Is burnout part of the new norm?
Have we come to a time when burnout is seen as the new normal?
With the sun setting on another day, you’re lying in bed, exhausted and still answering emails. Are you weary of feeling this way, feeling burnt out?
Burnout is defined by a persistent state of physical, mental, and emotional fatigue that can be quite overwhelming. That tiredness seems to hang around without any relief in sight. To combat this fatigue, we often reach for caffeine, energy drinks, or sugary snacks for a quick lift. Yet, once that temporary energy fades, we find ourselves back in the cycle of exhaustion.
Have we come to a time when burnout is seen as the new normal? Many of us thought that the pandemic would give us a chance to reevaluate our priorities and achieve a healthier work/life balance, making a promise to avoid those intense stress levels in the future. However, people across different sectors are still facing a barrage of tasks and elevated stress and exhaustion. Burnout might even be turning into a serious health issue. The Employee Sentiment Index from ELMO reveals that a remarkable 46% of Australians are feeling burnt out.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized burnout as an "occupational phenomenon," linking it directly to "chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed."
Feeling burnt out isn't just a concern for employees. Managers, business owners, parents, caregivers, students, and many more can experience it in a world that feels like it's constantly racing 24/7.
Looking into your own self-care practices and work/life balance can be a powerful method to break free from stress cycles and prevent burnout. Adding meditation to your self-care toolkit can be very advantageous. However, it’s common for individuals experiencing burnout to find the concept of meditation a bit unusual. Many feel it’s something they can’t grasp because they’re always caught up in their never-ending to-do lists. Gaining insight into the research on meditation and its benefits during stressful times can be quite helpful.
Researchers are now able to capture what happens to the brain when we are under chronic stress and the link to memory loss, brain shrinkage and changing the structure of the brain.
Amy Arnsten, A Yale School of Medicine professor specializing in neuroscience focuses on the brain processes involved in burnout. She says, “You notice things like being more irritable, more destructive, less motivated, less hopeful,” Arnsten goes on to say, “One of the most striking (effects) is thinning of the gray matter of an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex,” Burnout can interfere with our attention span and memory, making it tougher to absorb new information and increasing the risk of errors. Stress and burnout can lead to an expansion of the amygdala, which is the brain's center for managing our reactions to danger through the “fight-or-flight” mechanism.
Arnsten goes on to say that “It’s a double whammy. At the same time the prefrontal cortex is getting weaker and more primitive, the brain circuits that generate emotion like fear are getting stronger,”
As we navigate our hectic days filled with endless tasks and priorities, it’s easy to think we don’t have a moment to spare for meditation. One of the signs of burnout is the challenge our bodies face in relaxing or completely turning off. There are plenty of myths surrounding meditation, and one of the most prevalent is the idea that we lack the time to practice it. However, meditation can actually help us disconnect and restore our energy, enabling us to tackle our tasks with a fresh perspective. Research from MRI scans indicates that meditation lowers activity in brain regions tied to stress.
To wrap things up, burnout seems to be a prevalent challenge these days, and meditation could be a beneficial practice for those looking to reduce the symptoms of stress and burnout.
Disclaimer: The information found on this site, no matter when it was published, is not a replacement for professional medical advice from your doctor or another qualified healthcare practitioner.