Awhile back, I facilitated a workshop called "Grief in the Workplace", it is based on how people are affected from trauma in the workplace such as loosing clients, patients, disaster victims etc, and how it affects staff, volunteers and their family members at large. I have written before about how people who are trying to cope with stress often do not know when to seek professional help, like counselling, their Dr, or even talk to their friends.
I myself went through the cycle of a complete, total burnout. I was a 24/7 care giver, I had 2 young men in my home, and I was responsible for their well-being. They both had co-current disorders, also known as con-current disorders, or dual diagnosis, both suffered from mental health illnesses, developmental delayed disorders and/or medical conditions. I was also responsible for their day program, so basically my job was of a 24/7 nature. I take my hat off for those care givers who do that on a longer basis, like being a foster parent. I took one client on in Dec 2005, and the other one came into my life Oct 2006.
I lost my mom in Aug 2006, both clients were not capable sympathize or even to emphasize , it was not part of their life skill or part of their basic understanding. So, I had to suppress my sorrows, my grief and stay professional as I was trained to do. Then in March 2007, one of my clients who lived with me, died due to his medical condition, this hit me hard, he was my favorite, yes we can't favor anyone, however we all do it. I tried to maintain, I tried to cope and I didn't know that I was already on the downward spiral of depression and burn out, I fought and resisted and used whatever I could to avoid feeling depressed, feeling the grief, pulled back from engaging friends, became a loner and then on Dec 24, my dad passed away. I felt numb, indifferent, I could not care about myself, my own well-being. Let's just say, that I hit rock bottom somewhere on a ferry after midnight and a thought came to my mind that said, John, if you change your mind, then that is a long way to swim.
This part of my life's journey took me away from the work that I love, it took me away from being able to help and coach people for a period of 6 years. In those years I learned new skills, fell in love with my wife and got married, We moved to Vancouver Island and made new friends and then in 2015 I was ready, willing and able to coach again with all my being. If I would have know what I know now, I would have never had to go through the cycle of despair, depression and suicide ideation. So, I am going to share with you the burnout stages how I have experienced them in sequence, perhaps you can recognize where you currently are at, at what stage ... I hope this will give you insight on what might be happening with you, while you are dealing with overwhelming stress, you might be feeling fatigued, have lost your compassion to help others, lost your joy in doing your work that you love.
Let me know where you are at, or if you have a question, please contact me, or if you want to take my course, you can reach me here, Warm regards, John
Stress Management Stage:
Being in shock
Being in denial
Think about professional counselling:
Suppressing one’s thoughts and feelings
Trying to control one’s emotions
Trying to follow job training
Make an appointment with a professional counselor:
Trying to stay professional at work
Feeling Numb
Feeling Indifferent (a change from being able to manage stress to loosing control)
Stress Miss-Management Stage: (Seek out professional counselling ASAP)
Being apathetic
Using addictive behaviors and/or addictions to cope
Losing control, acting out, self-harm, lashing out
Feeling depressed
Feeling Burned out
Wanting to quit, to escape, to retire, to change jobs, too sick to do anything
Depression
Lost/Hopeless/Suicide Ideation (call 911/Crisis Line)
