How to tell if you're burning out

When you care about what you're doing in life, it almost feels like a duty to give it everything you have to it. But the flipside is that human bodies and minds operate under strict limits. Pushing that limit results in negative effects. This state of complete physical and/or mental exhaustion is called burnout. For students, burnout is common if they are in a highly demanding academic discipline, or if they are part time workers that require a fair amount of dedication. Here are some telltale signs that you might be suffering from burnout:

Fatigue

A persistent feeling of weakness when exerting yourself physically or mentally might be a sign that you are feeling fatigued. This is usually combined with difficulty in initiating tasks, and a lack of motivation. Fatigue makes it hard to start and complete tasks as it becomes difficult to focus.

Feelings of apathy and withdrawal

With burnout, one might start to feel less impassioned about the very thing that drove them to push themselves so hard. Work may start to lose its appeal, studies may start to look boring. There may be a tendency to remove oneself from the rewards offered by hard work as well.

Tension headache

Contraction in the scalp and neck muscles lead to headache, which is commonly called tension headache. It's a painful condition that is a symptom of many mental difficulties. Those suffering from burnout are also likely to have this symptom.

Changes in eating and sleeping patterns

Burnout may cause one to eat and sleep in different ways than what might be considered normal for them. Binge eating, or a sudden development of an eating disorder could be a sign. Getting little or no sleep, or sleeping too much can also be an indicator.

Indecisiveness
With all of these physical symptoms, what follows is difficulty in being decisive. Hesitation becomes commonplace, and it becomes impossible to face pressure situations. The mental work required to make crucial decisions becomes too much for a person who is burned out.