Burn, Baby, Burn

If you had a moment to catch your breath between work, the guy, the kids, holiday shopping, and everything else last week, you might have come across this article in New York Magazine. The article focuses on crazy, harried New Yorkers and the taken-for-granted breakneck pace of 60-hour-minumum work weeks and everything else. But I think the basic message applies to most Americans – we’re just trying to do too much at once, and tend not to listen to the signals our bodies send telling us to rest or get a little more balanced. Lots of us can relate to that moment where you just feel like you can’t take anything more – when you’re a battery that won’t hold a charge.

The article reads: “It’s possible there’s something wrong with our professional environments—and perhaps, more broadly speaking, our culture of work. Isn’t this worthy of examination? Work, after all, is a form of religion in a secular world. Burning out in it amounts to a crisis of faith.”

On our Stress & Women board, cl-lisacap21 writes, “Have you ever reached a point in your career or in your homelife where you feel burned out? Have you ever felt as if you're running in place and getting nowhere? What causes you to burnout and how do you handle it? Any ideas for turning burnout around?”

gypsyoflove: “YES!!!!!!!!! I am burned out yet at the same time I feel..... lifted. Does that make sense? Like sometimes I get so burned out I know it's time to make a change. Lately I have been listening to the way I feel and following my healthy urges (like artwork). That is very helpful ;)”

dan_lizzie: “I get that way from time to time. Right now I'm feeling that way both at work and at home. I usually put my energy into cross stitch or reading. Other times I really clean a lot but with how things are at home right now, cleaning there is the last thing that I want to really get into. I'm open to any and all suggestions on this one.”

cl-capecod89: “Not really feeling burned out now but overwhelmed instead!”

jennimene1939 : “Excellent topic for this time of the year, Lisa, heading into Winter and the holiday season are good triggers for burn out.”

cluelessinthekitchen : “I feel burned out ALL THE TIME. Running in place and getting nowhere? Welcome to my life . . .”

The MYMag article ends up in kind of an odd place, focusing on busy professionals who drop out of the rat race and enter divinity school, devoting themselves to work they see as more vital to human life and spirituality. Um, okay. I get it. We could all use more balance between our workaday selves and our inner selves. But (no offense to our friends the nuns) I’d love to know how the rest of us can deal with burnout without dropping out or changing our career paths. Or is that the only way to really, really combat burnout? What do you think?