6 Signs You’re Burnt Out, Not Lazy
Burnout is a negative state of emotional, physical,
and mental exhaustion caused by excessive stress
and an inability to cope with it.
As of 2010, approximately 75% of adults in the United States
alone reported experiencing symptoms of burnout,
with over 40% of cases being severe.
It is imperative to understand the nature of burnout.
Here are six telltale signs that what you are experiencing is burnout, not laziness.
1. You Feel Disconnected From Everything
Are you going through the motions of every day as if on autopilot?
Is there a persistent feeling of being detached from your own self?
- Depersonalization: If you are suffering from burnout, you might be experiencing depersonalization. This is often described as a strange emotional numbness or emptiness, as if you are watching life from outside of yourself.
- Loss of Engagement: You don’t feel like yourself anymore, don’t feel engaged by anything, and constantly struggle with an overwhelming sense of helplessness and inability to take back control of your life.
2. You Used to Be Motivated
Laziness is a character trait that tends to remain stable over time.
A lazy person generally doesn’t feel like exerting effort.
- The Change: If you used to be self-motivated and high-achieving, often excelling in certain areas, but have recently become exhausted, apathetic, and unmotivated, it is more likely to be burnout. This shift indicates that your current state is not your baseline personality.
3. You Used to Be Passionate
A clear difference between someone who is burnt out
and someone who is lazy is that the former used to have things
they were passionate about.
- Loss of Interest: Whether it is a talent, a sport, or academic/professional performance, burnout can make it hard to do the things you once loved.
- Resentment: You might even come to hate or resent these activities because of how much you overworked yourself and pushed yourself to the brink because of them.
4. You’ve Become Moody and Irritable
Do you suddenly find yourself snappy and easily irritated?
Do you often feel emotionally out of control without knowing why?
- Emotional Control: Moodiness and irritability are common but often overlooked signs of burnout. If you are having trouble controlling your emotions when it was never a problem before, this might be the cause.
- Contrast to Laziness: Lazy people are often very relaxed, laid-back, placid, and unaffected by things, which stands in stark contrast to the agitation of burnout.
5. You’ve Neglected Your Self-Care
One of the most distressing warning signs of emotional
and physical burnout is the neglect of self-care
and social withdrawal.
- Physical Changes: There may be concerning changes in your eating or sleeping patterns. You might stop making an effort to groom yourself or look good.
- Exhaustion: You tend to spend most of your time alone doing nothing because you are easily exhausted by even the simplest of tasks. The key difference from laziness is that you weren’t always this way.
6. These Changes Happened Gradually
Burnout develops in stages; it doesn’t happen overnight.
- The 5 Stages: Studies show there are five major stages of burnout:
- The Honeymoon Phase
- The Onset of Stress
- Chronic Stress
- Burnout
- Habitual Burnout
- Progression: Symptoms often begin in the second phase, where optimism and interest start declining. By the fifth stage, burnout is embedded in your life, making mental and physical fatigue intense and harder to treat, increasing vulnerability to depression and anxiety.
Summary
Spotting the signs of burnout early makes it easier
to get help and recover.
Instead of dismissing these feelings as laziness,
it is crucial to recognize them for what they are.
If you or anyone you know may be suffering from mental
or emotional burnout,
do not hesitate to reach out to a mental healthcare professional.
