If you are a massage therapist, burnout is likely to happen at some time or another during your career. It can show up in many ways. It can be physical or mental/emotional or all three. It can be mild, moderate or extreme.
Burnout is not simply a result of working long hours or juggling too many tasks, though those both play a role. The cynicism, depression, and lethargy that are characteristic of burnout most often occur when a person is not in control of how a job is carried out, at work or at home, or is asked to complete tasks that conflict with their sense of self.
Equally pressing is working toward a goal that doesn’t resonate, or when a person lacks support. If a person doesn’t tailor responsibilities to match a true calling, or at least take a break once in a while, they could face burnout—as well as the mountain of mental and physical health problems that often come along with it, including headaches, fatigue, heartburn, and other gastrointestinal symptoms, as well as increased potential for alcohol, drug, or food misuse.
- Frustrated with working for someone else
- Working long hours without appropriate breaks when you need them
- Working and not making the money you need to provide for you and your family needs and to take care of yourself appropriately.
- Not getting regular massage yourself
- Feeling frustrated with clients late arrivals, no shows and scheduling behaviors (always canceling or changing times at the last minute etc)
- Feeling ineffective in your work and think you don’t do enough in each session
- Not feeling happy or content with giving massage
- Have to drag yourself to work because you don’t feel like going
- Insomnia
- Depression/anxiety
- Work and life are more draining than nourishing
- Find yourself with injuries related to giving massage
There are lists and lists of things to do to try to avoid and fix burnout. Get massage regularly. Take a vacation. Take more breaks. Just say no.
The reality is all those things are usually just a band aid to burnout.
The only way to recover from burnout is to go through it.
Let yourself feel bad. You might be thinking about whether or not you should stay in the massage profession or find a new career. Changing careers will usually take time.
The real cause of burnout is happens when you are not in control of your career and work. It happens when you are out of sync with your sense of self. It happens when you are working in a situation that matches your true calling. It happens when you don’t have the support you need to follow your own path. It happens when you have leaks in your boundaries that let the situations around you drain your energy and passion.
Getting back to your sense of purpose and feeling like your life has meaning just where you are can help you to work your way out of burnout.
Why did you become a massage therapist?
What good thing do you see in working with each client?
What boundary can you set today that will help you feel better and how can you set the boundary kindly?