Imagine, for a moment, your body is a candle.
Each time a match is struck, a flame ignites.
Think of this flame as stress.
Bursting, full of energy! Over quickly.
Now think of that same flame burning the wick.
Burning through the candle until the wick is at its end, with no light left to give.
Depleted and consumed by the flame.
This is what happens when we experience burnout.
Burnout creeps up on you, quietly sits on your back and forces you to carry it around.
You hardly notice it’s there, but all the while feel a heaviness weighing you down.
In this article, we talk about what burnout is and why we get it, how to recognise its symptoms and what to do about it.
The WHO defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
Meaning that work-related stress, although normal, if not managed and monitored leads to burnout.
Think about how you feel on a daily basis while working.
Think also about how you respond when someone asks you how your day is going.
Because burnout is the result of constant workplace stress, it is helpful to reflect and consider how you manage your daily functions and your feelings towards them.
Feeling overwhelmed, indifferent, or lack of excitement when it comes to what you do every day, could be indicative signs of impending burnout.
Many people who suffer from burnout do not realize it as they believe they are simply stressed.
Burnout if left unattended, can lead to sufferers experiencing a nervous breakdown.
Demands and strict deadlines at work combine with unclear job responsibilities and feeling like you have no control over tasks, results in underperformance leading to feelings of overwhelm and depression.
It’s important to recognise that stress and burnout are not the same and that burnout is very often misunderstood as stress.
Stress is something we all experience from time to time and can be extremely useful in situations that require quick reaction and urgency – for instance, slamming the breaks when driving, running from danger, working to an important deadline or participating in competitive activities.
Stress triggers the body’s cortisol levels, the hormone that gives us the adrenaline to perform. Stress in small amounts is useful when needed.
Prolonged stress experienced daily, however, means that our cortisol levels are always on high, never relaxing or releasing.
Our bodies are able to handle small amounts of stress; this is healthy.
Just like the flame of a lit candle…temporarily.
Hans Selye coined the term “stress” in 1936 to describe the body’s response to change. He identified two types of stress: eustress, which is beneficial stress, such as an engaging work project; and distress, which is real or imagined stress that puts more pressure on your system.
Burnout is experienced when stress goes unmanaged and ignored and shows as feelings of hopelessness and exhaustion (both physically and mentally).
Burnout can be recognised by the below personality changes outlined by Psychologists Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North as the Stages of Burnout.
Stress shows as a need to be over-engaging, burnout presents as a lack of engagement or interest.
Stress can lead to anxiety over tasks or projects, burnout often leads to depression about life.
Changes in your behaviour such as increased irritability with colleagues, family and friends.
Increased time off from work due to mental, physical and emotional depletion and fatigue.
A lack of willingness to partake in fun activities you once enjoyed, opting instead for isolation.
Although burnout can affect anyone, of any age no matter the industry, there are some personality traits that are more susceptible to experiencing burnout than others.
Those who consider themselves perfectionists are at risk for burnout due to excessive stress. Most perfectionists have a high fear of failure and work even harder to ensure success in all they do.
Those with a more pessimistic attitude are likely to suffer burnout as they often cause themselves unnecessary stress and worry with a generally negative outlook and are always expecting something to go wrong.
Those who are naturally excitable have a stronger and more easily triggered stress response. There are calming techniques such as pranayama practices that one can use when they are feeling anxious or stressed.
Burnout is high among employees in jobs that don’t fit their personality or skill-set. The more compatible your occupation is with your personality and strengths, the more likely you are to succeed and enjoy your job and avoid burnout.
If You Are Experiencing Symptoms of Burnout, Here’s What You Can Do.
“Enhancing your mind-body and body-mind connection increases your ability to self-regulate and improves your resilience”. Ann Swanson – The Science of Yoga
A yoga teacher once compared our lack of communicating our boundaries to a garden without a fence. If there is no fence keeping people away or a sign saying “Do not enter” how do people know they are meant to keep out?
It’s important to realize that while small amounts of stress are good, prolonged stress results in physiological and psychological effects on the heart, mind and body. And without noticing it, we find ourselves misdiagnosing burnout as stress and so feel it’s normal and something we should live with.
It is not.
Remember there are things you can do and know that no one will be able to do these things for you or see what you are going through.
Regular introspection, reflection and self-awareness are crucial parts of life and will help you to not only avoid burnout but will also help you learn how to better care for yourself when life gets a little stressful.
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Have you experienced any symptoms of burnout? If so, which?
How have you dealt with burnout? Could you recommend a way that might help another?
Let us know what you thought of this article.
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Blog Source ( Further Reading )
Healthline (2018) A Guide to Burnout
Verywell Mind (2020) Traits and Attitudes That Increase Burnout Risk
WHO (2019) Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases
Written by Robyn MacGregor | June 2021
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” ~ Viktor E. Frankl
Yoga has been my glue over the past 12 years, and its teachings have expanded my heart and mind to hold my own space, as well as my students, with the utmost care and entrainment.
I was introduced to yoga after needing rest and remedy to injuries sustained from rock-climbing and numerous other sports. I am now an E-RYA500hr qualified yoga teacher, having completed my 200hr training at ReUnion Yoga under Jim Harrington in 2020 and my 300hr at The Shala Cape Town Yoga School under Tamsin Sheehy in 2022. I also hold a BSc. Human Bioscience degree from the University of Cape Town.
I am an eternal student and I love studying yoga philosophies – striving to climb, grow and live by them. My classes are generally Vinyasa based with strong self-affirmations and expansion of the body’s inner space, interoception and resilience. The use of breath and explorative body movements intertwined with one’s senses and an experienced rock-climbing, route setting and sporting background are my cornerstones.
I help others to bring their own heartfelt spirituality into their daily fitness regimen, with a focus on strength training and mobility work. I set strong intentions to draw students to presence, and higher degrees of presence through the breath in pranayama and meditation – especially needed in current and post-pandemic times.
“I believe that yoga is a very personal practice. To me, it is the glue that holds my overall well-being together. It continues to provide me with endless tools that help me navigate my life mindfully and move smoothly through adversity.”
Linnet was never the one to prioritise evaluation concerning where she was headed or determine whether she was truly happy with the direction, and to make adjustments as necessary. Upon growing and coming into her body, she realised she had mainly been operating from the nervous system (instead of in alignment with it) and that, in order for her to hear and see things clearly, she had to move out of survival mode.
Yoga introduced her to the simple beauty of sitting down, taking some time to come into the body, to reflect and then to navigate life from a more grounded space. It helped her so much that she just wanted to share it with everyone around her.
This led her to complete her 200hr Teacher Training with The Wellness Connection and a 30hr Kids Yoga Training in 2019. She recently completed a 50hr YIN Yoga Training as she finds herself falling more and more in love with the marriage between the Chinese philosophy of Daoism & Indian Tantric Yoga.
Accompanied by affirmations, Linnet’s gentle and nurturing nature allows one to connect with their inner silence at their own pace whilst at the same time building strength and capacity.
“Yoga and meditation have given me ritual, refuge, an opening into self – discovery.”
Through a lifetime of curious exploration, Candice has developed a self-practice rooted in intuitive movement, yoga, meditation, breath work and self-study. She believes this potent combination of weaving breath, movement, contemplation and meditation is the path to healing and empowerment.
Candice’s teachings are gentle and explorative, threaded with embodied philosophy. She holds space for students to journey to their own rhythms and embodiment as gateways to embrace their depths, delighting in their own empowerment and awakening. In this way the practice becomes a call to home – to ourselves.
Candice completed her 200 hr Teacher Training in May 2020 with Unraveled Yoga and is passionate about sharing yoga in a community space, teaching a weekly community class ever since as well as a Sunday class at the District Six Haven Night Shelter for women.
Robyn was first introduced to yoga at 23 after attending a small yoga class at her local gym. After experiencing the magic of savasana, Robyn fell in love with the practice of yoga.
Being more bookworm than gym bunny, Robyn attended various yoga classes and discovered that yoga, mentally and physically…is hard work!
Still the mind, slow the breath and hear the thoughts in between the inhales and exhales. To Robyn, the magic in yoga comes in those moments when you realize you are enough and are exactly where you are meant to be in life…and in the pose.
Armed with tight hamstrings and absolutely no background in any physical activity at all, Robyn received her 200hr hour teaching qualification in 2017 from the Wellness Connection in Hout Bay and began teaching right away!
Robyn’s classes are relaxed and fun (although you are not obligated to laugh at any of her jokes) and incorporate a foundational aspect to ensure all poses are practised safely. Robyn loves breathwork and a slow mindful meditational focus in class. Robyn loves teaching those whose experiences of yoga are similar to her own. Those who found yoga a little later on in life and whose bodies are more conditioned to sitting at a desk rather than on a yoga mat. For those who still don’t feel downward dog is a rest pose and those who can’t touch their toes.
In short, those who feel they aren’t “good” at yoga. If Robyn (and her tight hammies) can find beauty in this practice, so can you!
Robyn also assists with the House of Yoga social media, blog and studio admin too!
Leigh was introduced to yoga at university, after years of being ungrounded and disconnected from her body. It was a holistic and healthy antidote to stress and anxiety and, with a background in and love of dance, she was drawn to the beauty of the practice’s physical movement and its propensity for keeping the body strong and flexible.
After having spent thirteen years working in the corporate world, ten of those based in London and travelling around Europe, she answered a yearning to return to the wide open spaces of her homeland, South Africa, to work in the renewable energy sector. She is now the proud founder and owner of House of Yoga – an urban sanctuary where people from all walks of life come to reconnect with themselves.
Leigh completed her 200hr Teacher Training with the Marianne Wells Yoga School in February 2016 and obtained her 300hr Advanced Teacher Training with The Shala in Cape Town in February 2020.
Leigh is passionate about showing how yoga is accessible to everyone and how it can bring a sense of calm, ease and peace to everyday life. By focusing on technique, alignment and letting go, she aspires to help her students feel more grounded, connected and nurtured. She enjoys weaving together aspects of her dance experience and the various yoga styles she has practiced (including Hatha, Iyengar, Vinyasa, Scaravelli and Ashtanga) over the past 16 years into her classes.
For Leigh, every time you step onto your mat, you begin a journey – a journey home to yourself. Yoga is about celebrating the adventure of life, being human, your uniqueness, but also your connection of all things.
With a background in fitness, Giulia has always followed an active lifestyle – keeping her body moving has always been her number one goal.
A healthy and fit daily routine led her to discover her love of yoga, as the fundamentals of her yoga practice allowed a deeper connection to her body as well as her mind.
After finding her place on the mat, Giulia proceeded with her 200hr teacher training at The Wellness Connection in Cape Town, which ignited a deep passion for the world of yoga anatomy. Giulia’s classes not only focus on strength building and alignment but also touch on a softer side of connection through breath to movement, allowing the mind to reconnect with the body.
Through her experience of teaching, Giulia has discovered the beauty of slow progression through movement and dedication to practice. She aims to focus on each and every student’s journey in their own practice and to guide them in a way which encourages more curiosity about their own body and finding contentment with where they are.
“As I breathe in I feel calm, as I breathe out I feel peaceful.”
Karen teaches yoga to little humans.
She is a certified children and teen’s yoga and mindfulness teacher, having completed her teacher training through Yoga4Kids, as well as obtaining her Mindfulness4Kids, YogaTherapy4Kids and Peaceful Babes certifications.
After attending her first yoga class more than 10 years ago Karen felt firsthand just how beneficial yoga was in helping her to deal with day-to-day stress and to self regulate through breathing and mindfulness. Over the years yoga has been crucial in helping her maintain a healthy balance between the mental, physical and emotional aspects of herself.
It is through her own ongoing journey with yoga and love for the practice that Karen found her calling in teaching yoga to children of all ages. She would love to make yoga and mindfulness accessible to as many children and teens as she possibly can, and believes the younger a child is exposed to the tools and benefits of yoga, the better they are equipped to handle the challenges of life.
A travelling nomad by nature and a full-blown holistic health advocate by heart. Kim first fell in love with yoga when she was teaching English in Vietnam – the city was chaotic and the yoga studio was not. She came to know and love the calmness and stillness that yoga presents to us on every basis. So, she carried this passion with her throughout all her travels for 8 years until she landed in beautiful Bali where she completed her 200hrs Yoga Teacher Training.
As an integrative nutrition coach and specialist in gut health, Kim believes that it’s not just what’s on our plate that makes us healthy – it’s our lifestyle. And yoga has proven to be a healer of all things in itself, our very own medicine, which is why she teaches it. To guide us complex humans to a simpler path of pure and utter joy and stillness. It doesn’t matter what shape or size you are, or whether you can touch your toes – if you want to better yourself and love yourself and have a lighter walk of life, then her classes are for you. She’ll be there with you every breath of the way.