Stressed, Depressed, or Burned Out? The Warning Signs You Shouldn't Ignore (SQLBits 2023)

depressed?
Burned Out?
The Warning Signs You Shouldn't Ignore
by Cathrine Wilhelmsen

© 2023 Cathrine Wilhelmsen (hi@cathrinew.net)
Session Description
We all experience stress in our lives.
When the stress is time-limited and
manageable, it can be positive and
productive. This kind of stress can
help you get things done and lead to
personal growth. However, when the
stress stretches out over longer
periods of time and we are unable to
manage it, it can be negative and
debilitating. This kind of stress can
affect your mental health as well as
your physical health, and increase the
risk of depression and burnout.
The tricky part is that both
depression and burnout can hit you
hard without the warning signs you
might recognize from stress. Where
stress barges through your door and
yells "hey, it's me!", depression and
burnout can silently sneak in and
gradually make adjustments until
one day you turn around and see
them smiling while realizing that you
no longer recognize your house. I
know, because I've dealt with both.
And when I thought I had kicked
them out, they both came back for
new visits.
I don't have the Answers™️ or
Solutions™️ to how to keep them away
forever. But in hindsight, there were
plenty of warning signs I missed,
ignored, or was oblivious to at the
time. In this deeply personal session,
I will share my story of dealing with
both depression and burnout. What
were the warning signs? Why did I
miss them? Could I have done
something differently? And most
importantly, what can I - and you - do
to help ourselves or our loved ones if
we notice that something is not quite
right?

@cathrinew
cathrinew.net

Migraines
Sleep Problems
Extended sick leave
due to burnout
Diagnosed with
clinical depression

I don’t have the Answers™️ or Solutions™️
…but I can share my story

🤔
Recognition
🥰
Understanding
🩹
Treatment
💡
Awareness

SQLBits.io/NeedToTalk

Have you ever been stressed?

We all have!

What does stress feel like?

Exercise: What does stress feel like?
When you say “I feel stressed”, what do you really feel?
Mentally: What happens in your mind?
Physically: What happens in your body?
Emotionally: Which feelings appear?
Make a mental list or write down a few keywords

What is stress?
Your mind responding to:
• Being under pressure
• Getting overwhelmed
• Having difficulties coping
Your body reacting to:
• Changes
• Challenges
• Threats

Why do you get stressed?
You are experiencing external and/or internal stressors:
• Family and relationships
• Career and finances
• Illness and injuries
• Expectations and perfectionism
• Low self-esteem and self-worth

Is stress always bad for you?
Too much stress can be harmful, but some stress can be helpful
• Negative stress is called distress
• Positive stress is called eustress
Both are still stress, but if you believe that the outcome of the
stressful situation will lead to something good, you are more
likely to think that the stress is positive instead of negative

Are you feeling distress or eustress?
How do you experience the stressful situation?
• Do you perceive it as a threat or a challenge?
• Does it make you feel concerned or motivated?
• Are you getting overwhelmed or can you manage it?
• Does it have an unknown or clear solution?
• Will it be long-lasting or time-limited?

What happens when you get stressed?
Brain yells red alert, and organs ready shields and weapons:
• Hormones like adrenaline and cortisol get released
• Heart rate goes up
• Breathing becomes faster
• Muscles tense and tighten
• Digestive system slows down

Stress triggers your fight-or-flight response
When you get stressed, you instinctively prepare to:
Fight: Confront the situation
Flight: Run away from the situation
Freeze: Stay still to avoid a situation
This response was crucial for our survival as a species!

Your body is literally trying to
keep you alive
This is great when you’re on a
quest to slay dragons!
But every day is not a
life-or-death adventure…

What are the warning signs of stress?
Emotional: anxiousness, irritability, anger, restlessness
Physical: insomnia, aches, weight loss/gain, low energy, acne
Cognitive: memory glitches, lack of focus, poor judgement
Behavioral: self-isolation, substance abuse, reduced activity

How do you manage stress?
If you don’t manage your stress, it can start to feel normal
You may even miss the adrenaline rush when not stressed!
If you are struggling with too much stress, you can either:
Prevent it from happening
Reduce it when it has already happened

How do you prevent or treat stress?
• Reduce workload
• Improve time management
• Disconnect regularly
• Reach out for support
• Socialize
• Get enough exercise
• Eat healthy
• Practice mindfulness

Hack your body by breathing

Exercise: Breathe into your belly
1. Sit up straight, shoulders down, chest up
2. Unclench your jaw
3. Close your eyes
4. Breathe in through the nose to your belly for 4-6 seconds
5. Hold for 4-6 seconds
6. Breathe out through the mouth for 8-12 seconds
7. Repeat

Exercise: Breathe while counting
1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe in for 4-6 seconds while counting each second
3. Breathe out for 4-6 seconds while counting each second
4. Repeat

Burnout

How do you imagine
a burned out person?

What is burnout?
Physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion
No longer able to function normally because of:
• Chronic stress
• Poor work-life balance
• Long-term emotional drain

Why do you burn out?
You feel overworked:
• Overwhelmed
• Long hours
• Little downtime
• Too many responsibilities
You feel undervalued:
• Understimulated
• Treated unfairly
• Lack of meaningful work
• No control over own tasks

Burnout is not something you just
feel for a day or two
Your mind and body basically
shuts down

How is stress and burnout different?
Stress:
• You feel overwhelmed
• You do too many things
• You worry a lot
Burnout:
• You feel empty
• You have no motivation
• You stop caring

What are the warning signs of burnout?
In addition to chronic stress:
• Unable to focus and complete tasks
• Working long hours / weekends / vacations to make up for it
• Becoming cynical and passive-aggressive
• Feeling angry and resentful

How do you prevent burnout?
Sometimes requires lifestyle changes:
• Understand how you feel stress and how to manage it
• Schedule and take regular time off
• Cut back on activities and responsibilities
• Learn to say no

How do you recover from burnout?
If you are burned out, recovery will be difficult and take time:
• Identify and change underlying issues
• Go on sick leave
• Get a new role
• Start a new job

Hi, I’m Cathrine,
I’ve burned out twice…

depression

How do you imagine
a depressed person?

What is depression?
Depression is an illness, not a mood, a feeling, or a choice
You don’t necessarily want to die, you just don’t want to live

Depression makes you believe
you are worthless
You see no hope for the future

How is burnout and depression different?
Burnout:
• Response to situation
• You feel empty
• You have no motivation
• You stop caring
Depression:
• Internal beliefs
• You feel hopeless
• You believe you are worthless
• You don’t want to live

What does depression feel like?

I had a black dog, his name was depression:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc

How do you treat depression?
When you are depressed, three things will help you the most:
• Time
• Therapy
• Medication

Hi, I’m Cathrine
I’m depressed…

It’s ok to not be ok
You are allowed to feel the way you do even if:
• You have it better than someone else
• Your challenges are not as difficult as someone else’s
Another person’s struggles does not invalidate your own

Thank you so much 💙
hi@cathrinew.net
@cathrinew
cathrinew.net
Feedback, please? :)
https://sqlb.it/?10051

Stressed, Depressed, or Burned Out? The Warning Signs You Shouldn't Ignore (SQLBits 2023)

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Stressed, Depressed, or Burned Out? The Warning Signs You Shouldn't Ignore (SQLBits 2023)