To feel soooo burnt out??

[88exhausted]

I work a very high paced and busy job. I am a clinical counsellor who works around different education settings. I technically work 9-5 but my job is filled with various appointments with clients. Each setting makes me feel pressured to see clients back-to-back each time I’m there and I get, at most, one hour at the end of the day to do admin work (all my notes, detailed reports, plans, resource preparing, clinical reflections, printing, to name but a few).
Inevitably I have fallen really behind as we are at these sites every day. I’d love an admin day even once a week but our supervisor is resistant as no one else gets one.

I’m finding myself working from home more often than not in the evenings and honestly I feel like I’m never ever going to catch up. I’m so burnt out and to be honest I keep putting the brunt on my partner as I’m so stressed out! She’s so good and helpful about it but obviously I want to stop doing this.

Does anyone have good tips for burnout/never feeling caught up no matter how hard I try? I feel so stressed and moody in and out of work. I can’t take annual leave as I get school holidays (I know I’m lucky!) and I’ve already had 3 sick days since August (actual illness related).

I feel unreasonable as I know everyone has a stressful job but it’s all just getting a bit much now, so wondered if anyone had any tips. Thank you!

Having been in a similar situation recently I would suggest time off not in the school holidays to recharge. If you can't take time off then is there a way to get some time for yourself during the school holidays? It sounds like your workload is unmanageable without some dedicated admin time. Surely your manager would rather grant everyone a small amount of admin time than have staff go off sick with stress? I had to go on reduced hours to be able to function after a prolonged period of stress. I also was signed off for a week. Please take steps now to look after yourself as you can't look after others if you are permanently stressed. Good luck!

Thank you! It’s definitely unmanageable but it’ll be so hard to get that admin day or even afternoon (sites pay for contracts etc already and I’d have to give up a site). They’ll almost definitely say no. I don’t have access to printers a lot of the time either so it adds stress and makes my folders etc so unorganised.

Does anyone have any tips to reduce the stress as I constantly have work on my mind and I know it’s probably rubbing off on my poor DP.

No particular tips but I know the feeling well for me it’s the emotional burn when I see far too many clients back to back. I then find it difficult to get back to a good equilibrium emotionally. Especially if all the sessions have been heavy.

It sounds like your work is expecting far too much. Can you have a word and reduce your workload slightly? If that doesn’t change, you can do all the self care things in the world but you’ll eventually get back to feeling burnt out again. It definitely sounds like your workload is the problem.

Do you have decent supervision? Have you told your supervisor how you feel?

It might be worth taking some time off if you can. That way you can think about how things can change for the better when you feel more rested.

*sorry I’ve just reread and have seen that you can’t get any annual leave. You should have half term coming up though?

You said “Each setting makes me feel pressured to see clients back-to-back.”

What happens if you say no? You know you can’t continue at this pace. You need to work at your pace not theirs.

Can you say that you need 15 mins between clients to sort out your notes and follow up things? Rather than a whole day/half day at once?

Thank you, @Booklover3! I completely feel you
I brought it up last week with one of my sites and they said they weren’t happy because I should be there seeing clients back to back. I’m only there one day per week and they’re “paying for my service”. Understandable as it is true and wish I had one day out of site a week! We have a meeting tomorrow to discuss other options but I don’t think it will go down too well.

You need to go back to your manager and say you need admin time and won’t be doing it at home

Actually just commented on another thread about feeling burnt out and overused. Am known as a total work horse so actually trading on that reputation to put breaks in my diary - I start work either 30 mins or an hour later, I take an hour at midday, I make excuses as to why I have to finish at 7pm. Am tired not just of the hours but being used (knowingly by them!) with no raise and then guilt-tripping me otherwise. So this year am doing a fix and trying to push back. Makes me feel SO much more in control and respected (for being less available) - they actually seem to appreciate me more. All about boundaries!! Draw your own, they’ll never do it for you!

(Before I would work most nights to 9pm/ later and some weekends. No one ever commented when I complained no one else was even online!!)

I think it is important to say no to your employer. My experience is that they will keep giving you work as long as you are delivering it, then because you're delivering it, they'll give you more.

Writing up your notes is part of the job so I would tell them that if they insist on you seeing clients back to back you need to reduce your session times by ten minutes (which I know still isn’t enough but it would be something).

Sounds awful and counsellors are no use to anyone if they’re exhausted & burnt out. Your employers really should realise this & look out for your welfare.

Do you have supervision? Could you go part time or look at freelance work?

I feel exactly the same. I’ve been working for 35 years now and feel like I am hitting a brick wall. Every day is a struggle. You have my sympathies.

You know it is unsustainable and you probably know that if you keep ignoring what your mind is telling you, then your body will also start shouting at you. I think your questions should not include any thoughts of how you can learn to ignore the stress, or do it better somehow.

I think you need to come up with a range of suggestions to your manager and be really blunt that this is unsustainable, here are some options if they can't offer any better options. Don't take watered down versions of suggestions.

This stood out for me:
"I brought it up last week with one of my sites and they said they weren’t happy because I should be there seeing clients back to back. I’m only there one day per week and they’re “paying for my service”"

It needs to be made clear to them that correct and organised admin is part of the service they are paying for, it doesn't come for free. If they pay for you to work for them for 8 hours, that HAS to include associated duties.

On a more general note, burn out is going to become a real problem for poeple who had no respite during the last two years, and who have, for one reason or another, had an increased workload.

Are there professional accreditation bodies that will support you by backingup the need for space in the day?

I feel so guilty ☹️ I’ve called in sick 3 times since September (due to actual illness) and now I’m having to call in sick today. I’m nervous I’m going to get into trouble but I’ve been working evenings this week too and I’ve got an awful migraine, I just can’t even get my head off the pillow, I’m so scared I’m going to get into trouble but I just can’t get up

Firstly, speak to your supervisor. If that’s also your manager, it’s a conflict so you need someone else.

Tips on burnout- reading, walking and healthy diet are key. Be strict with your time. Take a proper lunch hour and get offsite.

Take a holiday and get completely offline. No social media or work.

Well-being is key. Spiritual, health, space all help.

Other tip is to stop taking work home mentally. It’s hard, but this is the biggest contributor to feeling stressed and getting burnout.

Hope it gets better x

You have to get manager simple options

You cannot carry on as things are. You will no longer do extra hours at home. If this is a requirement then you will be going elsewhere // you believe your doctor will sign you off sick before

So do they want to allocate admin time as a day a week or would they rather you cut each client session short and refuse to see the next until the paperwork from the previous one is complete

Tbf it could just be me having terrible organisation skills but I have fallen really behind and I’ve had to come home Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and work all evening. To be fair my manager doesn’t know and my supervisor said I shouldn’t be wfh and to be careful

@88exhausted

Thank you, *@Booklover3*! I completely feel you I brought it up last week with one of my sites and they said they weren’t happy because I should be there seeing clients back to back. I’m only there one day per week and they’re “paying for my service”. Understandable as it is true and wish I had one day out of site a week! We have a meeting tomorrow to discuss other options but I don’t think it will go down too well.

Yes, but would they be happy if you didn't write up the notes for each patient?

I would almost guarantee "everyone else" is using part of the appointment to write up the admin, either with the patient sitting there or after they have left. So patient A arrives at 9am, you spend the first part getting the admin started while the person settles themselves.... you do the appointment then end it before the end to write up the appointment notes.

Lets say you have 1/2 hour, 9am you call the patient, you spend 3-4 minutes getting the person in and sat down while you create a document in their name and put some brief notes on it.
You then see / council the person until about 9:23 when you draw the session to a close and start writing up the notes while they are getting their coat on and leaving..etc. You call the next one at 9:30 etc.

You need to tackle the root cause. Volume of work/expectations vs capacity. This is for management to fix. No matter how many 'hacks' you find, you are not superhuman and there are only so many hours in the day.

I say this as somebody in a similar setting who has burnt out and had to take an extended period of sickness. I've returned on reduced hours, although the root cause (too much work, not enough people) hasn't been resolved, which means I suspect I will be back there again, even if I vow to 'work to rule' and am strict with myself.

I have high blood pressure, insomnia and weight gain, due to stress. I have soldiered on in this role for nearly a decade now and sadly, no help is coming, and I feel I need to leave. Better that than risk a serious health issue, now I'm nearing 50.

Ask for support (again). Work realistic hours, but know that if measures aren't put in place by those higher up, then this will be on repeat and you will eventually burn out.

Good luck - please don't leave it too late like me.

I cannot think of any setting where the requirement would be to see counselling clients back to back all day. It’s not a reasonable expectation to have 7/8 clients over a day. As hard as it is I think you need to be clear about that to your manager and openly state the amount of work you are doing at home.

Maybe also look at how much time you’re spending on notes - counselling notes should really be quite brief and factual. If you have reports to write then your admin time forms part of your working day.

But I think the real problem is the expectation - your messages really convey a lack of space to breath, think, reflect and you’re stuck in panic mode. How can that enable you to work well with clients? What would you say to your clients if they told you what you’re saying here? Try and find some boundaries and articulate them. If there is a need then maybe they need more than one day / one clinician and that’s the next discussion.

@88exhausted

I feel so guilty ☹️ I’ve called in sick 3 times since September (due to actual illness) and now I’m having to call in sick today. I’m nervous I’m going to get into trouble but I’ve been working evenings this week too and I’ve got an awful migraine, I just can’t even get my head off the pillow, I’m so scared I’m going to get into trouble but I just can’t get up

Don’t feel guilty OP. Something needs to change here. You can’t keep this up. The migraine is your bodies way of telling you this.

You have a management/organisation problem here. I can understand from the clients perspective as all they're interested in is can you deliver the service they're paying for?

Presumably your managed agrees/allocates the work to you? If so, then they should be the one to action change. However it seems this is falling on deaf ears.

I was in a similar position. Work load unmanageable, working nights (unpaid) etc. I had a lovely manager but she had pressure coming from above so there was little she could do.

Ultimately I knew nothing would change so I left. New organisation is so much better, I turn my laptop off at the end of the day and that's that.

It might be time to move on.