I would actually not agree with that.
Look, there is a reason for why this is swept under the rug, why teams -- and society -- for decades has called it for something else than what it is. I had a really bad burnout in 2016. Took on every possible challenge in my life from birth in 1981 to I was 35 y/o, played pro sports, did military service in an elite ranger division, aced school, everyone was like 'do you ever get stressed? You are always so calm!' -- then I could not go to the store and buy food for 6 months, had to set up goals, I can walk to the next block without giving up, then the next block, three blocks to the closest grocery store -- and I was fortunate and after around 10 months I could get back fairly well. Worked 100% (150%) from after a year and now its a thing of the past.
If we turn back the clock to 2015 -- what would I be writing in this thread? I don't know. Its not a topic I had thought about a lot -- but I could never even remotely imagine that I myself could get a burnout. It was something that happened to others. I am not the type who calls out others perhaps, but would I think 'what a softie'? I don't know. What do I think now? It is a tad different for everyone. But to a large extent it comes down to anxiety. Anxiety is your body's mechanism for preventing you from doing something stupid or at least to let you know when you did something stupid. Anyone can imagine how it would feel if the worst possible thing happened. You get caught in an avalanche and know no help will come. You accidentally kill a child, your own child to make it worse, in a car accident while driving recklessly. How would you feel if that happened? Its just the max level of anxiety, and a burnout is often about the body starting to hit you with that max level of anxiety like a couple of times per day. You know its an overreaction. And while nothing is unbearable I recon, it is extremely unpleasant. Goes on for a few hours. Afterwards the body is completely drained of energy. You start to freeze. Slight trembles. Can't eat. The body has just been in total alert mode, you get sensitive for lights and sounds. Day after day, every time you try to push yourself you get hit by it, even when you don't do anything and just stares into the roof, you get hit by it anyway.
The only sane thing to do if you get issues like this -- and definitely the sooner the better -- is to take a step back. Deal with whatever issues you have, its an overreaction for sure, but there are always some issues that stir things up. When you have done that, you will come back stronger than before, 100%. But it can take time.
Can we expect everyone that never really heard about these type of things to understand it? Nah, I don't think so. But really, does it matter?
