WORKPLACE BURNOUT IS BECOMING LIFESTYLE BURNOUT
The World Health Organization publishes a system called the International Classification of Diseases that healthcare providers use to classify, define, and study disease patterns.
You may have heard that the definition for “burnout” is changing in the most recent edition. Workplace burnout isn’t classified as a disease or an illness, but the WHO recognizes that it’s nevertheless a reason people frequently seek medical treatment.
Here’s how the WHO defines burnout:
- Burnout comes from chronic stress that isn’t managed well.
- Burnout has three main characteristics:
- We feel drained all the time
- We hate our jobs
- We’re not as efficient at work
And although the WHO warns that burnout applies specifically to work and shouldn’t be applied to other areas of life, I’ve started noticing my clients are experiencing a vital state of exhaustion that extends well beyond work.
We're Experiencing a Vital State of Exhaustion
What I’ve noticed is that my clients have chronic stress that extends way beyond work.
They’re overwhelmed with raising children, taking their children to their incredibly demanding activity schedule (because: competition), cooking healthy meals, getting to the gym, taking care of their aging parents, paying off debt, saving for retirement, feeling inadequate all the time, making their house look like their Pinterest boards, separations/reconciliations/divorces, custody disputes, job instability, and on and on and on and on and on.
It never ends.
Our Stress Has Changed
In a lot of ways, our lives are less stressful than they’ve ever been.
We count on our society to function well enough that we never have to worry about whether there will be food at the grocery store, electricity in our outlets, or water in our faucets. In fact, it’s so dependable we take a lot of that for granted.
But what we have in its place is a litany of other stressors that affect our bodies in a similar way.
What Is Lifestyle Burnout?
I’ve noticed my clients are chronically stressed.
They feel depleted all the time and are constantly exhausted.
Just like the disconnect we feel from work when we’re burning out, my clients feel estranged from their closest relationships.
They have a cynical view about life and feel helpless, hopeless, and powerless.
All of this interferes with their ability to function as well as they ordinarily would, which just fuels that exhaustion.
I’ve been calling this “lifestyle burnout” because it seems to be driven by these outrageous, competitive lifestyles we’ve developed over the past few decades.
Are You Experiencing Lifestyle Burnout?
Want to figure out whether you might be experiencing lifestyle burnout?
Let’s start by figuring out what your major stressors are.
Download this PDF to get started and to get a link to a test that shows your susceptibility to a stress-induced health breakdown.
Then, next week, I’m bringing you 44 signs you might be experiencing lifestyle burnout. Don’t miss it.
Talk to you soon,
Dr. Finch
P.S. For you skimmers: The World Health Organization has articulated what workplace burnout means, and my clients seem to have a version of this that extends far beyond work. I call it “lifestyle burnout.” Download the PDF to identify the major stressors that might be contributing to your lifestyle burnout and then check back next week for 44 signs you might be experiencing lifestyle burnout.
P.P.S. Remember, this is education, not treatment. Always consult with a psychologist or therapist about your mental health to determine what information and interventions are best for you. See the disclaimer for more details.
Hayden C. Finch, PhD, is a practicing psychologist in Des Moines, Iowa, dedicated to helping you master your mental health.
