Phases of Burnout Recovery

Last week I was discussing with a few members of the Unbreakable Nurse Society the journey of burnout recovery and broke it down into three phases:

Phase I Pre-Burnout: 

Work is starting to creep into your personal life. You are doing okay overall but have anxiety before your shifts and tend to have a hard time sleeping before work. You are overwhelmed at work and trying to deal with it by over eating or skipping your meals. After work you worry if you missed something. You feel better after vacations or days off, but that disappears quickly after returning to work. Your self-care is starting to slip. 

Phase IIa Burnout:

For a lack of better words "sh*t is hitting the fan". You are finding yourself agitated at everything and like you need to protect yourself. You have yelled at a coworker or broken down in tears at work due to stress. Work has taken over your life, you complain about it to your family and friends. You lay awake at night dreading going into work the next day. You stop doing self-care because you don't see the point since it didn't fix anything before. It feels like you are drowning and something has got to change or you will have a mental breakdown. 

Phase IIb Breaking Point: 

Not every nurse hits this point. You have no choice but to make a shift, usually by leaving the job or situation that has created burnout. 

Phase III Burnout Recovery:

While things are feeling better overall, there might be a little fear waiting for the other shoe to drop. The goal of this period is to heal. Now that you are no longer in the situation that had initially led to burnout, you are figuring out what is the next steps in your career. 

Looking at these phases ask yourself where are you right now? 

Are you in pre-burnout, burnout, hitting breaking point, or in burnout recovery?

Wherever you are right now, I am here to help.

I believe in you and all your possibilities.

Mary B.

P.S. Whether you are in pre-burnout or trying to settle into a new job, I can help you. I am currently enrolling clients to start in September and I would like to invite you to be one of them. All you have to do is sign up for a free consult by clicking here.