I remember this time last year I was traveling home from vacation and we had to go through customs. I thought it was strange when we dropped off our bags for our flight, and the woman helping us asked us if we had been to China, and if we had a fever or coughing over the last 2 weeks. When we landed in the States, we saw many people wearing masks, more than usual and there was a news crew outside of customs waiting to interview people arriving from China. It seems hard to believe that in just over a year, I’ve gotten used to wearing a mask for hours at a time, I’ve answered the COVID screening questions so many times I could recite it by memory, and I’ve learned that my body temperature is consistently 97.6. I’ve also learned that the longer this Pandemic goes on, and the lack of unity in the United States is wearing on people. Every therapist I know right now has a waiting list of 2-4 weeks. I’m finding that people are meeting their treatment goals but staying in treatment longer because they need the support and safety net that therapy provides. I’m seeing professionals, young adults, teens and children feeling the effects of the Pandemic and the uncertainty of society. It’s weighing on all of us.
I’ve shared before, personally I’m thankful the self-quarantine started when it did because I was on the verge of burnout. I was tired all of the time, I was irritable with my family, I no longer wanted to get up early to go to the gym and I could hardly figure out what to make for my own lunches, let alone what to feed the family every night! For me personally, the self-quarantine allowed me time to rest and recharge even though the only thing that changed in my work schedule was moving from my office to a home office. I didn’t have to rush to get to my appointments in the mornings, I could get meals prepped or started during my lunch breaks, I had lunch with my family, I was available as soon as I ended my last session, and evenings were spent with the family doing things together. I know this barely describes anyone’s experience with the self-quarantine, but I personally think it saved me from burn out. I’m not one to be dramatic but I can’t say for sure that I’d still be a counselor if I hadn’t been able to take everything, except work off of my plate for those two months.
Now, nearly everyone who comes into my office is feeling burned out on some level. Even children. Some of them are still not in person in school, some are doing hybrid, some have opted to do all online. And their parents are juggling working from home and trying to manage the demands of their families.
In 1974, Dr. Herbert Freudenberger coined the term “burn out” and defined it, “To deplete oneself. To exhaust one’s physical and mental resources. To wear oneself out by excessively striving to reach some unrealistic expectation imposed by oneself or the values of society.” Petersen (2020) states that we’re trying harder than ever to have a work/life balance and trying to “do it all.” It’s fair to say that many people are now familiar with burn out and are experiencing it first-hand.
Here are some signs that you might be struggling with burn out:
Lack of physical or emotional energy
Negative thoughts about your job, relationships or families (I would say these are persistent and out of the norm for you personally)
Having a lack of empathy for others (where normally you would have more empathy for the same people)
Easily irritated about things that are small or in the past would not have been irritating
Feeling lonely or misunderstood by co-workers, family members or friends
Feeling like you’re in the wrong profession
Being distracted by social media or electronics because that feels easier than reading or doing some other leisure activity that you once found enjoyable
Increase in eating, drinking or using other substances to give you a little bit of relief, even temporarily
While this list is not a comprehensive list, it should be enough to at least get you pointed in the right direction. Keep in mind, these can also be signs of depression as well. And if you’re experiencing these symptoms, it is very likely that you could be dealing with depression too.
This month I’m going to focus on burn out: what things are contributing to it and what you can do about it. My hope is for you to be able to find a way to rest and recharge, like I did, so that you can continue to find peace in your jobs and families and you can continue to thrive even in the midst of a Pandemic.
This Spring Lisa is offering a workshop for organizations called: 3 Common Mistakes People Make that Destroy Their Peace of Mind and How to Avoid These Mistakes Once and For All. In this workshop, Lisa will cover, what burn out looks like, how to have good boundaries to protect your sanity, how to complete the stress cycle, how to care for yourself so you can rest and recharge, and tons of take away tools to create an individualized plan to learn to thrive even in a crisis. Lisa is offering this workshop in a 45-minute or 90-minute format, in person or virtual. This workshop can be shortened or lengthened to fit the specific needs of your organization. Email Lisa Franklin at lisa@peacefamilycounseling.com to book your spot now!
As a former Elementary Education teacher, Lisa Franklin, MSW, LCSW, understands the difficulty of managing the demands of caring for others and how it can feel overwhelming at times. Lisa is a licensed clinical social worker and is passionate about helping people go from feeling overwhelmed and shut down to empowered and in control. Lisa is currently in private practice in Greenwood, IN and helps children and individuals restore balance and peace in their lives through individual therapy and parent coaching. You can read more about Lisa and her specific training on her website at: www.peacefamilycounseling.com
Petersen, Anne Helen. (2020). Can’t Even: How Millennials became the burnout generation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
I remember this time last year I was traveling home from vacation and we had to go through customs. I thought it was strange when we dropped off our bags for our flight, and the woman helping us asked us if we had been to China, and if we had a fever or coughing over the last 2 weeks. When we landed in the States, we saw many people wearing masks, more than usual and there was a news crew outside of customs waiting to interview people arriving from China. It seems hard to believe that in just over a year, I’ve gotten used to wearing a mask for hours at a time, I’ve answered the COVID screening questions so many times I could recite it by memory, and I’ve learned that my body temperature is consistently 97.6. I’ve also learned that the longer this Pandemic goes on, and the lack of unity in the United States is wearing on people. Every therapist I know right now has a waiting list of 2-4 weeks. I’m finding that people are meeting their treatment goals but staying in treatment longer because they need the support and safety net that therapy provides. I’m seeing professionals, young adults, teens and children feeling the effects of the Pandemic and the uncertainty of society. It’s weighing on all of us.
I’ve shared before, personally I’m thankful the self-quarantine started when it did because I was on the verge of burnout. I was tired all of the time, I was irritable with my family, I no longer wanted to get up early to go to the gym and I could hardly figure out what to make for my own lunches, let alone what to feed the family every night! For me personally, the self-quarantine allowed me time to rest and recharge even though the only thing that changed in my work schedule was moving from my office to a home office. I didn’t have to rush to get to my appointments in the mornings, I could get meals prepped or started during my lunch breaks, I had lunch with my family, I was available as soon as I ended my last session, and evenings were spent with the family doing things together. I know this barely describes anyone’s experience with the self-quarantine, but I personally think it saved me from burn out. I’m not one to be dramatic but I can’t say for sure that I’d still be a counselor if I hadn’t been able to take everything, except work off of my plate for those two months.
Now, nearly everyone who comes into my office is feeling burned out on some level. Even children. Some of them are still not in person in school, some are doing hybrid, some have opted to do all online. And their parents are juggling working from home and trying to manage the demands of their families.
In 1974, Dr. Herbert Freudenberger coined the term “burn out” and defined it, “To deplete oneself. To exhaust one’s physical and mental resources. To wear oneself out by excessively striving to reach some unrealistic expectation imposed by oneself or the values of society.” Petersen (2020) states that we’re trying harder than ever to have a work/life balance and trying to “do it all.” It’s fair to say that many people are now familiar with burn out and are experiencing it first-hand.
Here are some signs that you might be struggling with burn out:
Lack of physical or emotional energy
Negative thoughts about your job, relationships or families (I would say these are persistent and out of the norm for you personally)
Having a lack of empathy for others (where normally you would have more empathy for the same people)
Easily irritated about things that are small or in the past would not have been irritating
Feeling lonely or misunderstood by co-workers, family members or friends
Feeling like you’re in the wrong profession
Being distracted by social media or electronics because that feels easier than reading or doing some other leisure activity that you once found enjoyable
Increase in eating, drinking or using other substances to give you a little bit of relief, even temporarily
While this list is not a comprehensive list, it should be enough to at least get you pointed in the right direction. Keep in mind, these can also be signs of depression as well. And if you’re experiencing these symptoms, it is very likely that you could be dealing with depression too.
This month I’m going to focus on burn out: what things are contributing to it and what you can do about it. My hope is for you to be able to find a way to rest and recharge, like I did, so that you can continue to find peace in your jobs and families and you can continue to thrive even in the midst of a Pandemic.
This Spring Lisa is offering a workshop for organizations called: 3 Common Mistakes People Make that Destroy Their Peace of Mind and How to Avoid These Mistakes Once and For All. In this workshop, Lisa will cover, what burn out looks like, how to have good boundaries to protect your sanity, how to complete the stress cycle, how to care for yourself so you can rest and recharge, and tons of take away tools to create an individualized plan to learn to thrive even in a crisis. Lisa is offering this workshop in a 45-minute or 90-minute format, in person or virtual. This workshop can be shortened or lengthened to fit the specific needs of your organization. Email Lisa Franklin at lisa@peacefamilycounseling.com to book your spot now!
As a former Elementary Education teacher, Lisa Franklin, MSW, LCSW, understands the difficulty of managing the demands of caring for others and how it can feel overwhelming at times. Lisa is a licensed clinical social worker and is passionate about helping people go from feeling overwhelmed and shut down to empowered and in control. Lisa is currently in private practice in Greenwood, IN and helps children and individuals restore balance and peace in their lives through individual therapy and parent coaching. You can read more about Lisa and her specific training on her website at: www.peacefamilycounseling.com
Petersen, Anne Helen. (2020). Can’t Even: How Millennials became the burnout generation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.