Or at least talk about it more often…
As leaders, employers, and even as friends, we have a responsibility to address burnout openly and sincerely. It’s crucial to recognize that millions of people out there don’t know how to identify the signs of burnout and end up ignoring the warnings their bodies are giving them until it’s too late.
My Personal Experience with Burnout
I recently left a job that I was really enjoying because of burnout. Although I was experiencing the same sensations as the first two times I was diagnosed with burnout (yes, two times before), I couldn’t relate these feelings to burnout specifically because the job itself wasn’t stressing me out. I was frustrated with my performance, which I considered poor by my own standards because I was lacking creativity and couldn’t think straight. But none of this had to do with the job itself. I had great challenges ahead of me, a great leader, a very cool team, and brilliant people who inspired me every day. So why was I burnt out?
I was angry with myself because I had to leave the job. Honestly, it has been hard for me to recover from it and accept that I really couldn’t do it anymore.
The Signs We Often Ignore
The thing is, I couldn’t attribute my lack of sleep, weight gain (probably due to high cortisol levels), constant headaches, erratic behavior (because when we’re emotionally exhausted, we might behave in ways that aren’t our own—lack of patience and emotional intelligence), tachycardia, anxiety, constant crying, and so on, to burnout. I thought it was just a high level of stress because I had just moved to a new country, had to meet new people and make new friends, was trying to make progress with my PhD (which is already a job in itself), and, on top of it all, wanted to take flamenco lessons (the reason I moved to Spain in the first place). It feels like too much, right? Because it is too much.
What Is Burnout, Really?
According to the World Health Organization, which in 2019 included burnout in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), burnout is fully attributed to work as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed” and “should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
So, what the heck was I experiencing then?
When Life Becomes Overwhelming
I wanted to give a name to what I was feeling. Was it just stress and a mid-life crisis? Was it a panic attack? So, the researcher and journalist in me went to the literature to understand if I could be experiencing burnout due to my heavy “lifeload” (instead of a heavy workload, which is the official cause of burnout, at least with this name).
According to Psychology Today, “burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships”. Scientific studies also suggest that the interferences between the work and non-work domains are as important as purely occupational factors. WebMD agrees that burnout can happen in other areas of life, when we experience too much emotional, physical, and mental fatigue for too long. Well, that sounds like me one month ago.
So it turns out that, yes, I could have been experiencing burnout. Again. For the third time in my life. However, because I recognized the signs early on, I could act quickly and prevent it from getting worse.
The Importance of Sharing Our Struggles
If we go to social media every day to post our successes on LinkedIn and our happy moments on Instagram, we also need to be comfortable enough to share some not-so-happy moments, as they can always be useful to someone. I often say, “whoever sees Instagram doesn’t see struggles.” On Instagram, we always post whatever we want. We tell the story we want. It’s an edited version of the good moments of our lives. Everybody is happy all the time on Instagram. But is that true 100% of the time?
The other day, while talking to a friend from Canada, I mentioned that I was struggling with my mental health, trying to keep up with the 308,304 activities I’ve been doing lately. She said, “You seem so happy! You’re always smiling and surrounded by friends on your Instagram.” Well, yes, that’s true. But I was also struggling. A lot.
Recognizing the Signs and Taking Action
Luckily, I was able to identify what I was feeling because I’ve been there before—twice. I could sense that burnout was coming. Different people experience it differently, but I knew how to identify the signs my body was giving me. This article from The New York Times lists some of the most common symptoms of burnout and suggests some actions to take when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Moving Forward: Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
Burnout doesn’t always look the same every time, and it certainly doesn’t always fit neatly into the boxes we’ve been told to expect. You might think you’re just dealing with a particularly stressful phase or that you’re not performing at your best for reasons you can’t quite pinpoint. But underneath it all, your body and mind are waving red flags, trying to tell you that something isn’t right.
This time, I had all the “right” conditions for success: a job I loved, a supportive team, a leader who inspired me, and even the fulfillment of a personal dream to study flamenco in Spain. On paper, everything looked perfect. Yet, I was still unraveling. The dissonance between what I thought I should be feeling and what I was actually experiencing made it harder to recognize that I was burning out once again.
Conclusion: Taking Care of Ourselves and Each Other
For me, talking openly about this is part of my recovery. It’s how I remind myself—and hopefully, you—that it’s okay to hit pause, to reassess, and to ask for help. Burnout isn’t a failure; it’s a signal that something needs to change. It’s about self-awareness and, more importantly, self-management and leadership. By acknowledging it and discussing it, we can start to identify what needs to change, whether it’s setting better boundaries, seeking support, or simply giving ourselves permission to rest.
I have much more to share about this. Not only about my personal experiences but also about a time when I had to lead a team that was entirely dealing with burnout, while I was experiencing it myself. How do you keep people motivated when you are the first to feel stuck and unhappy? This situation occurred twice — completely work-related — and it was very challenging to break out of this cycle. I’ll share more about this another time.
In the meantime, let’s keep this conversation going. Let’s be honest about our struggles as well as our successes. By doing so, we can create a network of great and supportive content to help one another.
Have you ever experienced burnout or high levels of stress? (It’s hard to say no, when 77% of respondents in a Deloitte survey have experienced it). I’d love to hear more about it and your coping strategies. Feel free to share them in the comments below!