Burning Down the House
Avoiding burnout from the drumbeat of bad news
I’m not burned out exactly, at least not the way the professionals talk about it. The World Health Organization details three symptoms: “Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; reduced professional efficacy.”
Yes, I have moments of “energy depletion” and feelings of exhaustion. (Who doesn’t?) But rather than feeling disconnected or deterred by “negativism,” which would undermine my ability to write and do my job, I remain tapped in, committed, driven. If I didn’t feel this work was necessary or valuable, you can be sure that I wouldn’t keep doing it. I suspect you can tell by my writing that I am motivated by passion and a sense of urgency about the state of our country.
And yet.
It’s good to take a break sometimes. Right? I understand this notion intellectually, but I’m not very good at practicing it. I know I’m not alone in this. As I noted nearly a year ago, Americans in 2018 did not use 768 million days of paid time off. That’s an awful lot of time that could have been spent kicking back with families or friends, traveling or (God forbid) just not working.
Wouldn’t it be great if all those hours could have been handed over to nurses and doctors and delivery drivers and grocery store clerks and other front-line workers who’ve helped us ride out the storm of COVID-19?
But I have noticed in recent weeks that the constant drumbeat of bad news, driven by the feverous pitch of bad actors bent on burning down our house—by stripping human rights, attempting to overthrow our government, refusing to act after more children are gunned down, remaining silent after yet another racist mass murder, siding with Vladimir Putin, allying with other shameless nationalists and extremists, and shoving our democracy toward the ash heap of history—has begun to tire me out.
At least a little. At least enough to notice that, lately, I can be more interested in turning the TV off than in learning one more thing.
Usually, I don’t struggle to find something to say. But there have been moments when I’ve wondered whether there really is anything else to say that can break through and make a difference. Is that a form of burnout—or at least my version of it?
In an excellent cultural history of burnout published earlier this year in The Washington Post, author Jonathan Malesic pointed to a period of “broken idealism” in the early 1970s as one explanation for a growing sense of burnout.
Malesic, who recently published the book, The End of Burnout, described a New York psychologist, Herbert Freudenberger, who developed in those same years a list of symptoms to explain the condition. These included, he wrote, “‘exhaustion, being unable to shake a lingering cold, suffering from frequent headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances, sleeplessness and shortness of breath,’ as well as ‘quickness to anger,’ paranoia, overconfidence, cynicism and isolation.” Fast-forward to a 2021 survey that cited burnout as the top reason people were quitting or changing their jobs.
But let’s linger for a moment on Malesic’s observation that Bob Dylan captured this emerging awareness of burnout in his 1974 song “Shelter from the Storm” from his Blood on the Tracks album. The song includes the line “burned out from exhaustion,” distilling, Malesic notes, “a significant cultural moment…when burnout as we know it first gained scientific legitimacy and broad public attention.”
Consider also the broader context of the burnout line from Dylan:
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the storm
Shelter from the storm. That sounds to me like the antidote to the condition, a chance to take a break from the madness outside, a change of scene, a moment to get warm before returning to the elements.
In the coming weeks, I will be traveling overseas, reveling in a change of venue, recharging my batteries. On several of my stops, I plan to share with you insights from the locals on issues of the day. I may also share some snapshots from my visits (and stop whatever I’m doing when the January 6 committee televises its hearings to briefly share my thoughts). I also will republish essays from the last year that still feel particularly relevant and worth revisiting.
As always, you, dear reader, and America, America will not drift far from my thoughts. But I’m pretty darn sure that the time away—with a chance to see some different sights, eat some different foods, hear some other languages, discuss some other views far from the madding crowd in America—will go a long way to refresh me for the season ahead. Maybe I will convince a few of you to do the same.
Tiny great grandson has been my pandemic entertainment. A recent trip to the aquarium was an eye-opener. Sometimes seeing the world through the eyes of three year old is a good way to get a new perspective. Pure joy at observing FISHIES and sharks and giant turtles!
Steven, that trip sounds so exciting. I absolutely love an adventure. I am looking forward to your shares about the perspective of other cultures.
Yesterday, I was finishing a list .. clean bedding, clean and re-fill hummingbird feeders, pull down items from on top of the cupboards to clean, take my walk, call sister-in-law, vacuum. The list was longer on Monday, which included paint, write, read, hair appt. go see Ramona (my 91 year old friend in the nursing home) and more things I remind myself to go buy etc. I watched a few hours of Morning Joe (Adam Kinsinger was on .. he was great!) then the TV went off. On my walk I listen to music. In the car I listen to JOY which is a Christian music station or PBS.
I’m 63, retired and no grand children yet. All of the things that encompass my day inform me, give me health and exercise, joy and gratefulness as well as a sense of accomplishment; so I rarely get burn out. But, I cry. I cried when Mika Brzezinski cried and the night before when Stephanie Ruhle cried. Last Monday I was laying in my hammock staring up into the circle of sky and it’s spiritual sometimes. Anyway, I felt emotion about everything in the world and it wasn’t even specific, but I wept. My mind, body and soul was releasing the anguish and my personal frustration. On Wednesday I put on my red hat (I am a red hat lady) and went to a luncheon with 11 others. I sat across from a wonderful lady whom I blocked on Facebook in 2016, because of her toxic venom at Hillary. I called her later and told her I did it, and was sorry, I regretted it, but it saved our friendship. The point? I said I wanted to see the new ‘Maverick’ movie and she said she wanted to watch 2000, and proceeded to go on to a few others of what that was about, and how those votes were stolen and harvested and I sat there silent, until the topic changed. My GOD, I doubt she will watch the J-6 hearings because she thinks all stations are liberal left leaning and George Soros yada yada. I just shook my head, and here 6 years later, we are friends, but I truly made the best decision when I put a block on her interactions through social media.
I have a confession. My twitter feed does not hold back and that’s fine! If someone like her (again we are friendly at the luncheons) found my twitter account, she would probably have a stroke. I lash out at GOP Senate openly for their duplicitous, devious deeds, which I have posted links about who takes money from NRA. This particular lady I’m referring to is like Annie Oakley. She and her husband are avid gun owners! Go figure.
I know what I know from reading. Almost everyday I make time to read. Did anyone out there read PERIL, by Woodward and Costa? MIDNIGHT IN WASHINGTON is next!
I truly do worry about our societal malaise toward the fact that guns are the number 1 cause of death to children. You would think we could collectively surmise that allowing 18 year olds to openly purchase and carry without permits (at least 5 states allow it) was not the right direction, but here we are. Within a week, people will tune it out and begin screaming about Joe Biden causing inflation around the globe.
I haven’t commented a lot lately, but I do read your writings. Today, I’ll mark a few more things off my list.. but for now, it’s 7:45 in Missouri and I need coffee. God bless to all who follow Steven. You are heading in the right direction. Read PERIL!