One million employees miss work due to workplace stress every day in the United States and a whopping two thirds of employees says that work significantly increases their stress level. 25% of employees have felt the need to take a “mental health day.” We’ve all been there, felt like we couldn’t handle anything else on our plates, like our work-life balance had gotten way out of whack. Job burnout is not new, and it’s not isolated. It happens to people of all ages, genders, and races and across most (if not all) professions. How you go about your recovery from severe burnout is difficult but important, and it has a lot to do with recognizing the symptoms of being overtired and taking proper care of yourself as you recover and going forward in your professional life.
Though recovery from severe burnout is needed in many professions, medical professionals experience rates of burnout more than almost any other demographic. Overall, over 35% of medical professionals burn out of the profession. For physicians 35 and under, it’s worse. Their burn out rate is a staggering 44%. Having such a stressful job, having your patients’ well-being (and sometimes lives) in your hands is nothing if not difficult and can often lead to stress burnout symptoms.
If you’re noticing an increase in depression symptoms, you might be experiencing a burnout. In fact, physicians report higher rates of depression up to 30% more often than those in other professions. Anger in the workplace is another sign of burnout. If you’re noticing that you’re bringing stress home with you and that it’s affecting your relationships (physicians file for divorce up to 20% more often than the general population), you might be experiencing burnout.
Once you identified that you need a recovery from severe burnout, it’s important to know what steps to take. One of the first and most important things you can do is something nice for yourself. From taking a bubble bath to taking yourself out for a nice meal, self care can be practiced in many different ways. If you’re unsatisfied with your work-life balance, and your job allows it, try scheduling a day or two off or taking shorter shifts. If that’s not possible, it’s important to utilize your time off in the most refreshing way possible. Self care is crucial, and it’s important to establish a self care routine to make sure that you can maintain your mental and physical health. Recovery from severe burnout is something most of us need to do at some point in time or another.