I Just Went on Vacation. How Am I Still Burned Out?

The email does not find you well.

Yesterday, you were lounging on the beach, or sprawled on the couch with that book you finally had time to finish. Now, you’re staring down hundreds of missed messages.

The return to work after vacation can be jarring for anyone. But for people who are burned out from their jobs — a state that psychologists describe as feeling persistently exhausted and cynical about work — the transition is even tougher.

While vacation might seem like the obvious solution to being overwhelmed by work, time away can reveal just how depleted you’ve become, said Jeanette M. Bennett, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who studies the effects of stress on health.

How to know if you’re burned out.

Burnout stems from feeling like you don’t have control over your work. People can dread their jobs, experiencing “the quintessential ‘I’m overwhelmed, I’m exhausted, Sunday Scaries’” feeling, said Dr. Thea Gallagher, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at NYU Langone Health.

Burnout bleeds into the rest of your life: people typically feel like they don’t have the energy to do anything except get through the day. Family responsibilities, friends and hobbies can fall by the wayside — even if people have the time for those activities outside of work, they may be too tired, or feel apathetic about them, said Angela Neal-Barnett, a psychology professor at Kent State University and author of “Soothe Your Nerves: The Black Woman’s Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety, Panic and Fear.”

Taking time off can relieve burnout in some cases — people come back to work feeling recharged and better able to tackle their workload. But when people are intensely stressed, vacation is more like a Band-Aid. They might feel better when they’re away, but as soon as it’s time to return, they become anxious again.

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