{"id":4892,"date":"2025-10-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ontdekjeheiligegraal.com\/how-can-you-recognize-burnout\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:58:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T12:58:52","slug":"how-can-you-recognize-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ontdekjeheiligegraal.com\/en\/how-can-you-recognize-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"How can you recognize burnout?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u201cThese past few weeks, I haven\u2019t even had time to eat my sandwich at lunch. I\u2019ve been doing everything on my laptop.\u201d She was sitting across from me and had barely mustered the energy to make it to my office. A few weeks ago, she\u2019d received a diagnosis: burnout.<\/span> We talked about it for the first time. She arrived just after my lunch break, during which I had eaten my sandwich at my desk while \u201cquickly\u201d updating the reports for the people I had seen that morning. I felt caught. <\/p>

PUSHING THE LIMITS<\/strong><\/h5>

Sometimes it\u2019s the little things we do all the time: neglecting ourselves for a moment because we don\u2019t have time right now. Pushing the limits of what actually feels comfortable. Working 50 hours just this week. <\/p>

If we consistently fail to make those small choices often enough, a chronic deficit<\/strong> eventually develops. For example, a lack of healthy eating, sleep, exercise, self-care, emotional or mental well-being, presence, or connection. And before we know it, we \u2019ve burned<\/strong> ourselves out<\/strong> over the long term. We keep pushing our limits just a little bit further, because that\u2019s what life seems to demand of us right now. And after all, it\u2019s only temporary, right? <\/p>

BURNOUT SYMPTOMS<\/strong><\/h5>

“Burnout is a prolonged overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, which prevents you from relaxing and causes you to experience a constant feeling of overstimulation and exhaustion.”<\/span><\/p>

Burnout<\/strong> doesn\u2019t happen overnight; it results from the cumulative effects of pushing past your limits<\/strong><\/a> or not even realizing you have limits. Consistently taking on too much from your colleagues \u201cbecause you can do it much faster\u201d or \u201csee things better.\u201d Constantly juggling too many tasks at once, because \u201cif you don\u2019t do it, who will?\u201d or because \u201cit\u2019s just a lot to handle with a house full of kids, a partner with a new job, and a continuing education program in the evenings.\u201d Over time, this makes us feel emotionally drained or overwhelmed, causes us to withdraw a little more from our social lives, and leaves us with a constant sense of stress<\/strong>. <\/p>

Exhaustion<\/strong> caused by chronic overstimulation of our sympathetic nervous system<\/strong> (which is needed for movement, fight, and flight responses<\/a>) is another major contributor to stress or burnout. In our society, where we\u2019re constantly \u201con\u201d and suffer from many stress-related symptoms<\/strong> as a result, it\u2019s the exception rather than the rule for your sympathetic nervous system to be in balance with your parasympathetic nervous system<\/strong> (which you need for rest and digestion). And this can make you feel restless, overstimulated, stressed, or nervous<\/strong>. As if there\u2019s always a string that\u2019s \u201ctightened.\u201d These are the early warning signs or symptoms of burnout<\/strong>. <\/p>

A FEW TIPS TO PREVENT BURNOUT:<\/h5>