Burnout Is Multifaceted But Here’s How It Can Be Intersectional

Burnout can erode our sense of self and diminish our joy, and the sad part is that we don’t recognize we’re burnt out until we’re completely exhausted. According to WebMD, burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by chronic stress and anxiety. Although burnout can often be attributed to one’s job or dealing with microaggressions in the workplace, it also could be from emotional triggers or stressors, like the death of a loved one, the loss of a platonic or romantic relationship, or nuanced life changes, which can be challenging to cope with. Nonetheless, burnout occurs when you begin to feel overwhelmed, tired, and even restless with the day-to-day demands of life.

When it comes to burnout, here are several significant signs to look out for: feeling inexplicably tired or exhausted, a lack of enthusiasm, feelings of resentment toward your job, loved ones, or life itself, or the inability to perform well at your job or daily tasks, and be present for the relationships in your life. Several types of burnout are easily recognizable, like overload burnout, which occurs when you find yourself working harder and harder, with hopes of reaching a goal or the next level of achievement, which can risk your health and personal life to be successful in your workplace simply or the following: 

Under-Challenged Burnout: You may feel resentment, disappointment, and boredom when you’re under-challenged in the workplace or in your personal life. Perhaps you’ve plateaued in your role at work because your boss doesn’t provide the following: learning opportunities, which limit professional growth, becoming cyclical about your career progression, and avoiding responsibilities in your personal life. 

Next up is neglect burnout, which makes us feel helpless at work or home. Suppose you’ve encountered too many trials and tribulations all at once. In that case, it may be overwhelming and cause you to doubt your abilities and adopt beliefs that you’re incompetent, increasing imposter syndrome. 

These three types of burnout are common, but what is underneath them is the intersectionality that most people of color, especially Black women, face when dealing with extreme exhaustion. Weathering, a phrase coined by public health researcher Arline Geronimus from the University of Michigan, is a hypothesis that proposes that the summation of racial stress over Black women’s lives contributes to the erosion of mental and physical states. Geronmius noted in her book, Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society, that weathering “literally wears down your heart, your arteries, your neuroendocrine systems, … all your body systems so that in effect, you become chronologically old at a young age.” 

As Black women, we’re constantly juggling many hats, which can easily lead to burnout. We’re dealing with our identity as Black Americans, then as women, and also as participating members of society, whatever that may look like for you. Each category has its stressors, harvesting a breeding ground for intense burnout. Intersectionality burnout is essential first to understand why finding the types of self-care that are effective for you. For some Black women, it might mean finding support groups that reflect our culture or identities, exercising mindfulness, increasing sleep, and saying no when you don’t have the capacity.