Many of us would say we’re burned out on the news or Zoom meetings. However, when burnout strikes, it’s hard to do much of anything. We feel drained, empty, irritable, or useless. We’re also likely to blame ourselves for feeling this way. Have you been there, perhaps during the pandemic, or do you know someone who has been burned out? That’s highly likely because studies show that 25-75% of workers around the world experience burnout symptoms.
Burnout happens when our work-life balance gets out of whack, usually through no fault of our own. We’re just doing the best we can. Common causes of burnout include excessive workload, lack of support, unfairness at the workplace, and moral distress. People who care deeply about their work are also more likely to get burned out, as are those who base their self-worth on their work, have a tendency to sacrifice themselves, or criticize themselves when things go wrong.
Fortunately, self-compassion is an antidote to burnout, and there are many research studies that support this claim. We also have an empirically-supported training for healthcare workers derived from the Mindful Self-compassion (MSC) program—Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities. Recently, Kristin Neff and Chris Germer wrote a new book, to be published in September 2024, tentatively titled The Mindful Self-Compassion Toolkit for Burnout. This book, written in an easy style for exhausted readers, adapts MSC concepts and practices specifically for burnout.
This experiential workshop consists of talks, meditation, exercises and discussion. It is designed for people with some familiarity with self-compassion concepts.