When doing your best starts to wear you down

What burnout is

The World Health Organization describes burnout as "a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed." It has three parts:

• Feeling drained of energy, or exhausted
• Growing distance from your work, or feeling negative and cynical about it
• Feeling less effective at what you do

The WHO definition is about work, but researchers see the same pattern in sport and school. It is not a medical diagnosis. It is a sign that your load has outpaced your recovery for too long.

The two sides of perfectionism

Not all high standards are harmful. Researchers separate two parts of perfectionism:

• Perfectionistic strivings: setting high standards and working hard toward them.
• Perfectionistic concerns: harsh self-criticism, fear of mistakes, and feeling that others expect perfection from you.

A review of 43 studies with nearly 10,000 people across work, sport, and education found that perfectionistic concerns had medium-to-large links with burnout. Perfectionistic strivings, on the other hand, had small or no links. The problem usually isn't aiming high. It's the fear and self-criticism that come with it.

Perfectionism is on the rise

A study of more than 41,000 college students in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. found that perfectionism increased from 1989 to 2016. The biggest rise was in "socially prescribed" perfectionism: the feeling that other people demand more and more of you.

Athletes carry extra pressure

A review of research on elite athletes found that about 34% of current elite athletes reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, and so did about 26% of former elite athletes. Injuries, performance pressure, and the end of a sports career can all hit hard, especially when your identity is built around performing.

How it shows up in the body

Burnout and perfectionism rarely stay in your head. They often show up as muscle tension, gut issues, headaches, trouble sleeping, brain fog, or injuries and pain that linger. When your nervous system is always "on," your body never fully gets to recover.