www.loubar.org 26 Louisville Bar Briefs Workplace challenges are the number one cause of stress. This tip sheet helps you recognize and address signs of stress before it becomes chronic and escalates to burnout. Share this tip sheet with your employees, and be sure to use it yourself, too. The 5 Stages of Stress and Burnout and The 5 Stages of Stress and Burnout and How to Address Them How to Address Them STRESS AND BURNOUT TIP SHEET THE 5 STAGES OF BURNOUT It's important to understand the stages of burnout so you can identify your symptoms and take steps at the right time to improve your well-being. Here are the five stages: Stage 1: Honeymoon You start a new job or project with high energy, creativity and productivity. Stress may start to creep in, but it feels like good stress and excitement. Start positive coping strategies like mindfulness to support well-being so you'll stay in this stage indefinitely. Stage 2: Onset of Stress On some days, unpleasant symptoms emerge, like irritability, sleep and focus issues, anxiousness, change in appetite or diet, lower productivity, tiredness or headaches. Well-being strategies are vital, because it's only going to get harder to address the problem as you start to feel more worn down. Stage 3: Chronic Stress You're feeling stress on a daily basis, and your nervous system is on high alert in response to perceived danger. Symptoms include missing deadlines, persistent tiredness, physical illness, procrastination, resentfulness, social withdrawal, anger or aggressive behavior, a cynical attitude and increased use of alcohol or caffeine. Stage 4: Burnout Overwhelming exhaustion, a lack of enthusiasm and increased negativity or cynicism towards your job, along with a decreased ability to perform your job, are hallmarks of burnout. Feelings of emptiness, pessimism, self-doubt, chronic ailments and a desire to isolate are others. The longer you stay in this stage, the more damage you're doing to your nervous system and the harder it will be to recover. Stage 5: Habitual Burnout Symptoms of burnout are so ingrained in your life that you'll experience significant mental, physical and emotional problems, like chronic sadness, depression, and mental and physical fatigue. Recovery typically requires leaving your job and focusing on getting better.
