Low Grade Burnout Signs and Symptoms: Tap the Brakes Before You Burn Out

Last September, my wife and I took a ten day trip to Scotland and Ireland. It was a bucket list trip we had been planning for two years. It was everything we had dreamed about and we made a lot of memories. Prior to this vacation in 2023, we had not been on vacation at all through the pandemic. We took a weekend trip just after buying a new business and that was it for just over two years. I had taken a day off or two here and there to try to stave off the stress and exhaustion that was building, but it started building again shortly after. 

The week I returned from vacation, the full weight of responsibility came down on me again and I was angry. Work projects were stacking up. Church projects were stacking up. Our business was still trying to gain solvency. I started having mood swings. One day I felt ok. The next day I was mad at the world. The day after that I was numb. I had fleeting thoughts about burnout but not all the symptoms were there every day and I kept thinking I was just tired. I just needed rest. I have just recently started feeling like myself again.

We hear the word burnout a lot these days. So often in fact, it was top of mind to me about what my possible issues were during this season of my life. I don't think I was burned out, but I'm not sure how close I came to it. Certainly I was closer on some days more than others. I think I was in what you might call pre-burnout or low grade burnout. No, I hadn't completely gone over the cliff, but I was close to it. A lot of people never reach a full blown state of burnout. Yet, many experience low-level burnout often without realizing how close they are to stepping over the proverbial “burnout cliff” into the abyss. I thought I would share some of the signs and symptoms of low grade burnout in hopes of keeping others away from cliff and avoiding burn out.

many experience low-level burnout often without realizing how close they are to stepping over the proverbial “burnout cliff” into the abyss.

Signs and Symptoms

Physical Exhaustion 

Perpetual physical exhaustion is typically a first clue that low grade burnout has begun. Sleep patterns become disrupted induced by high stress levels, long work hours, and erratic sleep schedules. It seems every day that you don't have the energy you used to have and no amount of caffeine seems to energize your depleted body. Your body begins to push back against the tyranny of overwork and it begins to attempt to protect itself. Unhealthy habits also tend to arise during periods of physical exhaustion as we attempt to sooth ourselves with food, alcohol, lust, and other vices. In the moment they may feel good, but they push us closer to the burnout cliff.

Emotional Exhaustion

Emotional exhaustion follows on the heels of physical exhaustion. Concentration levels are affected and clarity of thought becomes increasingly elusive. Irritability gives way to irrationality. We start to have mood swings and lash out to others in anger. This was me a few months ago. My wife and kids were noticing the anger often. Even simple questions asked of me felt like another task to be completed and another responsibility that was weighing me down. I had many days I just felt like crying. Sometimes I did. I couldn't always tell you why. I was just emotionally exhausted.

Emptiness

Sustained physical and emotional exhaustion begin to drive us towards cynicism and then on to hopelessness. You may also feel spiritually adrift. Loneliness and numbness also start to work their way into our souls. When you get to this state, your internal systems are redlining. You are close to the edge, beware.

Backing Away from the Cliff

Take agency over your time

In the chaos of our daily lives, occasionally we forget that we are responsible for how we use and manage our time. Other people occasionally attempt to hijack our time in efforts to maximize their own time and sometimes we have to push back. We have to take agency over our time. This requires understanding the difference between what is necessary versus what is important and what is just busy work. Taking agency over your time means practicing what Anne-Laure Le Cunff​ at Ness Labs calls timeshielding. Timeshielding is about making time for the things that matter most.

In the chaos of our daily lives, occasionally we forget that we are responsible for how we use and manage our time.

Be transparent with others

As I was struggling with anger in recent months, I started talking to some close friends about it. When we greet people daily, we typically ask, "How's it going today?" or some variation of that question. This is a perfect opportunity for you to show some vulnerability to those closest to you. Tell them how you feel. It will drive away the isolation and loneliness. Good friends will lean in and listen. They will pray with you. They will be careful about what they ask of you as you heal. It's also ok to tell people no and tell them why you are saying no. A "no" now doesn't mean never. It just means no for now for this week or this season. 

Rest

Stop moving. Stop doing. Be still. Rest. Take a nap. Go to bed early. Turn off your electronic devices and REST. Create space for it and do it.

Don't neglect your spiritual disciplines

In your moments of emptiness, loneliness, and numbness...pray. This is not about spiritual liturgy, elegant words, or lengthy periods of prayer. I have found in these moments that these are prayers of desperation. "God I need you." "Lord, strengthen me." "Holy Spirit fill me." God knew you before you were born and he knows you now whatever state of mind you find yourself in. Surrender to his Lordship and throw yourself on his grace and compassion.

Cling to very specific promises of God. In 2010, I was dealing with extreme anxiety and occasional panic attacks. In those dark hours of the night, I would remind myself over and over again that God had not given me this spirit of fear I was dealing with. He gave me a Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Tim. 1:7, NLT). This promise brought me peace in many a dark night.

I pray if you are seeing the symptoms above in your own life that you'll slow down and seek rest. Learn to Sabbath and seek rest for yourself and renewed communion with your Creator. He loves you and wants to spend time with you. He wants you to live your life out of the overflow of his goodness to you and we can't do that without balancing work and rest. Blessings.