Have you suffered burnout??

[Glitterballofdreams]

I’m looking for those who have suffered a burnout in the past,
What were your symptoms?
How did you cope with it?
How long did it last/how long did the effects last?

Many thanks

Hi. Nearly a year ago due to a stressful job and house move my head dropped ( I couldn’t hold it up) I had terrible pain. I looked like I was seriously ill and the GP signed my off for nearly a month and told me I couldn’t drive. A neurosurgeon told me it was stress and I was sceptical but recently heard from someone who suffered the same symptoms in their leg which was also diagnosed as stress. I was also exhausted and still haven’t recovered my previous energy (which wasn’t great!).

Thank you for responding, I do hope you feel better soon.

I also suffered just 1 year ago, I felt such physical pain I thought I had severe onset of arthritis. But the doctor found no physical issues and so I was told I’d burned out. ( I worked nights, getting only 2/3 hours of disturbed sleep before looking after my children and home). I got signed off for 3 months and then I returned to work (same job, which was working with extremely sensitive incident which I do feel has affected me) 5 months ago I was in so much physical pain I was rushed to A&E they thought my gallbladder was going to erupt. However all tests & scans were clear, but I still suffer horrendous pain throughout my body.

My home life is tough, I have 3 children one who is special needs.

I am terrified there is something underlying, but the tests are all showing I’m healthy, except for enlarged lymph nodes in my lung which I am being re-scanned for next week.

excuse the long post, but has anyone experienced physical pain for such a period of time, which has turned out to be stress and burnout? I am so clutching at straws

I suffered from shoulder pain for months which turned out to be caused by stress/burnout.

Yes your body is telling you to stop putting it and your brain through whatever you are doing. I had this. I was off work for quite a long time. Please listen to your body and if you need to be signed off again then do that. And ideally change job, long term. This is not sustainable

Fatigue but couldn't sleep, stopped enjoying everything and anything, felt like I was on a runaway train and couldn't get off, high anxiety and then depression, numbness. Struggled to do basic tasks.

I have been in burnout multiple times. The longest it lasted was 5 years (the entire time I was in secondary school). I was also burnt out from 2018 until mid-2024 (I had my son in 2018, and it wasn't his fault that I got burnt out, but it was a massive coincidence), but it was on-and-off rather than constant. (It was moreso due to working)

Every time I've been burnt out, I've become physically unwell. It got to a point where I got burnt out, became unwell for 2 weeks, was completely recovered for 2 weeks, then became unwell for 2 weeks again. It was a constant cycle. I'll either overeat or not eat at all. When I was in school, I was so burnt out that I would only shower once a month and I rarely brushed my teeth 😅

You may well be burnt out but your glands wouldn’t be up unless there was also a physical interference as well, of your immune system.

You don’t have to answer this but are you neuro divergent?

I'm not diagnosed - though I am waiting for an assessment - but my partner, who's autistic, and his mum, who was a social worker who worked primarily with autistic people, think I am 😅

Quoting myself here because I can't seem to edit my comments? But anyway, there is evidence to suggest that neurodivergent people have lower immune systems, hence why getting burnt out can end up with us becoming physically unwell so often.

Not every ND person has a lowered immune system, but I am one of them who does, and not everyone with a lowered immune system is ND (obviously), but I find it interesting that there is a link between ND and immunity.

Ypur situation sounds very difficult OP. It’s not surprising you became ill.I’m so sorry. It’s comforting to me ( in a funny way) to know I’m not the only one with unexplained pain. For a while I thought my glands were up but I went to the GP and checked my notes afterwards and he said that my lymph nodes were not raised.i did wonder why he didn’t tell me during the appointment! It helped me realise it was just neck pain from the struggle of holding ny head up. I also went to A&E twice, the first time as I thought I was about to have a stroke in the night and the second when 111 called an ambulance and the crew were worried about me. I have accepted now that it was all stress and have changed my job although still have a fairly stressful job but am hoping to go part time soon. You need a different job OP and I really pray you find one.

As a 30 yo, I'd been working ludicrous hours, covering the whole of the UK and was at breaking point. I was then required to give up a Saturday (unpaid) to do some training.

I don't remember but at morning break, I got up & left, drove off and 'came round' sitting on a tree stump in Burnham Beeches, crying. No idea how I'd got there.

On the Monday I went in and resigned. HR argued until I told them what had happened. I took a month off, then found a more sensible employer.

When your body tells you clearly that work/stress levels/lifestyle/diet are unsustainable, then drastic action is needed. You have to change something fundamental. Tinkering around the edges won't work.

I moved out of London, and moved to an employer who didn't expect 60 hours a week.

My stomach became painfully bloated and I would have terrible diarrhoea throughout the night (never the day time weirdly) I had so many tests, including a endoscopy and colonoscopy which showed my stomach looked unhappy but no clear indication why. This went on for about 4 months and it gradually resolved itself. The doctor gently suggested stress and I was furious - it felt like he was saying I couldn’t cope with life and I was insistent there must be something physically wrong with me.

Then I started to feel so incredibly overstimulated and on edge all the time - I used to say I could almost feel my nervous system tingling. It was like I was in constant flight or fight mode and the smallest thing would leave me in tears or in a rage. I felt like I constantly had ten radio stations in my head, a never ending to do list, and I started to fantasise about being ill or injured badly enough to be admitted to hospital so I could have some rest and peace.

To cut a long story short, I ended up doing intense therapy for a year and being diagnosed and then medicated for combined ADHD (in hindsight, two of my kids are ND so this shouldn’t have been a surprise)

I’m now two years in and SO much happier. Yes, I still get stressed and tired but nothing at all like it was before.

I hope you can get some help and support. It’s a horribly miserable and dark place to be but it can get better xx

Yes, it’s happened to me multiple times but I am autistic which is probably why.

My symptoms are generally wanting to isolate myself, increased irritability, lack of appetite, feeling exhausted even though I sleep more, and generally not looking after myself.

I also get more anxious, have panic attacks, over-think incredibly mundane things and struggle to do even the most basic tasks.

My poor daughter burnt out at secondary school and had to have time off. She became physically shaky and did tic like jerky movements she couldn’t control, her anxiety was off the scale and she had stomach problems. She also developed OCD which included intrusive thoughts and worries about hygiene and counting and tapping. After a change of school and loads of therapy and anti depressants she is starting to recover. I do worry that a stressful job if she is able to work in the future will bring about something similar. She is ND.

Yes around a year ago, busy job, parent with severe mental health problems (psychosis, psych wards etc.), juggling childcare, cleaning, cooking. The worst feeling for me was the panic attacks, body aches like I had a constant flu, constant eye twitching, headaches, nausea, insomnia. I ended up being off work for 5 months, I'm now taking medication and finally feel in a better place. However, I have had to learn to not care if the house isn't spotless, we have freezer food for tea, no one is going to die if I make a mistake at work (I literally just work in an office!) and I can't make everything in the world perfect.

Twice. I'm just over two years on from the last time and only now starting to feel a bit more like myself. It's a horrible thing.

This all sounds very familiar to me. I’m struggling massively at the moment, I’m exhausted, have no motivation to exercise or do anything, I hate my job when I’ve previously loved it. Not sure what’s going on

I'm so sorry that sounds really tough 💐. It's hard to know, as it sounds like you are dealing with a lot of stress, but it is also very common for physical health problems to be dismissed as stress/burnout by doctors, particularly in women. I know a lot of people who have had that happen.
But even if it does turn out to be a physical illness, it doesn't mean that it's going to be anything too frightening; it easily could be something like a post viral condition, an allergy, or a hormonal issue. 💐
Might it help to keep a diary of your symptoms and see if they have any particular pattern, or if anything seems to affect them? Or, is there anything you can think of that changed just before they first started? Things like an illness, a dietary change, or a new contraceptive, or anything really.
I hope you get some answers soon. X

I'm not sure if what I have is burnout but I find myself constantly worried about deadlines, difficult customers with unrealistic demands, very heavy workloads and only an inexperienced trainee helping part time, uninterested bosses. My commute is two hours door to door each way and I barely sleep 4 hours a night, on a good night. I have lost my appetite and live on coffee and Diet Coke. My job is not rocket science and I'm not saving lives so I can't understand why I'm taking it this way. Menopause is not helping either. I fantasise with leaving my job as soon as the mortgage is paid off and working at Lidl or the garden centre until retirement age.

Four hours is terrible and I wonder if the caffeine is affecting your sleep? You must feel awful. Are you on HRT? Your job sounds very stressful, it doesn’t have to be rocket science. I hope it improves for you.

That sounds horribly familiar

Good news about my lymph nodes, there has been no change.
GP thinks the physical symptoms I am experiencing are as a result of the burnout and ongoing stress. I’ve been referred for counselling & physio. However physio don’t really want to take me on as they think there is another underlying cause for the pain.

Fairly sure this is burnout. Do you need the money? Can you resign and get the Lidl job?