understanding burnout (for creatives)

WHAT IS BURNOUT?

Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. It's a result of excessive and prolonged emotional, physical, and mental stress. In many cases, burnout is related to one's job. Burnout happens when you're overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to keep up with life's incessant demand, according toWebMD.

While we can define burnout is, we often cannot answer how long it should last. It’s often hard to identify when it’s happening and by the time you realize you are in a burnout phase, it’s time to make some serious changes. Many of us make the mistake of making temporary changes, while failing to identify the true source of the burnout.

“You can’t stop burnout unless you stop the thing that is burning you out!” - @niki

For a long time I thought work was burning me out, so I would quit my jobs. It took several jobs and 17 years of work to realize that my career wasn’t burning me out, but “working” and the demands of the career that was causing the burnout. While I could handle a large level of tasks and responsibilities, it was extremely hard for me to remain them for an extended period of time — sometimes that meant months, others years. As a result, my careers suffered.

It also took a few years to realize that burnout recovery didn’t have a clock. Although I could wake up wanting to be fully free of emotional, physical, and mental stress - like anything, it required an excessive and prolonged amount of time to combat that stress. At one point, running and a move to California was the catalyst that ended my burnout, but when running became my career, burnout returned. Now as an artist, I’m conscious of my propensity to burnout, which is why i approach my art differently. For instance, commissioned work is something that I would love to explore and as an artist, selling commissioned pieces provides sustainable income, however, at this time commissioned work will introduce a considerable about of stress and pressure that I’m unwilling to undergo.

If you're suffering from burnout or currently recovering, it’s important to identify the source of the burnout and also give yourself time to fully recover.