In light of many major YouTubers “retiring,” a lot of conversation has come up about “burnout.” What causes someone to get burnt out? Is there a way to avoid it? We reached out to Devoted Geek and Licensed Professional Counselor Damara Mora and asked her to send us some information to help answer these questions, and today we are going to talk about them.

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Notes form Damara L Mora – M.A. LPC-S

Burn out doesn’t just happen there are actual signs that show you are struggling.  

Stage 1: Beginning.

Taking on more, skipping lunch, staying lunch. On occasion, these things can happen; however, if you are doing all there consistently, it adds up. We don’t know we have a problem because we typically love what we do, but this shows you the start of your personal imbalance.  

Stage 2: Onset of stress

You feel overworked and overwhelmed, but carry on and put up with what is going on around you. In this stage, you will find you do not sleep through the night, and when you hit a weekend or your time off, you sleep harder and longer.  

Stage 3: Chronic Stress

Feeling unwell, masking feelings, not coping, exhausted, and joyless. This can also be described as brownout. A step prior to actual burnout. By this stage, it almost feels like you have a cold that you can’t shake. You will be tempted to fake it until you make it at this stage:  

Stage 4: Burnout

At this stage, you are physically and emotionally spent. There is nothing left. Typically, this looks like insomnia, exhaustion, and headaches. And physiological symptoms like apathy, irritability, and depression.  

Stage 5: Habitual burnout

This involves superficial rest. Its like a waiting period for the old cycle to start back up again.  

Through each stage you will find yourself becoming more negative in speech towards others and self. Behaviors will slowly become different and odd because the body itself is becoming trained to maintain but physically exhausted.  

Keys to maintain your job and mental health!

  1. Daily self-care is needed. this includes sleep, eating habits, at least 30 minutes to an hour of downtime a day, and exercise.
  2. Maintain balance! Your job isn’t your whole life. when you cause your world to mold to your job you build stress and get closer to brown out. 
  3. Talk to a therapist. Sometimes, we don’t see what is fully going on around us. A therapist can help you navigate what is going on around you and help you communicate your needs. 
  4. Manage your priorities! know what is actually important to you in life. I have friends who will instantly say no to a job if it asks them to work on a Sunday. 
  5. Keep your family in the loop if you begin to struggle with stress. accountability is key to overcoming stress and burnout