#stages of burnout

[faithfromanewperspective]

been thinking a bit about a burnout recovery diary blog as a concept. there's a lot of people talking about burnout, accommodating themselves to get through autistic burnout, but i'm seeing very little that builds on the science behind our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and while i don't know a lot, i do have more than a high school level of biology education and this is really important to me and i'm a pretty good learner. my only fear is that at present i'm not really recovering, i'm simply letting go of things that are making it worse like i've done all my life. anyway here's a poll so i can gauge where all of us are on this too

and of course, my favourite graphic i've ever edited (credits to the original creator). if i made a burnout recovery blog it would be full of things like this (as well as more serious advice etc)

[lunaprincipessa]

ENTRY 119

I was reading about burnout and how it occurs when you are exposed to ongoing or chronic emotional and/or interpersonal stressors without relief.

The result is ultimately fatigue, cynicism, and reduced productivity.

Anyone who experiences chronic stress is at risk.

Because burnout can take a toll on your emotional and physical health and well-being, it is important to be able to identify it in the early stages so that it can be addressed in a timely manner.

***The Stages of Burnout***

Stage One: The Honeymoon

Characterized by enthusiasm, this stage of burnout contains no signs of burnout. Instead, you are likely to be excited about any new roles or projects you have undertaken. You may even be seeking other ways to help or take on additional tasks. During the honeymoon stage, you are likely to feel productive, inspired, and happy for new responsibilities or opportunities to learn new things for example. You may also feel creative, optimistic about the future, and full of energy. Proving your capability in life is the top priority, subconsciously motivating you to "bite off more than you can chew" as the old saying goes.

Stage Two: Onset of Stress

During this stage of burnout, you start to feel stagnant and may begin to notice that your commitments are taking more of your time than you might prefer. Additionally, some days are particularly stressful and you have less time and energy for the things you enjoy and the people you care about. You may also experience headaches, anxiety, and changes in your appetite and sleep schedule. You may even find that you are becoming more irritable and less productive.

Stage Three: Chronic Stress

By the time you reach this stage of burnout, your frustration levels are rising and you may be feeling incredibly stressed out. Not only are your problem-solving skills and performances starting to decrease significantly, but you may also feel an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. It's also common to feel resentful, cynical, and apathetic. Plus, you're likely plagued by persistent fatigue and overall exhaustion, causing all your commitments to feel like burdens. This may lead to a wide range of coping mechanisms including everything from procrastination to denial, from increased alcohol use to drug abuse. Some people have even been known to respond with aggression, especially if they feel pressured or threatened in any way.

Stage Four: Burnout

Once you reach this stage of burnout, you can be classified as just that, "burned out," and you may also be feeling increasingly apathetic. Without addressing the earlier stages, this is a critical level in exhaustion that has the potential to feel crippling. Not only is there a struggle to meet life's daily demands, but there is also a battle of a continuous sense of failure, inadequacy, and ineptitude. What's more, you may struggle with self-doubt, pessimism, and the need to escape from reality. It's also common for people at this stage to neglect their personal needs in favor of obsessing about their issues.

Stage Five: Habitual Burnout

When you don't have a chance to recover from burnout, it becomes a way of life. During this stage, mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion is present. There is also chronic sadness and even depression. Hope may seem like a thing of the past but can be regained through seeking help.

More thoughts later.

[kitocrystal]

[2aceofspades]

Mhm...time for another...

✨lil doodle dump✨

More fluff coming soon mehehe...

[mayf1owers]

In their own words

-> Quotes aren’t strictly in chronological order

-> All those people in those old photographs I've seen are dead, and in the end, I'd do it all again, I think you're my best friend. - Fall Out Boy

[rennybu]

small heads up that I’ll be redoing my commission info post for better clarity, and adjusting my prices after finishing my current batch 🙇 anyone who’s been in contact and is currently on the waitlist/has work in progress, I’ll honour the current prices! For the time being comms are my only income and I need to be mindful of overwork and underpricing 😭

[ritz-writes]

paused staged at the perfect time and had to make this

[long-sleeved-sandwich]

i’m so damn tired of being told that i’m smart. can’t i just be pretty? all i hear when i’m told i’m smart is that i’m better than other people according to ableist standards that really mean how much i can produce/contribute to the capitalist system. intelligence is a social construct. i don’t want to be an intellectual or have a career, i just want to sit on the front porch.

[danothan]

tough pill i have to swallow is realizing that “getting better” doesn’t mean “getting to do more things,” getting better for me means taking better initiative in protecting myself. and THAT means making sure i do LESS things

[rottenlittlefink]

Anyways, you’re not lazy, you’re fucking struggling

[kofeedoggo]

1000 cranes

more after the cut >:D

Maybe I thought that we could talk more since we had a common interest. I read in an old book that making cranes for someone would grant them one wish... or was it good luck? It was nice, so I took the time to fold all of them individually.

But after what happened, I'm conflicted. The colors remind me of your eyes, and now I wonder what they saw when it was smeared red.

I still have it, and I bring it with me hoping I'll see you. But the teachers haven't caught a glimpse either. I can tell they're lying, because they always do.

One day you did appear, and everyone was pretending you didn't. It was new, I'd never seen it before. I felt a kind of emotion I only felt for the segyein when I first witnessed it.

I made up my mind now. I still want to give it to you. I'm trembling, but if no one else will talk to you, I will. Maybe I can understand you through these cranes.

This is in reference to what happened with Sai, @bittersweet-adagio's oc! (look at it here)

[tired-of-being-nice]

"who said you could rest?"

wahoo!!! making it to the end baby! this is whumptober day 29, fatigue/burnout/"who said you could rest?" very suited to my needs >:3

cws: sleep deprivation, late stage capitalism

Ray is feeling good. He's had his fourth cup of coffee today, he's once again filled with just enough energy to continue pushing aside the exhaustion, he's wholly focused on the task in front of him—namely, trying to reply to as many emails as he can before new ones come in, a Sisyphean task if there ever was one—that is, until he sees a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye.

He glances over. Next to him, Milo does not look to be quite as in the zone. On the contrary, their eyes are half-closed, and they're listing slightly to one side.

Ray sighs and elbows Milo in the side. "Hey. Hey. Who said you could rest, huh?"

A year ago, it would have been a sharp reminder, meant to sting Milo into submission. Now, it's been twisted into an expression of gentle camaraderie— though still a reminder, of course.

Milo shakes themself out of it and smiles bitterly at him. "Does any of this look like resting to you?" They gesture vaguely around at themself, their coworkers, the lights overhead, the entire situation.

"Can you at least try to look like you're doing something?" Ray says.

Milo sighs. "I don't know." They tilt to the side as if about to rest their head on Ray's shoulder, but remember just in time that they're in public and force themself back upright. "We've been in crunch time for weeks, Ray."

"Only two weeks," Ray protests, but she knows as well as Milo that doesn't mean much. Crunch time means all hands on deck, means no excuses!, means sleeping under your desk is actually encouraged rather than implied, means what little break time they had is whittled away until it feels like nothing. Milo, earlier in the week when they had the energy to be snarky, said it should be called crush time, because it felt like being slowly crushed to death in a hydraulic press. Ray is inclined to agree with them.

"I don't know if I can keep this up much longer," Milo says, and Ray hears in their voice a level of defeat she hasn't heard in a couple months, since that night Milo showed up at her house dragging a not-quite-dead body. Before that, they'd seemed to be barely alive themself, but in the weeks since, they've been a little more awake, a little more talkative, and Ray likes this new version of them. She likes the strange little alliance they've built— it's useful, and stable, and the most trustworthy thing she has. It is, therefore, for purely selfish reasons that the idea of watching the light go out of their eyes again seizes her with such terror.

"You can and you will," Ray hisses, gripping Milo's arm, "because– because you've done it before, and because you can't go away and leave me alone, Milo, you just can't."

Milo grins at her, leaning over just enough to brush against her arm. “Careful there. An unknowing observer might think you have some sort of emotional attachment to me.”

“Hush your mouth and do your job,” Ray says, trying not to blush.

Milo hums and turns back to their computer, busily pretending to do something. They keep their arm pressed against Ray’s. Ray can’t bring themself to tell them off.

[kerizaret]

Trying to escape artblock doodles

Anyway hello and welcome prsk & wxs fandom

[kitocrystal]

“His final wish”

[theelusivelotus]

HAPPY ADOPTION DAY IVAN ALIEN STAGE YEAHHH!!!

[the-entity-down-the-street]

Girl help I'm trying to balance the crushing existential dread of late-stage capitalism, autistic burnout, the atrocities happening both in and out of my own country, the high suicide rate among trans youth caused in part by incredibly powerful people telling them their lives are worthless, and the spiraling environmental impact of anthropogenic climate change against the ideology of hope-punk