Burnout Is Now Our Default State
A therapist’s advice for curing it when the usual strategies no longer apply
What do you call it when, after months of feeling pandemic-related burnout, you burn out from the burnout itself? Burn down? Burn away? Burn in?
Burnout is an ambiguous catchall term originally coined to describe the stress-induced exhaustion of people in the helping professions: the mental and physical depletion, distancing from others, and lower productivity they experienced when things got to be too much. In this moment, drained by the stress of living in a pandemic and staring down an uncertain year ahead, everything feels like too much all the time. Burnout isn’t a departure from the default state anymore. It is the default state.
So, how do we recover from burnout-related burnout?
Usually, when people suffer from burnout, they’re advised to develop a better work-life balance, or make more time for self-care practices, or consider if a big life change would benefit them. But in our current world, these suggestions sound like fantasies. How can you find balance or set boundaries when your kids are home all day and your office is your bedroom? When you can’t ask friends or family to jeopardize their own health to come help you?
