What does 'burn-out' feel/look like...?!

[misspollysdolly]

Come and talk to me about this as at the moment I sometimes feel like I'm veering towards it

Hi

Sorry to hear you're feeling that way. I guess it takes different people different ways but my feeling was an absolutely overwhelming sense of having nothing left to give in any direction. Of needing to be given to, needing to take, which felt odd, because I couldn't give anything - not even small things, like a smile. It was horrible.

I burned out at Christmas. We'd had a very stressful year. I felt like I simply hadn't the energy to make things happen. Felt like I wanted something to happen to us, or for us, or for someone else to take the reins to get us out of the rut we were in. I just felt emotionally dry. Had no patience with anyone or anything. Had no ability to pull myself or my family out of the dumps we were in and no sympathy at all for DH who'd had a bad year because my sympathy had run dry trying to keep him upbeat for so long with what felt like so little in return.

I burned out around March time. It was when I was to scared to open emails or go to work. Everything became an effort or chore to do. I let most of the stuff around the house slide and as there is only me it just didn't get done.

I have been told I looked really pale due to lack of food and not looking after myself properly.