Ever wondered what burn out looks like? We always use ourselves as an example with physical or emotional signs as symptoms. But let’s change it up for a second. Let’s look at it from a different perspective. Let me walk you through a tour of the House of Burnout.
Let’s begin the tour. Shall we?
1. The Front Door (also known as “aka” The Warning Signs)
As you approach the house, you notice the front door. The door is weathered, hard to push open, and creaks ominously. It hints that something isn’t quite right. You hesitate but walk in anyway, as you brush off the exhaustion, irritability, and constant feeling of being “on edge”. We know something is off, but we tell ourselves “its fine…I’m fine”. So we ignore off the signs and enter.
2. The Living Room (aka Emotional Exhaustion)
Once you enter through the front door, you look to your left to find the living room. The once-cozy space is now cluttered and dimly lit. The couch is worn out, and you sink into it. You feel like you can’t get up. This is where the emotional exhaustion sets in—you’re drained, overwhelmed, and the thought of doing anything feels monumental. You continue to trek along, but everything feels heavier than before. But hey “It’s fine….I’m fine”, right?
3. The Kitchen (aka Physical Symptoms)
You find yourself walking through the living room trying not to trip over things on the floor. You look ahead to find the kitchen. The kitchen is a mess – pure chaos. The sink is full of dishes and there is dirt all over the floor. The fridge is empty except for the leftovers you don’t want, or random things that you cannot make anything with anyways. Your appetite is off – you’re either always seeking some kind of meal or you have no desire to eat anything. Maybe whatever is in the kitchen is convenient, but not the best choice. The lack of nourishment represents headaches, muscle tension, back pain, or stomach issues that arise when stress takes a toll on your body. The pain seems to never leave. Its there when you wake up, go about your day and fall back asleep.
4. The Office (aka Reduced Productivity)
You try to leave the kitchen, so you walk ahead to find an office tucked away in a corner of the house. Papers are scattered everywhere, tasks undone. Multiple books are open, each at a different chapter. The once-organized desk now symbolizes your inability to focus or complete work. The multiple opened books represent the tasks you have started but cannot seem to finish because of the never-ending to-do list. You sit down to start something, but your mind is foggy, and even simple tasks feel overwhelming. You question why its so difficult to remember things or complete things you used to do with ease. Everything is more difficult and weighs much heavier than before. You’re constantly overwhelmed with your exhaustion, so you try to find a place to rest.
5. The Bedroom (aka Sleep Problems)
You find a staircase that leads upstairs, so you decide to go up to find the bedroom. The bed looks inviting, but it’s not a place of rest anymore. Either you can’t fall asleep, you can’t stay asleep, or you wake up feeling just as tired as when you went to bed. The insomnia or restless sleep only deepens your fatigue. You never feel rested and exhaustion seems to loom over you at all times. The lack of sleep begins to add up and you find yourself to be irritable, angry, upset, and maybe emotional. You find it hard to stay calm or regulate yourself. When things quiet for a moment, you find yourself questioning why you exploded earlier. Then you start to think of all the things that need to be done. Great….the never-ending to-do list haunts you in the day and in your dreams.
6. The Bathroom (aka Neglecting Self-Care)
You walk into the bathroom to wash your face and try to freshen up. But the bathroom mirror is fogged over, and the sink is filled with unopened products. The multiple unopened products are all the things you’ve been lacking to give back to yourself. You notice you’ve been skipping showers, meals, and moments to take care of yourself. The reflection feels unfamiliar, as if you’ve lost touch with who you are. You take a moment to ask yourself how you got here…
7. The Basement (aka Cynicism and Detachment)
You decide to walk back downstairs. To your right, you see a door that leads to the basement. Descending into the basement, you find it dark, cold, and isolating. This is where detachment lives. You feel disconnected from others, unmotivated, and sometimes even resentful of the people and responsibilities you used to care about. Everything is cold and distant. You nearly feel numb to it all.
8. The Attic (aka Breakdown Point)
The chill in the basement is too much for you, so you head back upstairs. You hear something upstairs, so you head to the attic. You open the ceiling door to find that the roof is leaking. Rain drips through cracks, symbolizing the breaking point when everything feels overwhelming. You can see holes in the roof that have clearly been deteriorating for some time. How did we get here? How did we let the house worsen to this point? The roof looks like its going to crumble and fall apart. You know the house can no longer protect you, and without some work, it risks collapsing entirely.
But here’s the good news
Every house can be repaired. With rest, support, and care, you can mend the cracks, declutter the spaces, and rebuild a sense of balance. You just need to recognize when it’s time to start the renovation.
So, what does your house look like? Does it need repairs yet? Let’s talk about it.
– Sarah