Comparison’s Contribution to Burnout
By: Megan Brewer IMH
Burnout. You’ve probably heard the word before. Maybe you read about it once in an article or know someone affected by it. Perhaps you have experienced it yourself or are afraid of heading towards it if something doesn’t change soon. Most likely, you are probably thinking burnout will never happen to you. I have a feeling that everyone who has burnout experience was thinking the same thing until it happened.
We tend to talk about burnout as if it is something that happens suddenly and without warning. But burnout is actually an accumulation of stress that can manifest in a variety of places in your life. When your body and brain are exposed to long seasons of stress without the chance to rest and return to a state of neutrality, stress stores up until your system can no longer handle the pressure. When this happens over a prolonged period of time, it burns out your system’s ability to continue functioning.
So what makes it so easy for burnout to hide under the surface of our stress? There are many reasons for this, but one large factor is our tendency to compare ourselves to others based on our perception of how they handle stress. Since burnout is a result of cumulative stress and stress looks different for everyone, the buildup of stress will be different for everyone as well. The thing that creates a stress response in me will be different from what causes a stress response in you. That is why it is important for each person to know what triggers their unique stress responses and learn ways to manage and decrease the effects.
Since stress is not simply a result of physical exhaustion, it is important to understand that your body and brain will have different responses to the same tangible experience that someone else may have. For example, Stephanie and Tracy both work in similar positions in the same company with a similar workload. Tracy feels burnt out and exhausted most days but downplays her stress because Stephanie seems to be going about her days with energy to spare. Tracy however has been building up stress in her system for some time now. Her husband has been working on his graduate degree and working a full-time job, which has made it hard for him and Tracy to spend time together. She is helping her aging parents almost every weekend with projects and running errands. She has also been volunteering in the children’s department at church and is part of a small group that meets weekly. She struggles with feeling inadequate in many areas of her life, but rarely voices how she feels or thinks. She and her husband recently moved and she has started experiencing headaches during the day. It is no wonder that when stress arises at work, she feels the weight of it more than Stephanie who has not had nearly as much stress building up in her current season of life.
If you can relate to Tracy or feel like stress is starting to accumulate and compound in your life you can:
- Take inventory of the things that are causing stress in your life. Making a list and seeing everything together can help validate your feelings and put them into perspective.
- Take time to write what it is about each thing that causes you to feel stress about it. Your unique experiences affect your reaction to the different stressors in your life.
- Begin to make a plan to reduce stress in areas that have become compacted with stress.
- Always remember to schedule in times of rest and play into your weekly schedule to help decompress the buildup of stress from the week.
Stress is a normal part of life and our bodies were made to cope with it in reasonable doses. But when it builds up over a longer period of time, our ability to cope becomes overloaded and we are at risk of burning out. If you are feeling overwhelmed by stress that has built up in your life, it might be helpful to talk to a counselor or a trusted friend about making the necessary changes to keep you from burnout.
To schedule an appointment with Megan Brewer,
Please call our office at 407-647-7005.
