WHEN IS IT TIME FOR A VACATION?

If you feel like you are running out of energy, the best solution may be to take a vacation or delegate some of your responsibilities to others.

Burnout is a serious condition that can cause long-term damage to your mental and physical health. That is why it is important to recognize the warning signs in yourself so you can take action before things get worse.

Through these 12 stages of burnout, developed by psychologists Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North, you can identify whether you are currently experiencing burnout and understand how it affects your health.

Once you decide to take some time for yourself, make a list of all the tasks you need to complete and determine which ones are essential and which can wait. You can seek help from family members, friends, or coworkers, and there are many other ways to get assistance with everyday responsibilities such as house cleaning and similar tasks.

12 Stages of Burnout

You feel a strong need to constantly prove yourself.

You work more and more to prove yourself, eventually becoming a “work addict.”

You neglect your own needs — you do not sleep well, eat properly, or maintain a healthy social life.

You begin having conflicts with others and blame them or certain situations for your stress and condition.

You change your values to focus more on work, while friends and family become less important.

You deny the growing problems caused by work stress and begin seeing others at work as lazy, stupid, demanding, or undisciplined.

You participate less and less in family and social life.

Your loved ones become upset because of your behavior.

You no longer feel like yourself, and you lose your sense of self-worth as well as empathy for others.

You feel empty and emotionally numb, which may lead to alcohol consumption, smoking, sex addiction, or drug use.

You feel depressed, lost, and completely exhausted, while the future seems dark and hopeless.

You experience mental and physical collapse.