Are You Facing Burnout?

I have to admit, I think I’m bordering on burnout. Or maybe it’s just cabin fever. Oh, I’ve managed to get out of the house for my workout classes, church, and the grocery store, but I haven’t had my usual quiet time outside on my patio for quite awhile.

Our summer weather hasn’t been conducive to enjoying the outside. Kinda hard when it’s in the high 90s with a heat index over 100. Some mornings its been over 80 before the sun even showed its face. Yes, I know full well that other places get worse heat. But heat is heat, and it’s hard to enjoy fresh air when it feels more like a steam room.

Whether it’s cabin fever or burnout, I only know that I’m struggling to get my work done each day. According to AI, burnout can show up in several areas all at once:

• Physical: persistent fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, disrupted sleep, digestive issues, getting sick more often.
• Mental: difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, indecision, reduced creativity, feeling mentally foggy.
• Emotional: irritability, impatience, feeling overwhelmed, discouragement, emotional numbness, loss of enthusiasm.
• Behavioral: procrastinating, withdrawing from people, avoiding responsibilities, working longer while accomplishing less, neglecting normal routines.
• Work/ministry: dreading work you once enjoyed, feeling detached from it, decreased productivity, resentment toward demands or people, feeling that your efforts accomplish nothing.
• Spiritual: difficulty engaging in prayer or Scripture, going through the motions, feeling spiritually dry, or beginning to see spiritual practices as one more obligation.

Do You See Yourself in There?

Is anything jumping out at you? I hope not, but for me the physical symptoms are with persistent fatigue and disrupted sleep.

But one item in particular is screaming at me. It falls under the work/ministry section: feeling that my efforts accomplish nothing. Does that resonate with you?

Writers can spend months or years writing a book because it isn’t the only work that occupies our time. We pour our hearts and souls into what we write; we invest in the professional help we need to publish that book. We do what we do because we want to make a difference in the lives of others.

But after launching that baby into the world, poor sales, lack of reviews, and no engagement with our social media posts or emails can cause us to doubt. After so long, it can make a person feel like their efforts aren’t accomplishing anything.

Spiritual Warfare

I recently discovered a pattern in my life: when a biblical principle clicks (you know, those aha moments) and I get excited about it, within a few days I feel down and sluggish. But why? Because my subconscious is working against me. It’s scared. Change is always scary to the subconscious mind. Change means doing new things and the subconscious doesn’t know how to do those new things. It wants to keep you in the “I know how to do this” zone. That’s where it’s safe, no chance of failure in the comfort zone.

But there is also the spiritual aspect. First Peter 5:8 says, “your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The devil doesn’t want us to grow stronger in our Christian walk. And for me, the tool he uses the most is doubt.

What tool does Satan use most often to derail you? Give that some thought. Learn to recognize it so you can thwart him in his efforts.

I come against doubt by encouraging myself with Bible verses that apply to the situation. I take stock of what I have accomplished to counter the lie. Because when that voice in your head is saying, “you aren’t accomplishing anything,” it’s lying to you.

Burnout is also one of the devil’s tools. We are doing, and doing, and doing…and doing some more. American culture applauds that. But what’s behind that drive? That’s what we must look at first if burnout is where we’re at. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a long weekend of fun and relaxation is going to remedy your burnout. It won’t.

Burnout also shows us we aren’t resting in God’s promises. We aren’t trusting Him to provide or help us in our journey. We tackle life as if it’s “me against the world.” But it isn’t like that if you have Jesus in your life.

I’m not going to offer advice on how to deal with burnout because there are too many factors that come into it. But I will offer this link to a post on the topic from Cleveland Clinic.

We all need a reset now and then. No shame in that. Taking time for yourself is important. Don’t be deceived by the idea that if you’re resting you’re not accomplishing anything.

One caution: persistent exhaustion, sleep problems, depression, anxiety, or physical symptoms aren’t automatically burnout. They can have medical or mental-health causes, so symptoms that are severe, persistent, or interfering substantially with daily life warrant professional evaluation.