The WHO defines three traits of burnout as: feeling exhausted, detachment from your job, and poorer performance at work. And with a global pandemic, working from home, homeschooling, and other life worries to contend with, it’s little wonder that stress levels are on the rise.

In this week’s Braincare podcast, Dr. Thomas Curran—psychologist and lecturer at LSE's Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, shed some light on the symptoms of burnout, how to recognise the warning signs, and most importantly—what you can do to prevent it. 

Symptoms of burnout

Burnout is multi-faceted and encompasses both mental and physical exhaustion. This extreme exhaustion is the endpoint, but according to Tom, there are several precursors before it gets to that point.

“The first symptom is cynicism. Then there’s the feeling that we’ve lost any interest in the things that we do, we’re detached from work and we don’t really care about it anymore, and the third is a reduced sense of accomplishment—we feel that we’re not really achieving anything.” 

The warning signs

Burnout has significant negative effects on our day-to-day lives, not to mention our mental and physical health. Tom says that pre-emptive action is crucial, but how can we know when we're in the danger zone? 

“Once you start to feel like you’re becoming detached from the things that you do, or like you’re not having much of an impact... alarm bells should start to ring about whether you’re really happy or comfortable about where you are.”

How to prevent burnout

Exemplary self-care practices are vital to prevent burnout—doing things that give you pleasure helps to restore your sense of self, and replenish your resources. And, when it comes to burnout, says Tom, the sooner you’re aware that you need some extra care, the better.

"Once you start to feel cynicism, tiredness, and fatigue start to creep in, that's when, instead of pushing ourselves harder, we need to take a step back."

Want to know more? Listen to the complete interview on the Braincare podcast.

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