7 Warning Signs of Burnout You Might Mistake for Something Else

In 2019, the World Health Organization recognized burnout as an official occupational phenomenon [1]. While this has made discussion about burnout more mainstream, misconceptions about burnout and who it affects still abound. If you’ve felt any of the following symptoms, it may be time to re-evaluate your workload and work on your stress.

Warning sign 1: Procrastination

Waning motivation and attention are normal, especially when working on complex long-term tasks [2]. However, if you regularly avoid important tasks and miss deadlines, you may be experiencing burnout-related procrastination.

On the surface, procrastination can present as disorganization or poor time management. However, it is actually an emotional coping strategy. When we feel overloaded and stressed, we naturally seek relief from this discomfort. By delaying when we start working on tasks, we experience temporary relief (i.e., the immediate reward).

Here are examples of procrastination activities:

Procrastination is the brain’s not-so-sophisticated way of protecting us from chronically high stress. Unfortunately, procrastinating often creates more problems than it solves. Without intervention, it can actually increase stress and accelerate burnout [3]. For example, working to last-minute deadlines due to procrastination often leads to extreme pressure and poorer outcomes. This can perpetuate further stress.

In the video below, burnout consultant Andy Lavicka shares tips to replace procrastination with more helpful stress management strategies: Burnout: Procrastination.

Warning sign 2: Sleep problems

Burnout goes hand-in-hand with poor sleep [4]. In the early stages of burnout, some people take the opposite approach to procrastination by throwing themselves into their work. This is an attempt to combat stress by cutting down one’s to-do list. Although this seems like an adaptive response compared to procrastination, repeated late nights at work can disrupt your sleep.

In other cases, excessive work schedules can lead to intrusive and anxious thoughts about work, triggering insomnia and making it hard to sleep. Since the effects of sleep deprivation are cumulative, it doesn’t take many sleepless nights to feel the mental and physical effects. Burnout and sleep deprivation share many of the same symptoms, including:

Improving sleep quality is an effective means to counter the impacts of burnout. A thoughtful sleep routine can help prepare the body for sleep. This includes avoiding caffeinated drinks and limiting screen time 30 minutes to 1 hour before bed. In addition, stress reduction techniques like meditation and deep breathing can help some people unwind and fall asleep more easily.

Warning sign 3: Excessive sick days

If you start to call in sick from school or work more often, the flu season may not be the only reason. Burnout not only makes us more susceptible to illness, but it also extends recovery times. Burnout has been linked with an overactive stress response, which increases systemic inflammation and weakens the immune system [5].

Additionally, many burnout symptoms are somatic, which means they can present as physical conditions like:

Taking a day off to rest may be effective for fighting a virus, but if you’re burned out, a short break is not enough. If your symptoms reoccur and do not respond to treatment, you may need to make more comprehensive changes to restore your health.

Warning sign 4: Negative thinking

Facing a tight deadline or navigating a difficult exam period is no doubt stressful. However, we often believe things will eventually settle back to normal. But when the source of stress seems inescapable, burnout is a likelier outcome [6]. With no light at the end of the tunnel, our thoughts may increasingly turn pessimistic. As a result, people may feel hopeless and powerless to change their situation.

This can trigger a phenomenon known as learned helplessness. You may believe that your efforts will not produce results, so you stop trying. Your motivation plummets, and you anticipate only the worst outcomes.

Psychologist Martin Seligman developed the ABCDE model to counter learned helplessness and negative thinking [7]. This is a step-by-step process for evaluating the situation and challenging underlying negative beliefs.

As outlined in the table above, being self-aware and solution-focused can help divert the progression of burnout. But, of course, if external factors like a toxic work environment drive burnout, changing your thinking is just one important step of many.

Warning sign 5: Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the most common signs of burnout, but it’s also the most misinterpreted [8]. People experiencing burnout often engage in tiring activities, like working long hours or juggling excessive responsibilities. Therefore, they may attribute their fatigue to their intense schedule. However, burnout-related fatigue remains even after a break or vacation.

Severe burnout exhaustion is also known to lead to depression-like symptoms like loss of appetite and difficulty getting out of bed [9]. Here are a few other symptoms that can help you distinguish burnout from tiredness.

The short video below by TakeThis.org offers several simple burnout-related fatigue prevention tips: Mental Health Minute: Burnout- Exhaustion.

Warning sign 6: Low emotional regulation

Negative thinking paired with poor physical health can lead to high levels of anger and frustration. In addition, people in more advanced stages of burnout can be highly irritable and negatively interact with colleagues, clients, and loved ones.

Some people can dread being around others so much that they withdraw. However, isolation can worsen burnout and raise the risk of complications like depression. It can be difficult to reverse this, as burnout can make it harder to enjoy pleasurable activities.

Experts recommend low-stakes socializing, such as asking loved ones to stop by for a visit or scheduling phone calls with friends [10]. Joining a social club based on specific hobbies or activities can also reduce isolation while contributing to a better work/life balance.

Warning sign 7: Sunday night blues

If the thought of returning to work immediately lowers your mood, this can indicate burnout. This phenomenon, known as the Sunday night blues or scaries, is usually accompanied by pessimistic thoughts and negative emotions [11].

While the Sunday night blues are common, consider what might trigger this feeling. Are you concerned about a temporary project or situation, or is it an issue with a less clear-cut end? Also, consider if you are reserving enough time for self-care. If you constantly bring work home on evenings and weekends, you increase your chances of burnout.

Summary

Untreated burnout can lead to serious complications. Thankfully, you can avoid the worst by following a prevention and treatment plan. These strategies can help to mitigate the progression of burnout: