Me, Burt, out. This is the day he served his podcast with Anthony Fungini. Many, many, many years ago, I found myself beyond just tired or stressed. It was just right after a huge international conference that we organized in the US.
I was physically exhausted. I was emotionally drained due to the debates and even arguments on the floor. I was also quite discouraged. At that time, at the lack of cooperation or empathy that I saw in many of the country heads in that convention.
Almost a sense of hopelessness, I felt, in meeting our global purpose as an organization. I was questioning my effectiveness as a leader and whether it was even worth it to go on. I was burnt out. Have you ever been?
What is burnt out? From Dr. Melinda Smith, Gene Siegel and Lawrence Robinson, I quote, burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. OK, so it's just beyond normal stress.
You feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, unable to meet constant demands. And as the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. They continue, burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.
The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life, including your home, work, social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. God forbid, COVID. Because of its many consequences, it's important to deal with burnout right away, end quote.
You know, the term burnout was coined in the 70s by an American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, that's his name, Freuden Berger. He used it to describe the consequences of severe stress. And high ideals in certain professions, like the helping professions. But the consequences, he saw were essentially the same.
Number one, physical, emotional, exhaustion. Pagudna, pagudna. Number two, loss of interest and motivation. Voila nangana.
Number three, productivity, loss. So my sabit, na, sari sulta, satrabajo. Check yourself, okay? Let me ask you if you're experiencing any of these seven signs, okay, let's keep it at seven of burnout.
Just answer, yes or no, okay? More yes or more no. And again, I pick up the seven from Smith, Siegel and Robinson. Number one, every day is a bad day.
How does that apply to you? Number two, caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy. Number three, you're exhausted all the time. Number four, you feel you now have a low sense of immunity.
What kind of low bars? Number five, the majority of your day is spent on tasks. You find either mind-numbingly dull, boring, you know, or overwhelming. Number six, you feel like nothing you do makes a sense of value or adds a value or is appreciated.
You know, helplessness, detachment, loss of meaning. Heavy. Number seven, you're increasingly negative when it comes to your work. So, whatever you score, you're not alone.
I guard against these challenges daily. I mean, just yesterday, I had a chance to spend some outdoor walking and running time with our core team of 12 in our media and training company. And the main takeaway of the team members after, after over a year and a half of this pandemic, they felt a sense of freedom. To do this together, a release of tension and pressure that was building up.
And Helen Peterson, burnout isn't a personal problem. It's a societal one, and it will not be cured by productivity apps, a bullet journal, or face mask skin treatments, or overnight effing oats. Guys, it'll take more than these external efforts. Though, they may alleviate, right?
Some of the pain. But when you're extremely stressed or burnt out, you need to go deep into my limbi and wide gallows my walk in diagnosing and accepting the cause or the causes of your condition. Then, the decision. I find Thomas Rohol's statement on stress, which I think is applicable to burnout.
Quite amusing, but I think effective. What did he say? Dear stress, and I quote, I would like a divorce. Please understand.
It's not you. It's me. Me? Burnout?
Not at this time. But if I am unmindful, I can easily fall into that space again. Tomorrow, we assess more deeply. The seemingly subtle ways we get there.