It was 8:15 a.m. in the fall of 2022. I was driving on I-465, headed east toward a client retreat that I was facilitating in downtown Indianapolis. Surprisingly, at the Allisonville Road exit, I started weeping. I recall the crying as uncontrollable. I cried out many times, “Please help me.” I felt exhausted, discouraged, afraid, and overwhelmed. I was in the throes of my dissertation. I was trying to support my daughter, who was navigating several real challenges. The client demands were surging. I found myself on the brink of despair.
By the time I reached I-70, I began reflecting on all the good that was in my life and work. There are too many items to list here. Yet, a few of the great features of my life included my wife of 27 years, two daughters that I love dearly, clients that I get to work with, and a job that I truly enjoy. Additionally, I was working on the monumental task of writing a 179-page dissertation, and at that moment, I felt completely overwhelmed by the enormity of the task.
I reached the retreat location and parked my car. I sent my wife, Tricia, a text and said, “Well, I just cried for about 30 minutes.” She, being the empathetic, caring person that she is, replied, “Oh, honey, do you want to talk? It will all be okay.” We talked it through, and that process of working through and analyzing the emotions I was feeling, along with developing a plan to resolve the stressors, emerged.
Burnout is tricky. It manifests itself symptomatically with emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a lack of professional efficacy. Protecting yourself from burnout and recovering from burnout are two different things.
Protecting yourself from burnout involves ritual, discipline, and your environment. Rituals are the things you do to renew yourself. Discipline is about boundaries—saying “No”—and your environment includes community, workload, recognition, and a workplace that is fair. Each of these burnout walls or buttresses is valuable for creating an excellent environment.
Recovering from burnout is lengthy, and it is more than a week-long vacation in Tahiti, although that may be part of your burnout recovery project plan. Interventions such as a reduced workload, stress management experiences, mindfulness, and time with mentors and friends can all help you recover. More importantly, clarifying your identity as a person by knowing who you are—your strengths, interests, and values—can help strengthen your soul. Even with these interventions, the environment you are in must improve for you to truly recover from burnout.
Recovery for me included weekly counseling to discuss my emotions and career, time with friends, and a month-long sabbatical in Europe. It also involved saying “No” to things that are not life-giving.
Recovery for you may be different. It is always a plan and a process. It is never a quick fix.