It doesn't matter what you are doing for a living, even the best jobs out there can lead to you burning out and feeling awful. The more you work, the more motivated you are to push yourself, but is pushing yourself the right idea? We see a lot of articles right now about burnout, and it's not something you should be ignoring. In fact, there is evidence out there to show that burnout really can get the better of you even if you love your job, you shouldn't be putting everything at risk for it.

There are many symptoms of burnout that you should be looking out for, and even that level of fatigue you are feeling right now could be related to the fact that you really just don't have anything left to give. Once you understand the warning signs, you will know when the right time is to take some action and make some changes. If you are looking for more information about the symptoms of burning out, take a look at our list below.

  • Your health is failing. Burning out can have a hugely negative impact on both your mental and physical health. We mentioned fatigue earlier on, and the reason for that is because your body cannot cope with keeping on when you are pushing too hard. Sometimes you experience back pain, other times it's depression. Burning out can also be evident in obesity, heart disease or a simple lowering of the immune system which means you catch every bug going. You will know when burnout is affecting your health, but you just have to make that decision to slow down.
  • You are having cognitive difficulties. Did you know that stress can put a lot of pressure on the prefrontal cortex of your brain? This is the area of your brain that is responsible for executive function, and this can impact your decision-making abilities in your job, the way that you control your emotions at home, and your ability to focus. Are you making silly mistakes but forgetting important things? Are you crying randomly or making really bad decisions that you would normally not make? You might be burning out and you need to pay attention to this.
  • You are struggling in your relationships. One of the biggest symptoms of burning out is your relationship suffering. We aren't just talking about the relationships that you have with your colleagues and co-workers becoming strained, but your relationships at home. When work is stressful and you carry that with you all the time, it's going to burst out of you in irritability about laundry not being in the basket or the bed not being made in the morning. If you are having difficulty with work and personal relationships, then examining whether you are burning out and doing too much should be your next step.
  • You are bringing your work home with you. While some companies would view this as you being hypervigilant and dedicated, it's actually a sign that you are procrastinating during your working day, and you are unable to get things done in your set times. When you take your work home with you, you are putting more pressure on yourself than you think. You are not getting ahead - instead, you are putting yourself behind. Learning how to structure your day correctly and putting down your phone so you don't procrastinate is the best thing you could do for yourself.
  • You just feel so negative. Burning out can make you feel very negative about everything. You don't feel good about the food you eat, the movement you're doing, the time you spend with your family, the work you are doing, and it goes on, and on. When you are focusing on the downside of all situations, and you are judging yourself with a very critical and cynical I negativity is taking hold of you need to do something about that. Nobody needs to live a life of constant negativity and that's what burning out could do for you.
  • Nothing is making you happy anymore. A sure sign that you are dealing with a lot of burnout is that you cannot feel that happiness in all the regular things you do because the exhaustion and the burning are really starting to drag you down. There's a nagging sense of dissatisfaction that comes with burning out, and projects and people around you that used to make you feel happy really don't make you feel that way anymore. Instead of being excited over projects, all you can consider is that it's a complete slog. Instead of saying your friends, you just want to slump on the couch at home and watch Netflix. The dip in satisfaction doesn't just make your work very difficult, but it makes life feel too boring and worthless.
  • You no longer feel motivated by anything. When you started your job, you felt brighter and bolder about it than you do right now. It's like a honeymoon phase of a relationship, you see everything through rose-tinted glasses until reality sets in. In most relationships, that reality is a good thing, and it makes you feel close to your partner. But when that reality sinks in with your job in a burned-out state you could struggle to find the motivation you need to get through it day by day. You might complete your tasks and you could even do them to a high standard, but nothing is driving you anymore. What happens when you lose that drive? You don't want to find out.
  • Your performance is slipping. Whether at home or work, people who burn out often go unnoticed. If you are a high achiever, then people will be expecting you to be achieving everything you want to achieve when you want to achieve it and they don't always notice when you step back a little bit because your bar is already set so high. When burnout is setting in, your performance starts to slip, and you can no longer hold yourself to the same high standard.