Burnout Does Not Happen Overnight

Ellen Says: You don't wake up one morning suddenly feeling burn out. The process leading to a person experiencing burnout starts when they feel overwhelmed by the demands made on them. If you aren't able to get out from under the stress, you start to feel less motivated to try to perform at work.

Your energy levels continue to decrease and you start to feel hopeless and powerless to make changes that will help you to deal with the situation. You may start to see the world through a veil of cynicism. This new attitude will likely have an effect on your relationships with your spouse, family, friends, and coworkers. Your continued employment may be at risk if you don't get some help.

Burnout and Depression
Over time, the symptoms of burnout may develop into a depression. You may lose your appetite or find that you want to eat all the time. Sleeping may be difficult for you: Either you have trouble sleeping or you only sleep for a short time and then you have trouble getting back to sleep at night. Some depressed individuals want to sleep all the time, though.

These changes may take place so gradually that you don't realize what is happening to you. If the people in your life have noticed changes in your personality, and you find that instead of feeling stressed out that you are having trouble feeling anything at all then you may be suffering from burnout.