What is Burnout and How to Prevent and Manage Burnout?

Lead Yourself…Well:  Prevent Burnout, Enjoy Work & Home Life & Thrive using Mindful Self Awareness, Present Moment Focus, Boundaries, Self Care & Stress Management  

What is Burnout? 

Burnout: a state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion, presents with a range of symptoms, including chronic fatigue, cynicism, detachment, and reduced performance.  

Mental and Emotional Symptoms: 

• Feeling drained and emotionally exhausted: This can manifest as a persistent lack of energy and an inability to cope with daily tasks.  

• Cynicism and detachment: Individuals experiencing burnout may become increasingly negative and disengaged from their work or other activities.  

• Feeling helpless, trapped, or defeated: A sense of powerlessness and a lack of control can be a hallmark of burnout.  

• Self-doubt and a sense of failure: Burnout can lead to a loss of confidence and a belief in one’s ability to succeed.  

• Loss of motivation and reduced satisfaction: Individuals may lose interest in activities they once enjoyed and experience a lack of fulfilment.  

• Feeling isolated or alone in the world  

Physical Symptoms: 

• Fatigue and chronic exhaustion: This can lead to frequent illnesses, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating. 

• Difficulty concentrating or completing tasks 

• Frequent headaches or muscle pain 

• Change in appetite or sleep habits 

• Gastrointestinal problems 
• Increased illnesses due to weakened immune system
   

Behavioural Symptoms: 

• Withdrawal and isolation: Individuals may start isolating themselves from others, both at work and in personal life.  

• Procrastination and reduced performance: A decline in productivity and a difficulty completing tasks may occur.  

• Outbursts or difficulty managing emotions  

Australian Burnout and Stress Statistics for Working Parents (2024–2025) 

Research shows significant work dissatisfaction and burnout among working Australian parents, with studies revealing high rates of burnout and stress, impacting well-being. 

• The 2024 National Working Families Survey revealed that 74% of women (mothers) and 57% of men (fathers) feel stressed balancing work and family responsibilities. Also that 28% of working parents now consider leaving their jobs within the next year, while 63% report feeling so physically and emotionally drained upon arriving home that it hinders their ability to contribute to family life.  

• Physical/Emotional Drain: 63% of parents report feeling physically and emotionally drained when returning from work, preventing them from effectively engaging with their family. 

• Parental Guilt: Over 90% of parents experience parental guilt, often due to lack of time for children or financial constraints. 

• Mental Health Impact: Work and parental demands mean working parents are twice as likely as non-parents to be completely worn out at the end of the day, contributing to mental and physical health issues, including anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular disease.  

• Burnout Drivers: Primary drivers include unrealistic workloads (49%), lack of management support (32%), and inflexible conditions (21%).  

Factors Contributing to Burnout 

• Work-Life Imbalance: People struggle with maintaining a healthy work-life balance, leading to decreased job satisfaction and increased turnover rates.  

• Lack of appreciation and support at work and at home with children, parenting and running a household.  

• Workload and stress, including unrealistic expectations by managers or partners or children at home and support shortages.  

• Unresolved issues and a fear of complaints  

• Cost of Living: 54% of parents cite the cost of living as a reason for returning to work earlier than desired, with 57% regretting their return-to-work timing. 

• Childcare Costs: 74% of parents find managing child care and education expenses challenging, spending an average of $314 per week on care-related activities. 

• Workplace Culture: 50% of employees believe their commitment to their job is questioned if they use family-friendly working arrangements. 

• Relationship Strain: Over 85% of parents admit that work stress impacts their relationship with their partner, causing decreased quality time and increased tension.  

How you can lead yourself… well and prevent burnout. 

1. Notice and Mange Internal Stories (Thoughts and Feelings) which affect Your ability to stay present, cope with stress, enjoy work, thrive & prevent burnout 

• Your stories about yourself, your role and responsibilities as a worker and parent and partner and other roles you have in life are there to guide you and notify you and warn you of things. And help you.  

• BUT they are a distraction from being present and strongly influence you, your stress levels, your health and wellbeing and get in the way of helping yourself well & practicing good self-care, boundaries and enjoying your work.  

• By helping you to better notice & manage your internal STORIES you can prevent them from having an impact on your wellbeing, health, boundaries, self-care and enjoyment of your work and life.  

Some Possible Internal Behavioural Patterns with Beliefs 

• Unrelenting standards/Hypercriticalness: The belief that one must strive to meet very high internalised standards of behaviour and performance, usually to avoid criticism. Presents as: (a) perfectionism, (b) rigid rules, or (c) preoccupation with time and efficiency.  

• Approval-Seeking/Recognition-Seeking: The excessive emphasis on gaining approval, recognition, or attention from other people, at the expense of one’s own development and needs.  

• Subjugation: The excessive surrendering of control to others because one feels coerced, usually to avoid anger, retaliation, or abandonment. The two major forms are: subjugation of needs and subjugation of emotions.  

• Self-Sacrifice: The excessive focus on voluntarily meeting the needs of others in daily situations, at the expense of one’s own gratification. Reasons: to prevent causing pain, to avoid guilt from feeling selfish, and to connect with needy people.  

• Emotional Inhibition: The excessive inhibition of spontaneous action, feeling, or communication to avoid disapproval by others, feelings of shame, or losing control of one’s impulses.  

Some Possible Internal Thoughts and Feelings pushing you around (Stories) 

• I should be able to get the job done better or quicker. They are paying me to do this and I don’t have time to waste.  

• I should stick to the plan and be more efficient, every time.  

• “My co workers and clients and managers time is extremely valuable/I must provide value quickly or they’ll be disappointed or annoyed” 

• “I must solve my kids or work problems and help change their behavior or I have failed”. 

• “My child should respond to me well when they are distressed.” 

• “I am not a good parent or worker or person as if I was all of my work and home life would feel less chaotic and I’d be more organized and efficient.  

• “they’re not open/they won’t shift”. “They’re not ready for change.” 

• “My managers’ expectations are unrealistic. They’ll never be happy with what I say or suggest” 

• I can’t fit everything in”. I’m running behind time and must be on time and make up time.   

1. Practice Mindfulness in your daily activities to reduce Stress and Burnout  

Mundane tasks that most people do automatically—that is, mindlessly You can Deliberately focus on and pay attention to.  

• Mindfulness practice, particularly mindfulness-based interventions like Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), effectively reduce stress and prevent burnout. Research consistently demonstrates positive impacts on reducing stress, improving mental well-being, & increasing resilience. 

• Stress Reduction: Helps you become more aware of thoughts and feelings,  allowing you to manage stress responses more effectively.  

• Burnout Prevention: Studies have shown that mindfulness-based interventions can significantly reduce burnout symptoms like emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.  

• Improved Well-being: Mindfulness practices have been linked to increased positive affect, life satisfaction, and vitality, as well as reduced negative affect and psychopathological symptoms.  

• Cognitive and Behavioral Changes: Mindfulness can improve attention, focus, and self-awareness, helping individuals respond to stressful situations more consciously rather than automatically.  

• Neurobiological Effects: Research indicates that mindfulness practice can reduce activity in the amygdala, a brain region associated with stress responses.  

Practice Mindfulness by Noticing what you are doing and experiencing at the moment. Approach the task with a sense of curiosity and an openness to whatever you experience. Notice all that is happening outside you and inside you. And, whenever you find your mind wandering from the task at hand, just gently return your attention to it.  

1.     Mindful Showering.  Next time you shower, notice how the water feels on different parts of your body. Notice the temperature of the water, what the soap and shampoo smell like. And, as your mind drifts away from your showering, gently refocus on showering.  

2.     Mindfully Brushing Your Teeth. Yes, you can even brush your teeth mindfully. Notice what the bristles feel like while brushing the front, the top, and the back of your teeth and how it feels to brush your gums and your tongue.  

3.    Mindful Eating: Put down the newspaper, book, or magazine, even the textbook. Turn off the computer, TV, and radio. Then, as in Participation Exercise 14-4 in which you mindfully ate a raisin, use all of your senses to fully experience your eating. When the food is in your mouth, close your eyes, eat slowly, and savor the experience. 

4.      Mindful Dishwashing. focus all of your attention on washing the dishes. Notice how it feels, what it looks like, and what it sounds like to scrape dishes and then to wash them with a sponge or dish rag.  

5.   Mindfully Making Your Bed. Pay attention to each component of making the bed, from smoothing the sheets to the last minor adjustments of pillows, blankets, and covers. Feel the kinesthetic sensations of pulling up covers and tucking in sheets. Be with the whole experience. 

6.     Mindful Exercising. Just pay attention to the movements involved, how your muscles feel, and your breathing. Do not evaluate any of these sensations, such as by saying to yourself, “This hurts,”  “This is hard” or even “This feels good.” If you do this, you will have had the full experience of exercising rather than just part of it (as you do when you distract yourself from pain or labored breathing). 

These are but a few examples of routine behaviors that you can experience fully by doing them mindfully. Pick one or more from this list or generalize the instructions to any other routine tasks in your life.  

2. STOP when Feeling Stressed 

• Slow your breathing : Take a few deep breaths, and mindfully observe the breath flowing in and flowing out. This will help to anchor you in the present.  

• Take note: Take note of your experience in this moment. Notice what you are thinking. Notice what you are feeling. Notice what you are doing. Notice how your thoughts and feelings are swirling around, and can easily carry you away if you allow them.  

• Open up : Open up around your feelings. Breathe into them and make room for them. Open up to your thoughts too: take a step back and give them some room to move, without holding onto them or trying to push them away. See them for what they are and give them space, rather than fusing with them.  

• Pursue your values : Once you’ve done the above three steps, you will be in a mental state of mindfulness. The next step is to respond to the crisis by pursuing a valued course of action. Connect with your values: ask yourself…‘What do I want to be about, in the face of this stress? What do I want to stand for? How would I like to act, so that I can look back years from now and feel proud of my response?’ 

How can I improve My self care, enjoyment of work,  and prevent burnout? 

• Plan your ideal day, week, month year and stick to the committed actions associated with this. Communicate this with family, partner, colleagues.  

• Learn when and how to say no & when to say yes.  

• Stick to Time of acyivities, take your breaks, ground yourself using your senses, practice mindfulness regularly.  

• Notice your internal stories & schemas and manage these and notice when you slip back to old behavioural patterns of overwork and poor commitment to self care and rest/time out.  

How can ST&A Psychology help?

If you’ve been running on empty for longer than you can remember, and suspect burnout might be at the root of it, support is available.

We’re passionate about helping people navigate burnout, chronic stress, and exhaustion  and getting them back to feeling like themselves.

Contact us so we can match you with the right psychologist for you.