For me, burn-out crazy feels as if I am on a moving walkway at an airport. The world is moving in one direction and resistance is futile – jumping the barrier with my metaphorical baggage is just too hard.
What does it look like?
Technically burnout is a psychological term. Physically it looks like long-term exhaustion and diminished interest life. The chemical reaction starts when the Amygdala or lizard brain produces both cortisol and norepinephrine (the Amygdala is both the oldest part of the human brain and found at the top of the brain stem – it is the first part of the brain to develop in the womb. These chemicals work together to create the Palaeolithic fight or flight response, and prolonged production can lead to heart disease and mental health problems.
What burn-out looks like differs from person to person. Some people can’t get to sleep, some can’t wake up, some overeat or stop eating, other’s anaesthetise themselves through addictive behaviours.
How Does it Get That Bad?
Burn-out is often created by the perfect storm of three key behaviours. On their own and in the right context these behaviours are not only admirable; they are invaluable when starting up a new venture. This is why everyone needs to remember that burn-out happens, even to the best of us. The trick is to know how to get yourself out of the ‘Burn-Out Crazy Zone’ and identify the warning signs next time.
The three key burn-out behaviours are:
1. Self-Sacrifice: Understanding that you made a choice to sacrifice certain activities now to succeed in the future is healthy. Constantly putting others needs before your own, and sacrificing your physical wellbeing is not. Every time I fly and the “please put your own mask before assisting children” comes up in the safety briefing, I am reminded of the need to “rescue myself first”.
2. Ambition: Wanting to make a difference and contribute to the world on your own terms is a good thing. When this is linked to an ego feeding frenzy entitled “It’s all about me” your world view shrinks very quickly. It’s a lot like a hot air balloon ride. When you are flying high and feeling good you have perspective on life and can see where you want to go. If you have been ‘sandbagged’ by perfectionism, the need to be right and dominate all, all you can see is the tops of the trees and the ground coming up fast.
3. Working Hard: Working smarter not harder by prioritising your workload and effective time management is important behaviour for any successful business leader. However, an inability to delegate because you are a team of one or you come from the “it’s easier if I just do it myself” school creates the “there’s not enough hours in the day” panic paradigm.
Why is Burn-Out Useful?
Burn-out crazy teaches us human beings some valuable lessons. We learn what our limits are, that we are indeed human and that we need to change our behaviour because what we are doing is not working. It is a message, in no uncertain terms that you have lost your equilibrium. Burn-out crazy signifies that it is time to be gentle with yourself and schedule in replenishment activities. No matter how severe it gets, burnout is better than a heart attack. Next month’s article will look at what to do if you find your self in the middle of ‘Burn-out Crazy’.