If you’re anything like me, you occasionally reach the point where your mind and body just shut down to prevent you from overburdening it any further. It’s always better, in my experience, to slow down and take a deep breath before reaching that point. I’m not always good at recognizing the signs,though, and when I do, I don’t always have the ability to prevent the train wreck that’s rapidly approaching.

The tell-tale signs may be different from one person to the next, and I would suggest that at a time when things are sailing along just fine (in other words, don’t wait for the crisis), everyone take a few minutes to reflect on what those signs are. Here are mine:

1. I lose the ability to make decisions. I’m not even talking about big stuff, like whether to move my kid to a different school, or whether to change jobs. I’m talking about stupid things, like what to cook for dinner. Any time I have to decide anything, I’m overcome with a feeling of panic that varies in intensity, but always makes me feel somewhat immobilised.

2) I lose interest in the things I like. If I stop caring about running, or if I don’t want to write, chances are that I’m approaching burnout. There are few things that scare me more than having to force myself to go for a run.

3) Little things annoy me. Things that I wouldn’t notice under normal circumstances make me want to jump up and throttle someone.

4) My relationship with food goes all out of whack. Either I stop eating entirely, apart from the odd nibble here and there to stay alive, or I go nuts and eat everything in sight.

5) Three consecutive hours of sleep counts as a “good night”.

What are your signs of burnout?

(Photo credit: bark. This picture has a creative commons attribution license)