Pushing yourself has always been glorified to me. I was taught that it is good to give your 110% effort and that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. While this is great for achieving accomplishments, what happens when you do this for too long? Giving your 110% is not sustainable and can lead to burnout. If you have been pushing yourself to your limits lately, keep reading for 5 clear signs of burnout that you should watch out for.
1. Your mental health is dwindling
You might be feeling generally low. However your mental state usually is, it is starting to slowly but surely spiral downwards. This can significantly vary from person to person, but it might include chronic tiredness, increased anxiety or depression, and irritability. If you are experiencing this sign of burnout, it is important to give yourself a break ASAP.
2. Things you used to love aren’t exciting now
While this can be a symptom of your overall mental health state, it can also relate to burnout. Among other things, it could be related to work, your social life, or your personal hobbies. Regardless, things you were once passionate about aren’t bringing you joy lately. Maybe you try to enjoy it, but your mind wanders to other things you “should” be doing. Maybe, you can’t bring yourself to do these things at all. This brings us to sign number three.
3. You wish to be a weekend couch potato
Weekend plans just don’t seem exciting anymore. Any time you receive an invitation to a weekend event, you mentally sigh as you subtract it from your time to relax. You also lack the social energy that it takes. Nothing sounds better on the weekends than takeout, sweatpants, and TV reruns. Every weekend.
4. Your body is tired
Mental burnout can lead to physical exhaustion and even sickness. Sometimes when you get sick, it is your body’s way of telling you that it is weak and needs you to slow down. Our bodies do so much for us every day, and stress can impact us more than we might imagine. If you aren’t typically the lazy type, but you suddenly can’t seem to get yourself out of bed or to your workout class, you might be fighting against burnout.
5. You are feeling uninspired in your work
Inspiration cannot seem to strike you. Your work seems mundane and uninteresting when you are usually excited about it. In conjunction with this, your work doesn’t seem to be hitting the marks it usually does. It isn’t your best, you know it, but you can’t seem to change it. Likely, you don’t have the energy this requires.