Stress is part of life and even considered healthy when at a minimal level. Positive stress gives out extra adrenaline that helps in finishing a task. However, too much stress has negative effects on your health and causes burnout.

Burnout is similar to being listless, exhausted, and unable to cope especially for self-sacrifice professionals, career-oriented or overworked employees, and homemakers.

Although there is no clear definition of what it is, there are subtle signs that indicate burnout:

Physical Pain

Over-focusing on your perceived goal leads to missing out the physical tensions that your body sends. To reach your goal, you work too long and too hard without stopping. It leads to internal pressure that builds up resulting to leg or neck pain and even headache.

To ensure quick recovery of the physical pains, better seek professional help from Texas Pain Physicians. Here are other physical symptoms to look out for that may be caused by burnout:

• Insomnia
• Chest Pain
• Heart Palpitations
• Shortness of Breath
• Fainting or Dizziness
• Gastrointestinal Pain

Forgetfulness

An early sign of it is mild forgetfulness that can lead to severe memory loss or degeneration. For instance, if you have been too sharp to remember every detail of your task before, having burnout makes you forget those quickly.

Read on the following effects of burnout to your memory:

Increasing Cortisol Levels in the Brain

These are neuro-toxic causing brain cell death thereby damaging your brain’s memory area

Encoding Problems

Your mind can’t encode the information you are getting even if you heard about it

Consolidation Problems

Focusing on the information for a moment and not rethinking about it is not consolidated to long-term memory thereby forgetting what to do

Recall Problems

Not able to remember the consolidated information

Chronic Fatigue

Chronic fatigue is characterized by lack of energy and feeling tired most of the days can lead to physical and emotional exhaustion or depletion. It can be felt even with 8 hours sleep at night.

Not preventing this symptom will eventually cause you to have difficulty in focusing on your job or daily task. Moreover, you will also find it hard to restore your energy from day one to the next days.

Symptoms of chronic fatigue may come and go. For instance, signs of chronic fatigue may disappear completely but can go back later on; this is called a relapse.

To avoid relapse, here are some tips for you:

Avoid Overexertion

Doing too much past your energy levels is one of the most common causes of relapse

Deal with Stress

Soothe your stress by talking to your loved ones, trusted friends, therapist, or a support group

Boost Energy Level

Eating healthy foods such as lean meat, fish, vegetables, whole grains, etc. to help you boost your energy and avoiding processed, sugary or starchy foods that fluctuates your energy quickly

Get Extra Rest

During special occasions like wedding, get extra rest and don’t stay too long in it as the demands of the event can trigger a relapse

Anxiety

Anxiety makes you worry at the mere thought of doing a task. It even makes you hard to relax. Mild symptoms include edginess, worry, tension and can eventually lead to interfering your ability to work. Moreover, it can affect your personal life and physical health drastically.

Other signs and symptoms of anxiety include the following:

• Unrealistic view of problems
• Muscle tension
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Bouts of difficulty in breathing
• Easily startled
• Hot flashes
• Trembling

Detachment

Detachment is the feeling of disconnection from your environment or other people. It can be in forms of isolating yourself and not wanting to socialize. For instance, you may become angry when someone speaks to you, or you avoid social interactions by coming in too early or late.

Moreover, removing yourself from your responsibilities can be done emotionally or physically. You either call in sick or come off as cold when interacting with others.

To know if you are experiencing emotional detachment, check out the following signs and symptoms:

• You are never opening up about your real emotions even when you feel hurt or sad
• You prevent relationships from happening, and you are not willing to take further steps to involve with other people.
• Reassuring yourself that you are fine and not relying on anyone is a clear sign that you are emotionally detached.

Conclusion 

Being burned out is not good for your health, and it even affects your personal life. When you experience this, you become unproductive, thus, interrupting your daily routine.

To prevent yourself from being burned out, you have to assess yourself if you are experiencing the signs mentioned. When you do experience those signs, it’s a signal to take a rest and let your mind or body heal.