Psychologist reveals four signs you may be heading towards burnout

A British psychologist has revealed four signs you may be heading towards burnout, including physical and emotional exhaustion.

Dr Julie Smith is a clinical psychologist with a private practice in Hampshire, who has some 4.2 million followers on TikTok, where she shares content on mental health topics. 

A recent clip looks at some of the signs you may be heading towards burnout.

Dr Smith, who also shares her content on Instagram and YouTube, also outlined what burnout is – and what it isn’t.

‘We all get overworked and tired every now and then but burnout is more than tiredness,’ she explained. 

‘Burnout is when stress becomes chronic and has a detrimental effect on other areas in your life.’  

She wrote that among the signs of burnout are ‘chronic exhaustion alongside restlessness and trouble sleeping, poor self-care such as diet and exercise’.

Dr Smith added: ‘Other signs include repeated emotional distress, such as anxiety, low mood, or anger outbursts. 

‘You may notice your performance at work is going down, while you feel you are working harder than ever, you may also start feeling disconnected with loved ones and struggle to get along as well as you normally do.’ 

Her video, titled ‘4 signs you’re heading for burnout’ looked at symptoms people may experience if they are heading towards the condition.  

In the clip she says: ‘Number one is disconnection from the people around you. You might be arguing more with your partner or your friends. 

‘Number two, you’re procrastinating more than ever, and putting off even the smallest of tasks because they now feel overwhelming.’ 

The third sign you may be heading towards burnout, according to Dr Smith, is that ‘self care goes out the window’ when it comes to exercise, diet and sleep.

She adds: ‘Number four [is] physical and emotional exhaustion. You feel tired, but wired and can’t sleep at night.’ 

The video seemed to strike a chord with a number of viewers, who shared their own experiences with burnout in the comments. 

In the video, the psychologist explained that signs of burn out could include chronic exhaustion as well as restlessness and poor self-care 

One viewer wrote: ‘I burnt out and still go through episodes. Every time I try to change it the people around me drag me back in. so tired.’

Others revealed they had experienced all four the signs outlined by Dr Smith.

According to one commentator: ‘Umm okay I guess I am heading straight for one. But maybe it is what I need.’

The video seemed to strike a chord with viewers, some of whom revealed in the comments that they had struggled with the signs of burnout

Meanwhile another added: ‘That’s exactly how I feel, and soon enough I’ll explode.’

And another simply wrote: ‘This is my life.’ 

However, one more optimistically revealed that despite suffering from burnout, they had managed to overcome it.

They wrote: ‘Been there and still are but I managed to overcome it slowly.’