Burnout

I often meet with people in my private practice that are experiencing burnout, but that cannot give themselves permission to take a vacation from their job to rest. … [Read more...] about Burnout: Not taking vacation

Going on leave may harm your career in the short run. I often work with clients in my private practice as a psychologist that are experiencing burnout. Sometimes it is appropriate for these clients to take a medical leave -- also called disability leave or stress leave -- from their jobs so they … [Read more...] about Burnout: Stigma of taking medical leave

I seldom have clients tell me that they learned valuable life lessons when things were going well. However, I have had many people tell me that they figured things out, and learned a lot about themselves and their values, when they went through a difficult period. This is often the case with clients … [Read more...] about Burnout: Learning from difficult experiences

What motivates people to seek help when they are in burnout? Most of the clients I work with seek help because they are exhausted and need help to recover. They are usually struggling with how to accomplish this goal, but know they need to make some immediate changes. … [Read more...] about Motivation to end burnout

Being in burnout is like running out of gas in your car. Except the car is you. And the level of gas in your tank is the amount of energy you have. When you are in complete burnout, you have only fumes left in your tank, and no energy reserves to draw from. … [Read more...] about Burnout: Running on gas fumes

When you're having difficulty functioning, it may be time to take medical leave. Many of the clients that I counsel in my private practice are having difficulty functioning at work. Often, they have worked themselves into exhaustion and are in burnout. … [Read more...] about Burnout: When to take medical leave

Do you recognize when you are in burnout, or heading towards burnout? To avoid letting burnout get out of hand, it is good to be skilled at recognizing your own list of signs that indicate you are approaching “the burnout danger zone.” Based on comments from some of my clients, I have put together … [Read more...] about Warning signs of burnout

I have written several postings on my blog that describe burnout as a cycle. Read more about the 12-stage Burnout Symptom Cycle. However, it can also be useful to view burnout as a continuum that runs from “I have no symptoms of burnout at all” to “I am in total burnout and am completely unable to … [Read more...] about Burnout is a continuum

Pacing is a technique I often recommend to my clients that experience symptoms of burnout. As the term implies, pacing involves setting manageable goals to avoid over doing it. … [Read more...] about Learn to pace your activities to avoid burnout

In my practice, I meet many clients who have poor self-care skills for a multitude of reasons. A common statement is that they woke up one day with the realization that their lives are not how they imagined, and they feel confused about where to begin to make changes.  … [Read more...] about Burnout: Improve your self-care skills