Stress, Burnout, and Emotional Exhaustion

Chances are, you’ve felt stress before. This is especially true if you’ve ever gone to school or worked a job. Stress is a natural physiological response triggered by hormones released in the body, such as epinephrine and cortisol. Even though it is natural to an extent - without some stress responses, we wouldn’t respond to danger correctly - too much of a good thing can be bad news. Some familiar terms for what we consider ‘too much stress’ are burnout and emotional exhaustion - both symptoms of chronic stress overload. Despite the overlap between the two concepts, there are a few key differences in how we recognize these issues.

Burnout is a broad, all-encompassing term indicating detachment, reduced satisfaction, and a wider sense of apathy (lack of interest or enthusiasm). This is often due to work, school, or home-life-related stress becoming so strenuous that you no longer have the mental or physical energy to invest in anything. Essentially, you’re barely functioning, and you’re both physically and emotionally shutting down.

Emotional Exhaustion is much more specific than burnout and can be both a contributor and a symptom of stress. This is more linked to consistent strenuous emotional demands from any area of life. People who frequently engage in caregiving, such as single parents, social workers, older siblings, and teachers, are very susceptible to emotional exhaustion, as constant emotional overextension for others may leave them extra worn out. 

Because both Burnout and Emotional Exhaustion share common symptoms and contributors, their coping strategies are also similar! Resilience has been demonstrated in clinical literature to lessen the blow of chronic stress even in the face of trauma. Resilience isn’t just a slightly fancy word for being strong; it's a skill we can build to help us resist the overwhelming stress of life. While this skill takes time, effort, and sometimes pain to cultivate, there are a few ways we can make ourselves more resilient to little day-to-day stressors. 

One common exercise that can help create resilience is breathing techniques - see my previous post for one here: https://www.riseupcooperative.org/post/self-regulation-monitoring-emotions-and-adapting-to-changing-circumstances. Being purposeful with your breathing stimulates the vagus nerve and lowers cortisol (the stress hormone), and also allows you to reflect, think, or clear your head. This can be especially beneficial in the event of a looming deadline, stressful decision, or important interaction. Participating in a breathing exercise may seem silly, but it teaches us to stop and calm down before doing anything - it is an act of resistance and resilience against impulses.

Another exercise you can engage in is positive self-talk. Positive self-talk uses repeated affirmations to overwrite internal negativity. In other words, saying something nice to yourself over and over again can make you more resistant to negative things. You don’t even have to say these affirmations out loud (though it does have a stronger effect); all you have to do is write them down on a sticky note that you read to yourself silently every day. What matters most is consistency. As mentioned before, building resilience takes effort and time, so don’t think that one week of positive self-talk will automatically make any negative ones disappear! 

The important thing to remember is that resistance and resilience don’t mean immunity to stress, and certainly don’t mean no mistakes will ever be made. The risk of burnout and emotional exhaustion is always there, but it can be significantly reduced if you pay close attention. Today, I encourage you to practice resilience in your everyday life and to keep an eye on what vulnerabilities might increase your risk of chronic stress. After all, the true first step to better preventing burnout and emotional exhaustion is to start noticing what triggers it. I hope you have a great day, and remember to take some time to breathe!