The first step to overcoming burnout

Burnout Newsletter

Ever had a heart-to-heart with a friend about burnout? It's like peering into a mirror reflecting back your own struggles. I recently had one of these conversations with a friend, and what struck me was how she couldn't even see the burnout looming over her.

Isn't it ironic?

It's a bizarre paradox, isn't it? When we're on the brink of burnout, instead of hitting the brakes, we press harder on the accelerator, hoping sheer momentum will carry us through. We dive headfirst into our tasks, convinced that if we just work a little harder, we'll break through to the other side.

That's the sound of inevitability

It's a scenario so common, it's practically a cliché. We casually toss around phrases like "I'm so burned out." But beneath the jokes lies a harsh truth: burnout is real, and it's gnawing away at our well-being.

It doesn't stop there

Even worse, burnout doesn't just impact the coworker. It affects teams and organizations, hindering progress towards important missions.

The simplest way to explain it? I have problems.

Recovery begins with a stark admission: "I am not okay." It's about acknowledging that something is fundamentally off-kilter, whether it's a sudden indifference towards work, a bone-deep weariness that refuses to lift, or a creeping sense of insignificance in the workplace.

These are the warning signs of burnout, flashing neon signals we can't afford to ignore.

I'm looking at the man in the mirror

I've been there, convincing myself that if I just kept up the facade of "having it all together," everything would magically fall into place. But it was a dangerous game, and I paid the price when I slammed into a second wall – AFib and depression.

It took hitting rock bottom for me to finally confront the truth.

Articles

The impact of the pandemic on leaders: A pathway to healing and self-care

Nurse Management magazine

This article highlights the lack of research on the impact of burnout on nurse leaders, and offers a unique four-step process that leaders can use to provide self-care (instead of ONLY telling them that burnout is their fault).
A national study of moral distress among U.S. internal medicine physicians

PLOS ONE

Perceived organizational support is the primary mitigator of burnout at work. This study demonstrates that physicians' perception of their organizations' support was just as important as having PPE during the pandemic. We can't control the supply chain, but we can control how much those around us feel supported.

 

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Even on top of a mountain

⛰️ Even at the top of a mountain.

🚶🏼‍♂️When Kristen Riecke and I visited Saint Croix last month, I hiked to the top of Goat Hill–the highest point on the island.

As a Hoosier, I am built for flat surfaces. So, I found the hike to be strenuous.

🎉But it was worth it.

In two ways.

🏝️First, the views were the most magnificent I’ve ever seen. On this tiny island, you can see three of the four coasts from the top of Goat Hill. Turquoise waters. Verdant hills. Colorful homes dotting the horizon. And, of course, the sandy thread that rings most of the land.

Second, I met exactly two (2) people at the top of the mountain (you can hike much of St. Croix without seeing other people).

🗣️ After the usual small talk…

“Are you from here?”
“No, how about you? Where are you from?”
“First time on the island? Yeah, me, too.”
“Want me to take a picture for you?”

😔One of them mentioned that it had been a hard year.

I probed. Even in paradise, I have to probe.

❓“Just like, work stuff and cold weather, or something more?”

What they shared next is private, so I won’t write the details here.

But, we talked for a long time about

1. A recent death in their immediate family and
2. Burnout at work

Now, mind you, I consider these to be two of the most important topics in the world.

And here I was.

Talking with (and hopefully listening well to) stories of grief and burnout.

0️⃣ With zero other humans in sight.

🌄On.The.Mountaintop. Literally.

Even on top of the mountain, we cannot escape these truths.

😓When people die, it can be traumatic. And when we are burned out, it can be traumatic.

These things affect individuals and families. But they also affect teams and organizations.

🏢Trauma, burnout, and grief aren't just the concerns of individual coworkers. They affect the entire organization. I love to empower leaders to foster resilience in any situation.

#grief
#burnout
#stcroix

I didn’t cry for 457 days

😔 I didn’t cry for 15 months. 

🤔 I had always assumed that depressed people cried constantly. 

Of course I was wrong. 

😞 Depression, for me, felt like soul-level fatigue, anxiety, and detachment. 

😶 From the time of my AFib incident, caused by workplace stress and burnout (link in comments), I did not cry for 457 days. 

A younger, less experienced Patrick Riecke might have considered this a heroic feat of internal strength. 

After all, tears are a sign of weakness, right? ❌

🙅🏼‍♂️ No.
(Credit Kristen Riecke) 

😢 Tears and normal, natural, and necessary. 

💊 After eight months of worsening depression and anxiety, I finally accepted the medical intervention my doctor had offered. 

I went on an SSRI for the first time in my life. 

😔 What made me finally accept help? 

😨 My dark days were getting scarier. Once, I saw panic on my bride’s face, Kristen Riecke, scared that she was losing me. 

So, yes, this intervention was necessary. I talk more about this in a previous post, linked in the comments.

🧘‍♂️ Coupled with lifestyle changes, daily meditation, and a host of other adjustments, I started to heal from workplace stress and #burnout. 

🏥 Months later, the intensity of my daily life decreased dramatically when I left my #healthcarejob after more than ten years. I loved that job, but it was time for a change.

💬 So, last month, I talked with my doctor (and spouse) about tapering off of the medicine. 

To be honest, I missed being able to cry. 

😞 Depression took that from me. 

💊 And while the SSRI saved my life, it leveled out my emotions so effectively that tears were still elusive, even as my depression faded. 

A few weeks ago, under #physiciansupervision, I took my last dose of the medicine I needed for eight months. 

Have the tears returned? 

Uh. Yes. 

😭 I have cried at least ten times in the last two weeks. #notashamed 

😊 But 100% of them, so far, have been tears of joy, pride, or gratitude. 

For example:  
😭 I cried because of the help given to me by lifelong friend Andy Didyk, coaching my new business. 

😭 I cried because my son Daniel Riecke is living life in pursuit of his dreams. 

😭 I cried because our daughter got her driver’s permit (tears of joy, honest!). 

😭 Heck, I cried over the #Kia Super Bowl ad (linked in the comments).

1️⃣ First, men cry. Professionals cry. People who have it “all together” cry, or at least we should. 

Educated, polished, suit-wearing, white, middle-aged men with “Rev.” before their name–we MUST cry. And we must never shame others for doing likewise.
  
2️⃣ And second, if #depersonalization is one of the hallmarks of #burnout (and it is), then the return of my tears is a signal that my #burnoutrecovery is nearing completion. 

So, welcome back, crying Patrick. I’ve missed you. 

😭 And now I’m crying. 😆

#crying #tears

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Wellbeing programs

⚠️A warning about well-being programs: They can make burnout worse!

🩹There are studies that show positive results when wellbeing programs are introduced. But they aren't a bandage for deeper issues.

📚If you require your team to work unreasonably long hours with insufficient pay and support, don't hand them a gratitude journal.

😤They might throw it back at you!

Guilt for moral distress

😰 This still causes me guilt--and sometimes shame.

🙏🏽 Thank you to an attendee from yesterday's event at Parkview Health. She gave me a new perspective on the zero visitor policy that #hospitals enacted during the pandemic.