Is It Stress Or Burnout? Knowing The Difference Can Save You More Than You Imagine

Written by Megan Winkler, Business Coach for Creatives

Megan Winkler, MBA, is a business coach for creatives, merging Divine Masculine business strategies with Divine Feminine intuition and flow. She's the author of the upcoming book, Breaking Up With Burnout.

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I sat down in front of my laptop and just stared. I’m not sure how long I zoned out, but I had to physically shake myself out of it after what I felt were several minutes. Burnout was setting in – and I know my experience isn’t unique. I'm sure you've felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and pushed to the limit.

Part of the American mindset is pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps—it’s called rugged individualism, and it does more harm than good. In fact, this mentality often leads to burnout, the point at which stress becomes unmanageable on its own. That’s why it’s essential to understand the difference between stress and burnout, the events leading up to burnout, and the costs of burnout on our minds, emotions, and wallets.

Understanding stress vs. burnout

We often encounter stress in our daily lives, a common experience that many of us can relate to. Stress is emotional or mental tension or worry caused by a difficult situation or challenge. It can be beneficial, like when we stress our muscles at the gym, or it can be harmful. When stress becomes chronic, and we can’t recover from it through normal rest and relaxation, it can transform into burnout.

Burnout happens when the usual stress-reducing strategies stop working. Those long brunches, Sunday naps, trips to the gym, time reading your favorite book…they’re just not working anymore. You can experience an acute case of burnout – such as a week where you’ve just hit that overwhelm point and you’re pushed to the limit – or you can experience chronic burnout, which is a much longer, slower, and more insidious form of the phenomenon. 

So, what can we do to prevent stress from turning into burnout? First, we need to understand how stress becomes burnout.

What are some causes of burnout?

Burnout is the result of prolonged stress and can be caused by a variety of factors at work and in our personal lives. Some of these factors at work include:

• Unmanageable workload
  

• Lack of control over tasks
  

• Toxic workplace environment
  

• Lack of recognition or appreciation

In our personal lives, burnout can be caused by:

• Work/life imbalance
  

• Difficulty setting boundaries

• Financial strain
  

• Lack of social support
  

• Being in a caregiver role

What was once believed to be a phenomenon present only in the work environment has now become a mental health epidemic that’s affecting all parts of our lives.

The costs of burnout

What does burnout cost us? It can cost us everything. Burnout is a one-way trip to unwellness and diverse challenges, including physical, mental, and emotional costs and tangible economic costs.

From a physical standpoint, burnout can cause:

• Fatigue, headaches, muscle tension
  

• Sleep problems
  

• Changes in appetite
  

• Decreased immunity

Mentally and emotionally, burnout can cause:

• Cynicism
  

• Negativity

• Decreased motivation
  

• Decreased productivity
  

• Depression
  

• Anxiety

And the economic costs resulting from these symptoms include everything from decreased creativity within a company to increased healthcare visits as illnesses, physical, and mental manifestations of stress worsen.

How can I make sure stress doesn’t turn into burnout?

If you want to prevent stress from turning into burnout, begin when you’re feeling relaxed. When you have the space to create standard operating procedures in your business, set up some systems that will support you, no matter how busy you get later. 

Organize your calendar to include Energetic Containers, a concept I created to help creatives and highly sensitive people focus their energies on a variety of tasks. It’s a better version of time blocking that works for those of us who are breaking away from how business “should” be run.

Integrate breaks and self-care into your calendar. This includes doctor’s appointments, therapy sessions, yoga classes, art co-op meetings, book clubs…whatever supports you best.

Here are a few other tips for ensuring your stress doesn’t turn into burnout:

• Practice gratitude
  

• Delegate tasks at home or work

• Engage in hobbies you love
  

• Get moving every day, even if it’s just a walk around the block
  

• Seek professional help from a therapist or qualified coach

You’ll be better prepared to prevent burnout by recognizing the signs early. Remember to prioritize yourself – it’s so easy for us to down-prioritize our needs in deference to others or our job – and listen to your body. Those pangs of tension will tell you tons about your stress state!

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Read more from Megan Winkler

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Megan Winkler, Business Coach for Creatives

Megan Winkler, MBA, believes in doing business differently. With an MBA and 15+ years of business ownership experience plus extensive training in energy healing modalities, Megan helps her clients create business plans, marketing sprints, and sales strategies that honor their strengths, natural talents, and unique value offerings to create thriving businesses that help change the world for the better.