To Gordon Parker, the phrase "burnout" brings to mind a perception that doesn't stack up, misplaced blame and a list of symptoms that falls short.
Professor Parker, head of UNSW's school of psychiatry and founder of the Black Dog Institute, considers this part of a widespread misunderstanding of burnout.
He disagrees with the World Health Organisation definition of it as "a syndrome … resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed".
Burnout is not simply "a synonym for exhaustion", he tells ABC RN's Sunday Extra.
Nor is it only relevant in the workplace.
Instead he wants more understanding of burnout so it can be better treated and, more importantly, prevented from occurring in the first place.
Burnout myths
For decades, burnout has widely been considered "a simple equation", Professor Parker says: "Work stress generates burnout … and the individual brings nothing to the table".
That is, the stressed individual is somehow responsible for their burnout; for not being proactive or diligent enough to handle a stressful situation.
Phrases like "compassion fatigue", used to describe the experience of losing empathy often associated with burnout, suggest that an individual suffering burnout has "become uncaring and become callous", says Professor Parker, who is also co-author of Burnout: A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Pathways to Recovery.
But his research on burnout with a UNSW team contradicts this.
"Our research shows that … burnout is over-represented in dutiful, reliable, caring people … [such as] health professionals and teachers," he says.
"That's part of its tragedy that burnout is over-represented in good people."
Furthermore, Professor Parker says that, beyond work efficacy, the impacts of burnout are too often overlooked.
Cognitive impairment is the most important impact. He says people with burnout "can't take things in as readily as possible" or "can't remember things, even when they do take them in".
There are also common emotional and mental impacts such as becoming socially withdrawn and experiencing anxiety and depression.
Finally, despite popular belief, burnout is not exclusively linked to the workplace, Professor Parker says.
The condition manifests in the same way amongst those with "demanding home situations", for example caring for children or elderly parents, or the so-called "sandwich generation" who are doing both, he says.
"They get exactly the same profile when they get burnout and burnout is not uncommon."
Rosie's breaking point
Western Australian teacher Rosie battled her own misunderstanding of burnout last year, when she hit "breaking point".
In the last five years, her teaching workload gradually became untenable. It reached a tipping point with the pandemic.
"COVID was absolutely huge," she says.
Rosie says she was expected to work while unwell, was working up to 70 hours per week, and had to put in extra effort to manage wellbeing in students with heightened anxiety.
She also had to double her lesson plans during remote learning, didn't have the time to reach the quality of teaching she normally would, and had to deal with parents who were "coming from all corners".
"They were very stressed about homeschooling so they [did] project a lot of that stress onto us naturally," she says.
"That's just a tiny snapshot … Our cognitive overload was huge," she says of the last few years of teaching.
Rosie describes herself as a normally "very bubbly and uplifting person" who considered her job a "beautiful profession".
But by last year, things had begun to change.
"I started to become very cynical, and critical and negative," she says.
"I had to just drag myself in [to work]. Usually children are like the beacon of light in life, you know. But if that's not happening, then there's something wrong."
She was irritable and exhausted, and her mental health was suffering.
"I was extremely worried about myself, because what I was feeling was not normal," she says.
"And I couldn't fix it as much as I wanted to … no amount of sleep could help. No amount of days off could help.
"I just totally lacked energy. I found it hard to concentrate, and I was procrastinating on jobs.
"And then I took a step back for a couple of years and just tried to relax myself a bit … And as soon as I removed myself, I began to feel like a totally different person."
She has decided not to return to teaching this year.
Swimming, breath work, cold showers and "talking about all the positives in life" have helped her manage the impacts of burnout.
So has talking. Initially she felt embarrassed to discuss her burnout, but she's since realised that "the most important thing is having those conversations that you feel are the most difficult".
"I've had so many people that have resonated with what I've shared … and we've connected over that.
"They have really supported my decision," she says.
And while she was "mortified walking away" from a job she once loved, she considers her skills highly transferable, so she's excited to see where they take her.
"That's given me a lot of joy."
Organisations' response 'totally inadequate'
Monash University adjunct clinical professor John Wilson AM was a senior doctor at the Alfred Hospital Melbourne's major trauma centre. He quit in May 2022, publicly raising concerns about conditions in Victoria's health care system.
He said medical system staff were "being burnt out to the point of beyond exhaustion".
Professor Wilson says a 2022 Royal Australian College of Physicians survey showed 87 per cent of respondents "had concerns about burnout".
"Now, that doesn't mean that they have the problem," he says. "But … they have their own concerns about where they're headed."
He says managing stress in the workplace should not be left to the individual alone.
"There is an industrial component to this discussion … If [a medical or other condition] is acquired in the workplace, and the employees are unhappy, employers have a responsibility to address that.
"Worldwide, there's been a major discussion going on about how have employers actually addressed the issue. And so far, it's been totally inadequate," he says.
"Organisations need to take some responsibility. And we haven't seen much of that here."
What can help?
Professor Parker led a large study of over 1,000 people who had experienced burnout asking which strategies had helped them.
"Number one was talking to other people," he says. "So I think being able to get it out, and presumably getting some support back was highly important.
"After that came exercise, and generally strenuous exercise was the key nominee."
Mindfulness meditation came up as the third most useful strategy.
"Of all the anxiety reducing strategies that we could think of — relaxation, yoga, whatever — mindfulness meditation came out [on top]," Professor Parker says.
For Rosie, the best way to treat her burn out was to take a breather from her job.
"And I feel very confident. I feel very happy and free with my decisions," she says.
"It's been a tricky thing for my pride to step back. But it's also been the most incredible and invigorating [to] say, hey, this isn't working for me, what can I change?
"And then I can come back and reassess in 12 months and see what's different."
RN in your inbox
Get more stories that go beyond the news cycle with our weekly newsletter.
