Am I experiencing burnout?

No. Not burn out, but rather your getting sick from grading.

You can’t force yourself to like what you don’t like.

Best to consider changes before things get worse.

I suggest asking a career counselor, in confidence, about your options?

You might want to read a book, or quick YouTube video on finding ones Ikigai?

A good job is in the sweet spots, between passion, pay, usefulness to society, and something that your good at.

Or barring that you can delegate the easy stuff to a student teacher or assistant.

I guess burnout is one way to term it. Like all repetitive actions we can do, it gets old quickly. Trying to push yourself through is sometimes worse than taking a break. When you feel yourself drifting, finding your attention wavering, take a break. Go exercise for 30 minutes or so. Work out, go for a walk or a run, do yoga…anything. Do something physical rather than mental. After that, when you return to the task, you will find you can focus again.

I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. I wouldn’t call it burn out. It sounds like exhaustion. It’s it possible to take a few days off? You need a break.

Sending a hug.

Sounds like burnout to me. You’ve been dealing with this one task for 5 days straight? Take a break and eat a cake or something!

Look up ADHD and burnout. It’s all new to me since earlier this year, and I’m still in a bit of denial about it myself, but maybe it will fit your situation.

From what little I’ve researched, medications for ADHD are like the most effective thing to come out of behavioral medicine, and people say their world changes when they get on the meds. Again, not speaking from experience here.

If your objection is “I’m not hyperactive,” then you may want to know there’s a type called inattentive ADHD, which does not require the hyperactivity element to diagnose.

It sounds to me like you’re just overloaded with work. No need to label it as anything abnormal. is there a way to restructure your job or reduce your work load?

I wish we could help you. Is there any way that is possible?

Thank you everyone for answering. I’m really exhausted right now. I have two batches of papers that I have to finish until Tuesday and I don’t know if there will be more in a few days. I don’t know how I can take a break.

I don’t know what you can do to help. I just need some words of encouragement and that’s enough.

I’m wondering if there’s a way the school could get you some help, maybe an assistant to help grade papers. It sounds like too much for one person.

One thing is certain. You can abuse your body for only so long, and then it will rebel. After that you won’t be able to continue.

What’s up with your boss that you are so overworked? It certainly didn’t start out like this!?!

@snowberry @jca2 my center seems to be undergoing some changes. My boss has put stricter rules on the classes and giving them more work. I think she is unaware that it also means more work for me. She seems to have made effort to reduce the work for me by asking the students to help each other with some of the work. But I don’t think that’s enough.

It’s something I can talk to my boss about.

@Mimishu1995 Document all the time you spend for work activities, as well as your physical and mental state. Be ready to give clear examples of the toll it’s taking on your health and mental status.

As well as reducing your workload to a reasonable amount, she should increase your pay, and give you back pay.

@kevbo1…. there is ADHD which is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Then there is ADD which is Attention Deficit Disorder.

@Dutchess there’s no longer a diagnosis of ADD. It’s ADHD now.

No it isn’t.

https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/add-vs-adhd/#:~:text=Why%20is%20ADD%20no%20longer%20a%20diagnosis?%20The%20ADHD%20label

“ADD is the former name for the disorder now known as ADHD. As of the name change in 1994, the term ADHD encompasses attention deficit diagnoses even if the patient does not exhibit hyperactivity.”

https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/difference-between-add-and-adhd#:~:text=Mental%20health%20professionals%20no%20longer%20diagnose%20ADD.%20Instead,%20they%20diagnose

“Mental health professionals no longer diagnose ADD. Instead, they diagnose one of three types of ADHD: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, or combined — based on symptoms.”

Those are just two examples, with links, and quotes cut and pasted.

Exhaustion is the first step towards burnout. Burnout is exhaustion that doesn’t go away despite weeks or months (sometimes even years) of rest. You do sound like you’re on your way there, especially because you feel utterly exhausted, and like the work is inevitable. It’s not. If you died, someone else would do it.

A good way to take a break when you feel like you can’t is to become physically sick. Yes, that’s not honest, but it’s not your fault the world doesn’t respect mental strain as much as a physical illness. Your brain is just an organ. It can be damaged by stress, it can, for example, get inflamed. And just like with other organs (say, your lungs), ignoring problems will create complications and make treatment much more difficult.

So I really, really think that at your level of stress, it’s okay to call in sick with a migraine or a stomach flu (even better, as it gives you 3 days or so). Conscientious people like you won’t abuse this (you’d feel too guilty). If you don’t take care of your body, it will handle things for you. Probably by taking you out of commission for a much longer period. I know someone who ignored their body’s signals to the point of burnout, then severe depression, and then hallucinations. It took them about two years to be somewhat close to their previous level of productivity and happiness. I don’t think they’ll ever be fully there again. And you know what? That’s okay! We don’t have to be as productive as we’re encouraged/pressured to be.

Nobody has a right to give you more work than you can handle. You need to sleep. You need to eat. You need rest, which is a requirement that’s different from sleep and includes fun, relaxation, and spacing out. You’re a human with a big brain, and your brain needs sleep, food, and rest to keep going. Otherwise, just like with a car that’s run out of fuel, you’ll grind to a halt. It doesn’t matter how much you will yourself to go on. You can’t talk a car into moving just a little farther when it’s running on empty, and it doesn’t work with brains, either.

Go to bed, okay? You’ll feel better soon.