“I can’t do this anymore!”
How many times have you said this to yourself as you drive to and from work every day?
Perhaps you have reasons for staying in a job that you dislike, but nothing should compromise your personal health.
Do you think you might be headed towards work burn-out?
Below are seven common signs that you may be experiencing burn-out and total exhaustion!
1.) Constant Exhaustion
One of the first signs of burn-out is feeling exhausted all the time.
Before you get out of bed in the morning, you already feel tired. Just waking up to the thought of going in to work makes you feel fatigued.
This isn’t just a physical exhaustion; it is also a mental one. Your personality dims and the things that once excited you seem tedious.
When you get home from work, all you want to do is curl up on the couch and do something that requires 0% effort. The days of going out with friend or accomplishing a goal are over. You are too tired to care anymore.
2.) Always Thinking About Work
Even though you are off the clock, you cannot stop thinking about your job.
The project you are working on, the deadline that is coming up next week, your demanding boss – you cannot stop thinking about them!
As a result, this increases your stress levels and does not allow you to mentally and physically prepare for the next work day.
Over time, this will take an effect on your job performance and health.
3.) Difficulty Sleeping At Night
You may feel exhausted and sleepy prior to crawling into bed. But the second you turn out the lights, your mind turns ON.
You begin thinking about work, your ever-increasing stress levels, and your decreasing life expectancy. (No, seriously!) This was a major problem for me.
I would lay awake for hours each night – getting an average of 3-4 hours of restless sleep. I allowed myself to take sleeping aids twice a week because I did not want to get hooked.
One night, after months of this, I broke down sobbing. I couldn’t go on like this! I was getting to the breaking point of exhaustion – Burn-Out!
Related Article: 12 Easy Nighttime Habits for Better Sleep
4.) Declining Job Performance
As your stress increases, your job performance often does the opposite.
Your mental and physical exhaustion cause a decrease in the quality of your work and the amount that you accomplish. A project that use to take you one week, now takes you two.
The enthusiasm that you once possessed for your work is now replaced by a gnawing dread.
Related Article: 9 Serious Signs You Have No Work-Life Balance
5.) You Give More Than You Get
You consistently go above-and-beyond in your work, but it goes unnoticed. Y
our reward for outstanding work is to have more projects delegated to you. Your job description is impossibly long, but no one seems to notice.
All management sees is an employee who regularly performs high-quality work.
6.) Health Problems
As stress becomes a normal part of life, your body begins to signal the need for change.
For most people, it started with debilitating headaches.
You constantly have a stiff neck and clenched jaw. Then you may start experiencing serious digestive/gut issues (painful bladder infections, constant acid reflux, and constipation).
You may begin to gain weight even though you aren’t eating badly!
Then your nervous system might start acting up. Shivering, excessive sweating, and anxiety.
This is your body’s normal response to excess stress. However, if this stress is not addressed, it can take a debilitating toll on your health!
Geart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, and gastrointestinal issues are just a few.
Finding ways to effectively relive your stress is an important step to making your health a priority.
Related Article: 12 Successful Tips To Help You Manage Your Anxiety
7.) Interpersonal Problems
As your work stress increases, you may start to respond to others in a negative way.
Perhaps you are becoming increasingly argumentative and negative. Or you are withdrawing from the world, preferring to be by yourself instead of with your family and friends.
While it is normal to occasionally experience negative emotions, you must identify when they are becoming a normal part of your life.
Related Article: 11 Reasons You Are Losing Your Friends
It is always better to take the steps to prevent burnout than to react to it after it happens.
Unfortunately, this is not always possible.
If you are currently experiencing the signs/symptoms listed above, you need to take a moment to assess your situation.
