a hard time retaining memory are also signs. You may also feel fuzzy in your head, and making simple decisions might feel like a herculean task. These are symptoms of chronic stress which lead to burnout.
You are preoccupied with work all-day
You need proper rest to recover from your office stress. If you are preoccupied with work even at times when you are not working, it might drain you of energy. Your mind preoccupied with work eats up the time that you should be spending in recovery. You are allowing your work to interfere with your ability to recover from the stresses of your day.
You have stopped taking care of yourself
People often succumb to unhealthy coping mechanisms like binge-watching shows on OTT platforms, overeating junk food, drinking too much, smoking, undersleeping, and being too sedentary among others. And to de-stress, people often self-medicate by drinking too much caffeine to drag themselves to work in the morning, or by taking sleeping pills to complete the required amount of sleep, instead of caring for their health.
You've become far more cynical and hopeless
Getting irritated easily and becoming obsessively critical of your colleague or your work, or being short-tempered with people around you are some of the signs of cynicism. You might also start to feel a lot more negative. While it is normal to experience negative emotions every now and then, it is important to realize when you are becoming obsessed with them.
You lack motivation
Whether you are working in a toxic environment or feeling you have no control over your role, the feeling of lack of motivation is a prime signal of feeling burnt out. In other ways, the lack of motivation can manifest as feeling harder to get going in the morning and feeling more difficult to drag yourself into work every day.
