Mental Health Resource for Volunteers

Description


BURNOUT

Written By: Mitchell Levesque-Mehanney 

Art By: Mo Dresch

What is burnout?

Burnout is the loss of meaning in your work. It's the complete physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that stems from prolonged stress. (Burnout Response, 2020; MacKay, 2020)

Something to keep in mind, is that burnout is a cycle, some people will experience only parts of the cycle and some people experience it in full, not everyone will go through all the steps, essentially everyone’s experience is unique!


How do we identify burnout in ourselves?

If you know the signs and the symptoms of burnout, and how it appears in yourself, you will be better equipped to catch it before it gets into the later phases.

i. Honeymoon Phase: So, when we start a new volunteer role/position/start a new project we experience this phase. We have a bunch of energy, 12-hour workdays sound like an amazing idea, we have to do the best and put everything we have into the project/task. When we put everything in and make it perfect, we start to expect this level from ourselves, but unfortunately, it isn't sustainable. (Team, 2020)

Symptoms for the 1st phase could be:

  • The compulsion to prove yourself
  • High productivity levels
  • High sustained energy levels
  • Unshakable levels of motivation
  • “Superhero” feeling
  • Unwavering optimism

ii. The onset of Stress/Time to Work Harder Phase: You remember that amazingly good work ethic, those 12-hour workdays? At this point, those days are getting harder to do, you need sleep, you need time to relax and reset. But because of the work, and level you set for yourself during the 1st phase, you don’t stop, you keep pushing. (Team, 2020; MacKay, 2020)

Symptoms for the 2nd phase could be:

  • Behavioural Changes  
  • Chronic headaches  
  • Chronic stomach/digestive problems
  • Complete neglect of personal needs
  • Development of an escapist mentality
  • Pessimistic Outlook
  • Social Isolation
  • Desire to drop out/quit
  • Depression
  • Anxiety


iii. Chronic Stress/Frustration: At this point in the whole burnout cycle, you realize those “productivity goals” that you set during the first stage aren’t going to come true. The small amount of sleep you’re getting, the mountain of stress you’ve been under from the 2nd phase, and the probable fact that you haven't reset and relaxed are having a huge impact on you. (Team, 2020)

Symptoms for the 3rd phase could be: 

  • Procrastination (work and home)
  • Chronic exhaustion 
  • Increased caffeine consumption
  • No time to relax/reset 
  • Missing deadlines 
  • Apathy 
  • Increased mistakes 
  • Impatient 
  • Increased anxiety

        iv. iIllness/Denial: Let's take stock of the current situation. Imagine this, you’ve barely slept, you haven't relaxed in who knows how long, you've neglected your friends/family. Your body is exhausted, the lack of sleep, the poor diet, all of this is making it want to give up. But because of the standard, you set for yourself when this started, you can't. You deny that anything is wrong and that the issues are coming from elsewhere. (Burnout Response, 2020)

        v. Non exist Drive and Apathy: As volunteers, we strive to do the best we can. The goals that were set at the start of this, start to become something of fiction, rather than a reality. The drive to do something you're passionate about is gone. You can hardly bring yourself to do anything if that's for volunteering or daily tasks. The apathy tank has run dry. (Compassion Fatigue, 2017)

          vi. Burnout: This is the stage where people are mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. Once you’re at this point, you need to stop and get help. It’s like trying to drive a car that’s been on empty for 2 weeks, it’s not going anywhere, and it’s only going to get worse. (Team, 2020)

          Symptoms for the 6th phase could be:

          • Behavioural changes
          • Chronic headaches
          • Chronic stomach/digestive problems
          • Complete neglect of personal needs 
          • Development of an escapist mentality 
          • Pessimistic outlook 
          • Social Isolation 
          • Desire to drop out/quite
          • Depression 
          • Anxiety

          How can we proactively prevent burnout?

          Now that we know some of the signs and symptoms of burnout doesn’t mean that we can never experience it again, it means that we can be more aware of how we are mentally and take the proper measures to prevent it. A major part of preventing burnout and mental health wellness is self-care. Such as maintaining strong social support both at work and at home (Melinda, n.d.). Being in a supportive, understanding community can help to increase your resiliency to potential stressors and reduce stress impact when it is unavoidable. The emphatic environment can increase your sense of wellbeing a resiliency. There are lots of different ways to do this, but you can try mindfulness meditation and narrative work (ex: journaling, artistic empathic expression) (Melinda, n.d.).

          Regular self-care can come in many different forms and will be specific to the individual (Burnout Response, 2017). Find what regenerates you and relieves feelings of stress. Some examples are time spent in nature, exercise, yoga, running errands or doing tasks you have been postponing, taking care of the ‘home’ environment (cleaning, taking care of ‘loose ends’, decorating), creative expression (painting, drawing, building/crafting), puzzles, Sunday night dinners, cat/puppy time, calling friends/family, and turning off your phone (toning down the tech.) (Melinda, n.d.; MacKay, 2020). Take note of what ‘recharges’ you and practice these when you are feeling tired, stressed, or worn out. Don’t feel like you have to be invincible and take the time you need for self-care activities!

          What to do when we Start to Feel the Effects?

          When we start to feel the effects of burnout, the most important thing to do is take a break and relax. I know it’s really hard to do because we’re trying to do our best and make sure we get everything done, but if we can’t relax and reset, we’re going to reach a point where we can’t do anything!   

          As mentioned above, self-care strategies are the most important and effective means of combating burnout. After we’ve identified that we are starting to be affected by burnout and have started some self-care strategies, we should try to connect to those who have felt similar and who are currently experiencing burnout! Knowing that you aren’t alone in this and having people to talk to really helps!  

          Stay connected to meaning (Melinda, n.d.). Why do you do the work you do? There are different reasons for all of us. Take time to reflect and connect with your reasons for engaging in this work. The more we stay connected to the joys, rewards, hopes and sense of purpose and meaning within our work, the more we can mitigate risks for burnout.

          As an activist, we often think that to make a change we need to always be active, always be thinking, always be planning. But if we are always doing something else, how are we going to take time and relax? We all got into volunteer work for a reason, the most important thing in all of this is remembering that you need to take care of yourself BEFORE you can take care of the ocean.

          References

          1. Kamkar, K. (2019, May 21). 20 warning signs of compassion fatigue. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/news/opinion/20-warning-signs-of-compassion-fatigue/187493

          2. Developing a Workplace Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/managing-workplace-issues/developing-a-workplace-plan

          3. MacKay, B. (2020, February 20). Dealing with Burnout Syndrome: Signs, Symptoms & Strategies. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://blog.rescuetime.com/burnout-syndrome-recovery/

          4. Burnout Response. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/managing-workplace-issues/burnout-response

          5. Council, Y. (2020, June 19). 13 Ways the Busiest People Ever Avoid Burnout. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.themuse.com/advice/13-ways-the-busiest-people-ever-avoid-burnout

          6. http://transitionalsupport.com.au/transitional-phase/compassion-fatigue-trauma/

          7. Melinda. (n.d.). Burnout Prevention and Treatment. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm

          8. Suggett, P. (n.d.). Feeling Exhausted? Check Out 10 Ways to Deal With Work Burnout. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-deal-with-work-burnout-4142144

          9. Compassion Fatigue. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.theravive.com/therapedia/compassion-fatigue

          10. Are You Suffering from Compassion Fatigue? | Psychology ... (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/high-octane-women/201407/are-you-suffering-compassion-fatigue

          11. Team, T. (2020, August 20). What are the 5 stages of burnout? Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.thisiscalmer.com/blog/5-stages-of-burnout

          12. Compassion Fatigue. (2017, January 04). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.stress.org/military/for-practitionersleaders/compassion-fatigue

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