Are You Running on Fumes?

Here’s how to figure out if you’re reaching the end of your tether.

- Shihaam Hassanali

It’s very easy to get caught up with work, family, friends and all the other obligations you shoulder. a demanding job is sure to drain you; then, you have to provide healthy meals for your husband and kids, stay on top of your ailing parents’ doctor’s appointments, help your sister plan her wedding, and always be available for your BFF who has, yet again, had her heart broken. Sure, you can probably keep going full steam ahead for months without incident, but the pressure will eventually take its toll. and, if you don’t slow down and hit the pause button, you may be left feeling exhausted and drained, because burnout hits you when you least expect it.

So, is it ever possible to steer clear of burning out? the answer is yes, you can…by paying attention to what your body is trying to tell you.

When your approach to life is to give equal priority to every aspect of it, or person in it, you’re eventually stretched too thin and barely have time for yourself. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when extreme fatigue sets in and you suffer a breakdown. You might be in conversation with your sister when the next thing you know, you’re flat on the floor wondering what happened. The doctor declares you’re suffering from extreme physical and mental exhaustion, and insists you take a couple of months off from ‘adulting’.

Psychology explains burnout as “a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and feelings of ineffectiveness.” The symptoms of a burnout accumulate slowly, over time. at first, you’ll hardly notice them and will often put it down to just being a little stressed or tired, and assume the symptoms will eventually pass. But they don’t. They just continue to quietly pile up, manifesting over a period of as long as one to two years.