Navigating a season of stress and change
As the coronavirus has exposed the fragility of our systems in the United States, it has also exposed the fragility of ourselves.
People around the world are experiencing significant burnout amidst an unexpectedly challenging season of perpetual change. The past few months have defined 2020 as being full of unprecedented events. As a result, the collective human psyche has become increasingly sensitive to the obscure lunacy that encompasses the circumstances of this year.
Psychology Today describes burnout as emotional, mental and physical exhaustion influenced by extensive stress which manifests in forms of cynicism, depression and lethargy. Commonly accompanied by an immense sense of dread, burnout can cause anyone to feel overwhelmed.
Exhausted minds plague people with burnout. In the dwindling light of a once burning passion, these people recognize the burnout creeping through their consciousness. Once burnout manifests internally, it ultimately leads to a lack of self control — imposing an array of repercussions upon those who succumb to it during this difficult season.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified burnout as an “occupational phenomenon,” back in 2019, suggesting the term should not be used to describe any experience outside the context of work-induced stress. Yet, the word burnout has been commonly used to describe any experience encapsulated by stress and other conducive conditions that reach beyond the workplace. Life can quickly become highly stressful, demanding a degree of strenuous effort outside of the workplace realm.
A person overworked by exhaustion is likely to succumb to a variety of repercussions that this overextension may bring. Like thunder after lightning, consequences follow burnout — posing a threat to its already suffering victims. These repercussions question the ability for that person to persevere through the hardship and overcome the burnout that burdens them.
Brian Collisson, a psychology professor at Azusa Pacific University, conducted a study that evaluated the effect that toxic coaching, a form of poor leadership, had on student-athletes. Characterized by various harsh or negligent behaviors, toxic coaching imposes excessive pressure and stress that discourages necessary life-balance values for those subjected to it. The study concluded that “…toxic leadership was adversely related to player burnout, likelihood of quitting the team, likelihood of quitting school, and feeling less committed to the team and school, respectively.”
The findings of Collisson’s study can be applied to non-student athletes and working professionals as well: the influence of imposed stressors upon a single subject are likely to instigate a variety of detrimental consequences. Repercussions include behavioral shifts that reflect burnout, which can be observed through a societal or individual standpoint. As a coach may impose stress upon an athlete, or a boss may impose stress upon an employee, chaotic change amidst a global pandemic may impose stress upon us all.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession have negatively affected many people’s mental health. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress skyrocketed alongside other reports of mental distress and substance abuse disorders due to the implications of COVID-19. As the pandemic continues, the emotional toil will continue to affect working individuals. The consistent demand for adaptation throughout this season of constant and unpredictable change has conditioned people to exhaust their capacity to adjust.
Houston Methodist, an academic medical center, suggests “quarantine burnout” stirs symptoms similar to typical burnout, but the varying sources of stress indicate that exhaustion from quarantine influences subjects differently. Nonetheless, the pandemic has bestowed significant changes upon our lifestyles. Social distancing protocols have shifted the way we interact as individuals within a community. Still today, people find they are stuck with certain tendencies that were adopted during the earlier stages of the global pandemic. Commonly in the form of stress and isolation, this vulnerability often results in experiencing symptoms of burnout.
Just as events compound into reality, stressors compound into strain. In a survey conducted by Mental Health America, 75% of workers reported having experienced burnout, 40% of whom credit their burnout to the pandemic. While already navigating through life-altering stressors in a pandemic, people must also navigate stressors from work.
It is no surprise that managing overwhelmingly difficult circumstances is strenuous, but there should be no shame in the hardship. Students, workers, leaders and strangers can all persevere through burnout the more they confront it.
In moments like this, it is valuable to do what you love and love what you do. When taking time to improve your situation, you can heal the soul by doing activities you find revitalizing such as exercising, listening to music and talking with friends. Overall, it is important to do what makes you happy, both within and outside of the workplace. In order to persevere through the burnout, remind yourself that you are able to do more than what is draining you; there is more to life beyond the stress.