A shared universe › Blog › The tiredness that sleep doesn’t take away · Español
Tiredness that sleep doesn’t fix may be burnout: an exhaustion that, according to the World Health Organization, comes from stress at work that drags on and has not been successfully managed. It shows itself in three signs: exhaustion, distance or cynicism about what you do, and a sense of not getting anywhere. You sleep and wake up just the same. What used to matter to you leaves you cold. It isn’t laziness or weakness: it has a name.
The psychologist Christina Maslach, who with colleagues created the first validated questionnaire to measure it, describes it through three signs: an exhaustion that rest does not repair, a distancing from what you do (nothing matters, or everything irritates you) and the feeling of being no use or achieving nothing.
The World Health Organization includes it in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon, not as a medical condition, and makes clear that the term refers only to the world of work.
Maslach insists on something that is often forgotten: burnout is not a personal failing but the result of a situation that goes on too long. In a review she wrote in 2016 with Michael Leiter, she defines it as a prolonged response to chronic strains at work, and suggests seeing it more as something that happens to a team than as one person’s problem.
They link it to six mismatches between a person and their job: too much workload, little control over what you do, little recognition, a setting where people don’t support each other, unfair treatment and having to act against what you believe. The bigger the mismatch, the more likely burnout becomes.
Seeing it this way helps to lift a guilt that isn’t yours: if the load is impossible, sleeping more or getting better organised won’t make it possible.
The same review admits that few studies have properly measured what works, and that almost everything has focused on what each individual can do, when the weight lies mainly in the job itself. One example it gives is a programme to improve how colleagues treat each other, which reduced cynicism, and the change lasted a year. If there is room at your work to talk about the workload or how it is shared out, that is part of looking after yourself too.
Caring for someone, bringing up children without help or holding together a difficult situation for months is exhausting too. The WHO definition is limited to work, but that tiredness is just as real and deserves the same attention. If you look after a relative, you may find it useful to read how to look after yourself when you care for someone else.
Exhaustion that won’t ease can also have physical causes, which is why it is worth having your GP look at it before taking anything for granted.
If the tiredness comes with a sadness that won’t lift, if you no longer enjoy anything or if you find it hard to imagine this ever changing, it is a good idea to ask your doctor or a psychologist for help. Taking that step is hard, which is why there is an article on how to ask for help when it is hard.
If what you feel is stopping you from living, don’t go through it without company. In Spain you can talk to a person at the Teléfono de la Esperanza, 717 003 717, at any time. If you are thinking of ending your life, call 024: it is free, confidential and answered 24 hours a day. If there is immediate danger, call 112. In another country, call your local emergency number or a helpline there.
In A shared universe you can light a star with “What weighs on me” and say that you can’t go on, in a few words and without anyone knowing who you are. Sometimes, having someone read it and keep it company is the first rest.
Your star will shine for seven days, and you can come back to tell how it is going, for example “I’m a little better today”.