Burnout: The Science and the Woo

Last week I was called an anomaly when it came to Burnout because of the work I do and the understanding I’ve created about Burnout from Science and what they called Woo.

And whilst this has been in many ways accidental, my thirst for knowledge and joining the dots has played a part on the learning and skills I’ve acquired when it comes to understanding ourselves and Burnout.

In my teens, I remember my Mum being ill.  A hysterectomy, an operation on her sinuses, an under-active thyroid diagnosis.  And in my twenties, she was then diagnosed with Diabetes, she developed angina, and the issues have continued to grow and develop.

Every time a doctor or consultant has changed her medication for one condition, there has been an impact on anther condition, and sometimes with near fatal outcomes.

I never understood why she couldn’t just be admitted to hospital, and treated as a person, instead of all of her conditions being...

In January 2013 I started to experience a lot of physical pain.

Then came food intolerances and allergies, more pain and more discomfort.

For the next 7 months the pain would worsen to the point of me passing out, once on a train, and once from the top of the escalator at Liverpool St Station from the street to the station, and numerous times in between.

Hospital admittances were regular, more tests, no signs of anything physically wrong with me, and no time off.  I'd work from my hospital bed or from home if I couldn't do the two hour commute each way to London and back.

In July, I had two operations in 4 hours, and only when I went for my follow up appointment was I asked my stress levels.  I replied by saying I wasn't experiencing any stress.

I was a 32 year old HR Director, spending four hours travelling, at least 12 hours a day working, mum to 12 year old twin sons, wife, daughter, leading a team of 43, in an organisation of almost 4000, working on at least 15...

It's August, I'm enjoying a month off and having some down time and creating some headspace.

September always feels like the start of a year for me. 

It's that back to school feeling. 

My birthday.

And with the last three months of this year including the official launch of the Burnout Club, the rebrand of the Burnout Club, the launch of F*ck Burnout, a couple of trips and some big speaking gigs, some new qualifications and training and a new policy liaison group role, it's going to be a busy end to the year.

So why is now the time to reduce my prices?

January marks my 11th anniversary of being self-employed and so much has changed during that time, but perhaps the biggest, is that I no longer want to create an empire, and I'm slowing down a lot of my corporate work to focus more on coaching and the growth of the Burnout Academy and Burnout Club.

The Burnout Academy training and accreditation is creating waves rather than ripples of change, and I'm seeing this and the...

When I share my story and experience of Burnout, I'm often asked whether I would choose Burnout based on what I know now and where I am now in my life.

And the answer is always no.

I've made some really stupid decisions in my life, I've cocked things up royally, and I've done some stupid things. 

I'd do a lot of things very, very differently if I had to do them again, but I don't regret them. 

I know that changing any of these things would have changed the direction of my life in some way, so I wouldn't change them.  I can use them as learning.  And some of them I can now laugh about.

Whilst I've made my peace with my Burnout, and I know I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if I hadn't experienced it, I would NOT choose Burnout to be where I am today.

If I could go back and change it, I would.  And if I could go back and stop it, I would.

Burnout has given me a lot.

It's made me realise what's really important in life.  It's given me work with...

I was 41 when I had my first appointment with Newson Health and was immediately prescribed HRT, testosterone, oestrogen and progestogen, in fairly high doses that just kept rising over a period of months.

In that appointment I felt heard for the first time in nine years.

At 32, as a result of my first Burnout, I had developed severe Endometriosis and Chron's disease due to the stress my body had been under for a prolonged period of time.

By the time the stress had taken hold of my physically, what followed was seven months of hospital admittances due to the physical pain that was causing me to pass out. 

I once passed out at the top of the escalator at Liverpool Street Station from the street level to the concourse, and would have gone back to work if I hadn't ripped my clothes and instead headed straight home on the train and worked from the kitchen table for the rest of the afternoon.

Seven months after the physical pain had started to impact my body, I was in...

Can you reach Burnout more than once is a question I get asked a lot.

It's often also the biggest fear of the clients I work with through one to one coaching, reaching Burnout again.

And yes, you can reach Burnout more than once.

Many people live in the Burnout cycle, not quite reaching the point of full blown Burnout, and some keep repeating the crash and burn Burnout cycle over and over again.

So how can it happen again?

Why does the cycle often repeat itself?

And quite frankly, why don't people just learn their lesson?

I am a repeat offender.  My first Burnout made me seriously ill.  My second almost killed me.  And still I I know that I could reach Burnout again.

My biggest fear is that I wouldn't be able to survive Burnout number three.  And this fear in itself isn't really helpful, because at times I hold myself back, and in holding back I add to my stress even more, and then, thanks to the Bipolar that my Burnout caused, I can quickly spiral into a...

The closer you get to Burnout the more people around you will be trying to get you to take a break, to take some time off work and to slow down. 

But you can't.

You don't even feel like you need to. 

You feel like you need to keep going. 

You don't understand why people are insisting that you make some changes. 

And you can't see the warning signs that everyone around you can.

So, what is it that others can see and why can't you just take the break that could stop Burnout in its tracks? 

For the answer to that, let's understand a bit about the brain science that's keeping you pushing forward.  

When you're calm, you're able to function from the intellectual part of your brain. 

The intellectual part of your brain is positive, creative, innovative, and when you're operating from this part of your brain, you're able to think clearly and make decisions quickly and effectively.

When you're experiencing high and chronic stress levels, however,...

Burnout sucks your confidence, your self-worth, your relationships, your clarity, your decision-making ability, your trust, your energy, your health, your sleep, your life.

Every part of your life is impacted when Burnout knocks on your door.

The World Health Organisation when they categorised Burnout in 2019 called it a workplace syndrome and said it could only be related to the workplace.

A three-year research project conducted at KU Leuven proved that Burnout is not just limited to work and the workplace.

And for anyone that has experienced Burnout, you'll know it's a lot more than workplace stress.

And yet when it does relate to the workplace, our addiction to work is what becomes the most overwhelming part. It's the most obvious sign, and the one we often ignore.

You panic at the thought of taking time away from work.

You can't think about anything other than work.

You eat, sleep, and breathe work.

You're checking your emails and your phone every five seconds.

You panic about...

• In 2023 AXA Reported that Burnout was costing the UK economy £28bn a year.

• Harvard Business Review reported that in the US, the cost of Burnout was more than $500bn a year.

• WHOOP Unite reported that the costs to the global economy are more than $1 trillion a year.

• WHOOP also estimated that the cost of turnover for each person is 1.5 to 2 times their salary in both loss of knowledge and skills, and the cost to hire someone new.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Varying reports and surveys from Gallup, Workhuman, Deloitte and Harvard Business Review over the years have stated that between 62% and 70% of Executives are or have considered leaving their jobs for workplaces that care more about wellbeing, and in the same studies, 50% to 60% of people outside of management roles want to quit for similar reasons.

Yet still, so many Exec teams refuse to admit that Burnout is a thing that’s worth focusing on or talking about.

Studies show that 65% of leaders have...