Here’s What Burnout Looks Like for WOC and What You Can do About it

What’s Burnout, Really?

Well, burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It often arises when you feel overwhelmed, underappreciated, and overburdened, and it can make you feel like you’re unable to meet constant demands. At its core, burnout reduces your productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.

The adverse effects of burnout spill over into every area of life—including your home, work, and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu.

Symptoms of Burnout:

Recognizing burnout is key to addressing it. Its symptoms can be subtle at first but become more noticeable over time. Here are some signs:

Physical Symptoms:
- Feeling tired and drained most of the time
- Lowered immunity, frequent illnesses
- Frequent headaches or muscle pain
- Changes in appetite or sleep habits
Emotional Symptoms:
- Sense of failure and self-doubt
- Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated
- Detachment, feeling alone in the world
- Loss of motivation
- Increasingly cynical and negative outlook
- Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment
Behavioral Symptoms:
- Withdrawing from responsibilities
- Isolating yourself from others
- Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done
- Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope
- Taking out your frustrations on others
- Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early

So, why are we so burnt out?

Oh, where do I begin…

Dual-Burden Syndrome: Many women of color navigate dual roles – professional and personal. They are often key breadwinners in their families and also bear a significant portion of home responsibilities, like childcare and eldercare. This double duty can lead to little time for rest and self-care, escalating stress levels.
Workplace Challenges: Discrimination and microaggressions in the workplace can be a daily reality. Women of color might feel the need to constantly prove themselves, leading to the phenomenon known as “over-efforting.” This heightened need to perform and counteract stereotypes can be mentally and emotionally draining.
Cultural Expectations: Cultural norms may place additional pressures on women of color, whether it’s maintaining certain family dynamics, upholding traditions, or meeting community expectations. These roles, often ingrained and expected, can add an extra layer of stress.
Economic Factors: Women of color frequently face wage disparities, which can lead to additional financial stress. This economic inequality means that even when working as hard, if not harder, they might not have the same financial stability or resources for stress-relief activities and self-care.
Lack of Representation and Support: A lack of representation in higher-level positions can lead to a sense of isolation at work. The absence of mentors or role models who share similar backgrounds and experiences can make navigating career paths and workplace dynamics more challenging.
Healthcare Disparities: Access to adequate healthcare and mental health resources can be a significant barrier. There’s also the issue of underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis of mental health conditions among women of color, which can delay getting appropriate help for stress and burnout.
Societal Stressors: Broader societal issues like racism, social injustice, and community struggles disproportionately impact women of color, adding an external layer of stress that’s constantly simmering.

How to Beat Burnout

That list was depressing, right? Let’s shift gears and talk about beating burnout. Beating burnout takes many mini mindset shift and the one I want to talk about today is redefining what success means TO US. Here’s why:

Traditionally, success in the corporate world and broader society is often measured by external indicators like job titles, income levels, material possessions, and social status. These metrics, while tangible, can create a relentless pursuit of more, often at the expense of personal well-being and happiness (aka hustling).

Stress and burnout often stem from chasing these traditional markers of success. The constant chase can lead to a continuous state of dissatisfaction and a feeling of never being ‘enough’. This is where the need to redefine success becomes essential.

Instead of external benchmarks, success can be redefined by internal measures such as personal growth, fulfillment, happiness, and well-being. This shift encourages evaluating success based on how content and balanced one feels in life.

Redefining success then involves around aligning your career and life choices with your personal values and purpose (life-work balance, instead of work-life balance). What makes you feel fulfilled and happy? It might be having a balanced life, pursuing passions, building strong relationships, or contributing to your community.

Another part of redefining success is learning to set boundaries around what you value. This might mean saying no to extra work, prioritizing family time, or dedicating time to self-care and hobbies.

You see, by redefining success, you reduce the immense pressure to conform to societal standards, which can be a significant source of your stress (you can’t please everyone but you can please one-YOU). When your definition of success aligns with what truly brings you joy and fulfillment, the journey becomes more satisfying and less stressful.

Now, can you see how redefining success is a powerful tool in managing stress?! It’s about shifting focus from external achievements to internal satisfaction and well-being. This new mindset creates a healthier, more balanced approach to life and work, ultimately contributing to reduced stress levels and a more fulfilling life.

Here’s to ditching the burnout in 2024!

So, sis, we’re redefining the hustle, by hustling to put ourselves on our priority list, and making room for more of what we love in 2024!

More help:

Books on Burnout and Stress Management:
- “Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity” by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. Sacred Rest combines the science of rest, the spirituality of rest, the gifts of rest, and the resulting fruit of rest. It shows rest as something sacred, valuable, and worthy of our respect.
- “The Joy of Missing Out: Live More by Doing Less” by Tonya Dalton. This book provides insights into managing time and obligations to reduce stress and avoid burnout.
Research Studies and Articles:
- The Harvard Business Review often publishes articles on burnout, work-life balance, and stress management. Articles like “Beating Burnout” by Monique Valcour offer practical strategies.
- The American Psychological Association (APA) provides numerous resources on stress and burnout, including research findings and tips for coping.
Apps for Mindfulness and Task Management:
- Headspace and Calm: These popular mindfulness apps offer guided meditations, sleep stories, and more to help manage stress and prevent burnout.
- Trello or Asana: These project management tools are useful for organizing tasks, managing workload, and reducing work-related stress.
1:1 Coaching, Online Courses and Workshops:
- Business Church Life empowers high-achieving women of color (and Ministry Leaders) to redefine success with stress-relief strategies for more energy, peace and productivity.
Websites on Work-Life Balance and Wellness:
- Mindful.org and Psychology Today offer articles and tips on maintaining a healthy work-life balance and managing workplace stress.
- The Mayo Clinic provides evidence-based advice on managing stress and burnout.
Podcasts:
- Reclaim Your Energy, Sis podcast often cover topics related to stress management, personal well-being, and overcoming burnout for women of color.