- Hey everybody.
Today we are starting a new adventure together
into the depths of burnout.
I'm sure you've heard this term a lot lately,
but no one's really explained what it is,
who can suffer from it,
what happens in our brains to cause it,
and most importantly, how we can overcome it.
Since I often feel that making one video
on a topic just doesn't do it justice,
I know many of you agree because you've requested
that I do deeper dives into various topics,
so this is something new that we're gonna try out.
I mean, imagine if we could create whole series
around depression, anxiety, or trauma,
interviewing other creators, specialists,
and learning together along the way.
I am so excited to begin this deep dive
with you and as always,
let's begin this journey by defining the term burnout.
Oh, and also note that this is an educational series
that has been sponsored by Google.
Now, the term burnout is defined as a state of mental
and physical exhaustion caused by one's professional life.
Burnout itself wasn't something that was talked
about until psychologist, Dr. Herbert Freudenberger,
in 1974 noticed his volunteers at a free clinic
for drug addicts in New York City
were experiencing the same symptoms.
They were all exhausted by their workload.
Many reported having trouble sleeping,
and a lot of them were suffering from intense headaches
and were extremely irritable.
Many were not completing their work
and even expressing anger and upset towards their patients.
Some even struggling to accept feedback
or any new way of approaching an issue.
After much observation, Dr. Freudenberger determined
that what they were all experiencing was burnout.
And he noted that in many ways,
burnout can mimic the behavior of a depressed person,
but it is, in fact,
a completely different issue all together.
The more research that was done on burnout,
the more they realized it didn't only apply
to volunteers or people with high stress jobs.
It could, in fact, happen to anyone.
They believe burnout occurs when the reward
that we get from our career or life is not enough
to make up for all the effort we put into it.
It's like this little teeter-totter, right,
this balancing act.
Just think about that.
The reward that we get from our career or life
isn't enough to offset all the effort we put into it.
Of course, this could happen to a lot of different people,
from a lot of different walks of life.
Because I don't know about you,
but there have been many times in my life
where I have put in a lot of effort,
really worked at something,
only to find out that it isn't gonna work out
and there's no reward to get from it.
For example, I used to work three jobs in order
to make enough money; we all gotta pay our bills,
and to gain enough hours towards my license
so that I could finally start my own private practice
and start working for pretty much nothing.
After a few years of doing this, I was completely exhausted.
I was annoyed with my crazy schedule,
I was barely paying my bills,
and I was struggling to make any time for myself.
I was burned out.
Now burnout could come from a job,
it could come from a relationship,
it's all about this reward versus effort, remember?
Now the reward that we're talking about
isn't just money or power.
It can be knowing that you're helping people,
getting positive feedback; we all love that right,
or having more freedom or free time
to spend with our family.
Honestly, it can be whatever you personally find rewarding
because everyone's reward can be different.
Now because the term burnout has been thrown
around a lot lately, especially online,
I think it's really important that we understand
what the symptoms of burnout really are.
Because if you remember,
even Dr. Freudenberger thought that many of the symptoms
of burnout looked an awful lot like depression.
So it's very important that we talk about what burnout is
and what it is not so that you are informed
and able to reach out for the help
that you need when you need it.
Remember, burnout is when we feel emotionally
and physically exhausted by our work.
We can struggle to sleep, we can be quick to get angry,
and be closed off to new ideas,
so much so that it can make us ineffective at our work.
Depression, on the other hand,
means that we have depressed mood and aren't interested
or don't enjoy things that we used to.
This must have gone on for most days for at least two weeks.
We can also have a change in our appetite,
our sleep, feelings of worthlessness
and even thoughts of death.
As I'm sure you can see,
many of the symptoms of depression overlap
with the symptoms of burnout.
Again, that's why it's so important that
if we think that we may be struggling with any
of the symptoms I've talked about,
that we reach out to see a mental health professional.
We want to ensure that we are properly diagnosed
and offered the treatment that fits us best.
Also know that feeling burned out is very common.
Many YouTubers, artists and other celebrities
have spoken up about their struggles with it.
Some have even shown how they overcame it
or even how they prevent it
from continuing to happen to them.
No one is immune from this,
but we can all be brave and share what has helped us heal,
because you never know who you're gonna help.
- The world's biggest YouTube stars told us
they're burning out because of the unrelenting pressure
to post new videos.
♪ Crazy for you ♪
- I started getting panic attacks
and they started to scare me.
- And my wife says you are manifesting
all this stress physically.
- [Female] An ailment, best described as burnout.
- I'm literally just waiting for me
to hit my breaking point.
- I was told that doing these kinds of hot hours
would be good for me, that it might toughen me up.
- Kanye West says he's exhausted.
Kendall Jenner was hospitalized for exhaustion.
- This is all I ever wanted and why the fuck
am I so unfucking unhappy?
- My hope for this series is that it educates
and empowers you.
Now there will be homework at the end of each video
so that you can continue your work in
between video releases and dig into how all
this applies to you and your life.
So make sure you stick around until the end
for all of that.
And since the comments are also a great place
to connect with others going through something similar,
I'm gonna be offering a thought-provoking prompt
at the end to get your chatting with one another.
Thanks for watching and I will see you next week.
Bye.
(lively music)
Today we are diving into the science of burnout.
Now, I personally think it helps to know that
there is an actual reason we feel the way we feel.
- You do too much of anything for too many hours
that you get exhausted or drained, you get burnt out.
(lively music)