11 Signs You’re More Than Just Tired…You’re Burning Out

By Carey | May 11, 2017 |

Ever wonder if you’re burning out? I know a lot of leaders and people who wonder that.
There’s a fine line between being tired and actually burning out.
The challenge is, once you cross the line, it’s so difficult to get back.
Eleven years ago, I entered into the darkest period of my life. People had always warned me I would burn out. I thought I could prove them wrong. And usually I did. I would get tired – out of balance – but when I saw the edge, I could always pull myself back.
That approach worked just fine until the summer of 2006, when it didn’t.
In that fateful summer eleven years ago, I found the edge, and as I was falling, I knew this time I realized I couldn’t pull myself back.
Although I’m not a person who suffers from depression, I’m sure I would have gone to the doctor and received a diagnosis of clinical depression that summer when I fell off the edge.
Perhaps it wasn’t a stereotypical depression.

I could get out of bed every day, and I did.

As a Christian, I kept praying and reading my bible. I never lost my faith (I just couldn’t feel it).

People who weren’t that close to me didn’t realize it was happening.

But I knew something inside me had broken, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

My speed decreased to a snail’s pace.

Hope felt like it had died.

My motivation and passion dropped to zero. (Make that zero Kelvin).

Like most people who experience burnout, it felt like a strange land. I had been tired before, but I had never truly been burned out. It was so disorienting I didn’t know what to do.
What terrified me is that I knew many in ministry and life had gone down this road before me and some of them never made it back.
For them, ministry was done. And sometimes, tragically, they were done – hope never fully returned and they didn’t ever become the person they were before.
That was the last thing I wanted to happen to me.
Looking back, the diagnosis is still a little elusive and mysterious.
Who really knows what corrodes the soul to the point where it deflates?

But I’d say the most likely candidate for what derailed me is what I’d call emotional burnout. 
In caring for others I had not adequately cared for my heart or soul, or let others who wanted to care for it do so.
I spiralled down for about 3 months before I hit bottom.
Then with the love and assistance of a great wife, board, leadership team, close friends, a counselor, and a very gracious God, I slowly began to recover.
It took, honestly, a few years to really feel full stride again, but I recovered to 80-90% of full strength in the first year. The last 10% took two or three more years.
The good new is, there is life after burnout (my next post will be on ways to recover from burnout).
I’m writing this because burnout seems to be an epidemic among leaders and, increasingly, among people in general.
Maybe you’re right on the edge of the cliff right now. Or maybe you’re in free fall.
So how do you know if you’re more than just tired? How do you know if you’re burning out?
Here are 11 things I personally experienced as I burned out.
I hope they can help you see the edge before you careen past it.

1. Your passion fades

2. Your main emotion is ‘numbness’ – you no longer feel the highs or the lows

3. Little things make you disproportionately angry

4. Everybody drains you 

5. You’re becoming cynical

6. Nothing satisfies you

7. You Can’t Think Straight

8. Your productivity is dropping

9.  You’re self-medicating

10. You don’t laugh anymore

11. Sleep and time off no longer refuel you

Long Term Health Is About Sustainable Patterns
Eleven years on the other side of burnout, I’ve never felt better. All eleven signs are gone and have been gone for years.
Do I have bad days? Of course, but they’re days, not life. I’m so thankful!
On the other side of burnout, I developed new rhythms, patterns and approaches to life and leadership that have helped me thrive. They actually helped my productivity soar while working fewer hours. And they’ve given me a new passion for life and leadership.


So Are You More Than Just Tired?
So how do you know if you’re burning out?
Identifying with just a few of these signs might just be a sign that you’re tired.
If you identify with half, you might be close to the edge.
If you identify with most or all, well, you might be in the same place I found myself—burnout.
If you are burnt out, I would encourage you to seek immediate professional help – a medical doctor and a trained Christian counselor.  I would also encourage you to talk to a close circle of friends (again, my next post will be on recovery from burnout).