Art Markman is a Ph.D. and professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin. He has written various books and is an expert when it comes to burnout, and had a lot to say on the subject of burnout and the signs that show it.
From time to time, we all feel a little burned out. It happens to the best of us, but in deeper regard, we can become so burned out that it becomes a major problem for us. If you are constantly feeling like you have exhausted all of your mental resources, you could be experiencing a real burnout. Here are the four signs Markman cites that indicate burnout.
1. Lack of motivation.
When you go from feeling fully determined to feeling like you are running on fumes, you are likely burned out. You may feel like you can’t even muster up the motivation to finish your work, which places the focus on how hard getting things are done can be. In turn, you may enter a vicious cycle of dread, work, dread, and repeat.
2. Lack of resilience.
Being overworked and burned out can make it hard to be resilient. In turn, when minor inconveniences happen, you may find it becomes harder and harder to pick yourself up and keep moving.
3. Inability to make decisions.
Making good choices requires a full cognitive function, which isn’t always present when burnout happens. You may find it takes much longer to make simple decisions that were once easy to make.
4. Bad interactions.
Feeling burned out can make it hard to interact with others. You may come off as rude, or upset, or completely distant emotionally to others. It becomes harder to control difficult emotions and much harder to muster positive ones.
Markman suggests seeking therapy and counseling when feeling the above symptoms, which are also tied to depression. He explains that when we have too much weight on our shoulders, it can be beneficial to learn skills to help you handle them to the best of your ability and also to manage the major things that only add weight to your burned-out state.