#51 – Lost your creative fire? Hidden signs of burnout to watch out for.

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘burnout”?

That it’s not for you?

After all, you love what you do. How could you ever feel burnt out or tired doing what you love?

You’re passionate, passion doesn’t burn out… right? 

Well, that’s what I thought too.

Often, it creeps into our creative lives so sneakily. It’s like smoke – you don’t see it at first but something doesn’t feel right.

Slowly, it spreads and by the time you realise you’re in the thick of it – it’s too late!

Many hold the misconception that it is impossible to feel tired doing what you love. Burnout, however, is fatigue and long-term tiredness.

Almost everyone building a business will go through it at some point in their creative journeys. It hits us all in different ways, though.

Today, I’m going to share about burnout and how you can identify the signs so you can address it before it’s too late. 

How does burnout creep up?

What often happens is that when we are creating, we are pumped and driven. We want to obviously perform to the best of our abilities and push ourselves to do that day in and day out. We work long hours, late nights, without giving ourselves the rest we know we should get.

But, all in the name of passion, right?

Thing is, in the process of continuously pushing ourselves beyond what we can endure (physically, mentally, and emotionally), the wear and tear begins. We’re only human.

At first, the tendency is to ignore these signs and keep going. There’s denial packed in there. 

We stay home rather than go out. We get more and more irritable. We isolate. But, we keep going, keep chugging along. 

Slowly, we begin to feel a sense of emptiness. Nothing makes us happy, nothing feels worthwhile – in life and work. 

Before we know it, we snap! We aren’t able to move forward. We aren’t able to perform. We just want to run away. 

That is burnout.

In fact, burnout is defined by WHO as “a phenomenon of exhaustion, cynicism and reduced efficiency”. It is also defined as “a manifestation of chronic unmitigated stress” which means we can experience both mild and severe versions of it.

Burnout Signs to look out for

From a mental process or creativity standpoint: 

• You feel like no matter how much you work, it’s never enough.
• You never have time for anything.
• You’re constantly trying to catch up and yet you’re so behind.
• Everything that you loved doing, like creating recipes, or taking photos or cooking or working with brands, feels cumbersome.
• You feel guilty just thinking about taking a break.
• You keep pushing and blame yourself for not “having it in you” when you want to rest.
• You are angry at everybody, you become highly short tempered.
• You are always irritable, small things begin to seem big and bother you.
• You feel as though no one understands you and you are fighting a battle alone.
• You feel defeated, as though this life was not meant for you and you want to escape, hide or shut down.

From a physical standpoint: 

• Trouble sleeping or insomnia
• Headaches
• Nausea, gas, indigestion, stomachaches
• Eating habits change because stress effects appetite
• Falling sick often
• Constantly feeling tired
  

Please step back for a moment and look through these signs.

Are you overworking yourself and constantly stressed out?

Are you trying too hard and working in an unsustainable way?

Is your body giving you hints?

Pay attention to them.

When stress is not addressed for a while, it begins to show up in different ways physically and mentally.  While the body is equipped to manage short-term stress, it isn’t meant to do so non-stop over long stretches of time.

Don’t wait till it gets so out of hand that it almost forces you to quit. The last thing you want is to give up what brings you immense joy.

Conclusion

Burnout isn’t only for the corporates, it hits creatives equally hard. Do your best to prevent it , take timely action, and move forward in your creative journey in a sustainable way.

Keep that smoke out of your room!