Burnout

"Burnout is the total depletion of one's physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach some unrealistic job related goals" (Smith).

Burnout can be expressed in many different ways and has many different levels of severity, called stages.

• Some of the first signs can be mental fatigue, unwanted or physically tense, and feeling like you are lagging in work.

More symptoms that become more prevalent as time goes on are depression, anxiety, and aggression. Some more specific symptoms that start showing at this time are ones like "disillusionment about the job, feeling bored, apathetic, or frustrated, feel ruled by a schedule, intermittent periods of psychological/physical symptoms that last even when the provoking situation subsides."

If chronic symptoms are left untreated, they can evolve into even worse problems, further worsening your physical and mental health and leading to possible dependence on other external factors such as alcohol and drugs ("Preventing Burnout – CALE Learning Enhancement").