You are getting everything done at work, you are reaching your dreams, you have the position and life you dreamt of for years. But something is off. It doesn’t feel the way you thought it would feel.
You show up to work. You built the business. You answer the emails and calls. You check off the to-do list every day. You even cook dinner sometimes. People ask you, “How do you do it all?”
But inside you are tired and you are starting to lose joy in things you used to love. You wish you could press pause on life like Zack Morris did on Saved by the Bell just so you can catch your breath.
This isn’t a “Oh I need a good nap” kind of tired. This is more of a “Why does life keep coming at me with one more thing after another?”
You might be experiencing high-functioning burnout and you aren’t alone.
I am Dr. Kate Rodriguez, a licensed professional counselor and mental health expert who is passionate about helping overachievers find some peace and enjoy the life they worked so hard to build. I constantly see successful, capable people who are running on empty and losing their spark.
What is interesting about burnout in high achievers is, you can be extremely successful but still be completely and utterly depleted. We have to learn to recognize the unique signs of burnout that we show as individuals and that can be tough.
Many people think they are doing fine until they have a breakdown (mental or physical) but I teach people to recognize the different minor signs BEFORE it gets to a chronic level. For some people, it looks like irritability. Brain fog. Losing patience with your loved ones. Feeling disconnected from everybody. Cancelling plans. Not opening emails or text messages because your at capacity.
I often hear people in my therapy office say, “My life is good but something isn’t right with me.” This is where the work begins. Its time to figure out what is exhausting you and what adjustments can be made to prevent total burnout.
Many of us were taught to always stay busy and productive or we were thought of as lazy. Now, we know that we need to value rest and not think of rest as a reward but a prerequisite for enjoying life.
Burnout is what can happen when the demands on you constantly exceed your capacity to recover. And I am here to help you recognize, prevent, and get out of burnout so you can continue to be the overachiever while building a life that doesn’t require you to run yourself into the ground.
The goal isn’t to do less. The goal is to stop sacrificing yourself for the achievements.
Next time: Why your two-week vacation might not actually be fixing your burnout.
Because if you spend your entire vacation recovering from your life, we might have a problem
Until next time,
Dr. Kate Rodriguez, Ph.D., LPC-S
Mental Health & Burnout Expert
