What Are the 12 Stages of Burnout?
Burnout can affect anyone, from caregivers to athletes, new parents or individuals struggling through an unhealthy relationship. However, when you have a comprehensive understanding not only of what burnout looks like but also of the warning signs, you may be able to make changes to address burnout before it depletes you.
Keep reading to learn more about the 12 stages of burnout.
What Is Burnout?
Burnout is described by the American Psychological Association’s Dictionary of Psychology as “physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance and negative attitudes toward oneself and others.”
While not an official diagnosis, burnout is often seen when an individual is consistently performing at a high level while under significant stress and tension. This often is the result of extreme, prolonged physical or mental exertion or an overwhelming workload.
In a society where busyness is often worn as a badge of honor, burnout is prevalent. People push and push and push themselves until they find themselves completely empty.
Anyone can experience burnout. However, it’s most often seen in:
Individuals working in service-based roles (doctors, teachers, social workers)
Therapists and counselors doing extensive trauma work with patients
Caregivers
New parents
Individuals supporting a loved one through a traumatic life event
Individuals in unfulfilling or unhealthy relationships
Athletes
Artists and creatives
The more comprehensively you understand the signs and stages of burnout, the more easily you’re able to take preventative measures to readjust and take care of yourself before hitting full burnout.
What Are the 12 Stages of Burnout?
First outlined and developed by Gail North and Herbert Freudenberger, read on to learn about the 12 stages of burnout.
1. Needing to Prove Yourself
This first stage of burnout can be thought of as the catalyst that often drives people to burnout. Individuals who feel an intrinsic need to prove themselves are often operating from a place of insecurity, perfectionism, or negative self-talk. It’s this unforgiving internal monologue that drives them to push forward at all costs. They feel like if they take on more work, sacrifice more of their time and energy, and produce work that finally feels “good enough,” they will finally feel appreciated and worthy.
If you constantly feel like you have to do more to prove yourself, pay attention: you may be at risk for burnout.
2. Becoming a Workaholic
Individuals who feel a deep need to prove themselves can easily slip into becoming a workaholic. They feel as though they have no choice but to keep working harder and harder, no matter how tired or drained they may be. The idea of taking time off to rest or do something enjoyable may be met with significant guilt.
It often starts slowly, then snowballs. What begins as an occasional checking of email in the evenings or on weekends turns into never fully disconnecting, feeling a constant need to be “on.” People in this stage of burnout may also struggle to trust others, feeling as though they have to do everything themselves in order for it to be done “correctly.”
3. Neglecting Your Needs and Self-Care
The more overwhelmed and overworked an individual becomes, the more they begin to neglect their own needs. This is one of the biggest indicators that burnout is beginning to take hold: nothing else seems to matter besides the thing burning you out.
If you’re no longer taking time to rest, move your body, eat balanced meals, or spend time with people you care about, you’re neglecting your own basic needs — and that can have serious consequences.
4. Frequent Interpersonal Conflicts
Individuals who are burned out often begin to notice that everything — and everyone — around them starts to get on their nerves a little more than usual. It’s common to feel unusually irritable, frustrated, or anxious, often by things that wouldn’t otherwise bother you.
This can lead to defensiveness, or even picking a fight. Instead of coping with the thing burning you out, you take that internal conflict out on the people around you, and your relationships may begin to suffer.
5. Reconsidering Your Values
As individuals, we’re all driven by our values and beliefs. However, when you’re burning yourself out, you may find that you begin to reconsider — and often reprioritize — those values, often in a way that doesn’t align with how you feel when you’re at your best.
You may begin questioning your purpose, or wondering if other areas of your life matter as much as the area that’s burning you out. This isn’t always a conscious process: it may look like inadvertently deprioritizing time with family and friends or making career decisions that don’t necessarily align with your beliefs, but move your career forward.
Sometimes, it takes accountability from people in your life who know you and care about you to pull you back on track in these seasons of life and remind you what really matters.
6. Denial
In the denial stage, frustration and hostility can begin to grow. You may lash out at loved ones or colleagues who suggest that you may be headed for burnout, and feel that everyone around you is incompetent and unable to understand the pressure you’re under.
7. Withdrawal
Often, denial seamlessly transitions into withdrawal, as mounting frustration makes pulling away seem like the most attractive option. Individuals who are in the withdrawal stage may ignore texts and calls, cancel plans, and avoid interacting with others as much as possible.
This is because the burned out individual is not only frustrated and in denial — they’re also exhausted, and the idea of interacting socially only adds to that exhaustion. However, maintaining a healthy social life is intrinsic to maintaining your mental health, and isolation only adds to the mounting issues.
8. Behavioral Changes
Loved ones may begin to notice changes in behavior, adding to their concern. This can look like:
Withdrawal
Acting out of character
Lack of interest or care
Oversleeping or insomnia
Depression
Anxiety
If you are concerned that someone you know is experiencing burnout and you begin to see these symptoms, it’s important to encourage them to seek help from a mental health professional.
9. Depersonalization
With the anxiety and depression that can come from burnout often comes depersonalization or detachment, in which the person feeling burned out begins to feel completely removed from their own emotions and thoughts, like they’re having an out of body experience.
This can also lead to additional negative self-talk, guilt, and feelings of helplessness.
10. Feelings of Emptiness
As burnout continues to worsen, feelings of emptiness can begin to take hold. You may feel like a shell of yourself, lacking purpose, direction, or drive. This is particularly dangerous, as it’s a stage in which many people seek fulfillment or purpose in unhealthy coping mechanisms.
11. Depression and Despair
In this same vein, people experiencing burnout often find themselves deep in feelings of despair, or even depression. They may lose motivation entirely, struggling to get out of bed. If you’ve been wondering if you’re experiencing burnout and are also experiencing depression or thoughts of self-harm or suicide, contact a mental health professional immediately.
12. Complete Burnout
It’s official: burnout has been reached. If you’ve reached full-blown burnout, you likely need professional help, as both physical exhaustion and emotional numbness have taken their toll.
However, no matter how hopeless you may feel, it is possible to recover from burnout. With the support of a licensed therapist, you can design a life that supports you rather than drains you. Build healthy boundaries, rediscover your purpose, and move forward with renewed motivation.
Recover From Burnout With the Support of the Team at Aspire Psychology
If you are experiencing burnout, or feel like you’re headed in that direction, it’s time to partner with a licensed therapist to get back on track. Depending on the severity, burnout recovery can take anywhere from a few weeks to many months, but trust us — it is well worth the hard work to build a lifestyle that fulfills you and brings you back to yourself.
Ready to take the first step? Get started with Aspire today.
