BURNOUT

So, if there was one word that I heard continuously throughout my college Chemical Dependency Curriculum it was BURNOUT. "Burnout" "Burnout" "Burnout". Heard it ALLLLLL the time. That Counselors get burnout ALL the time because they overwork themselves and dig themselves into more work than they can handle. Burnout wasn't something I ever thought I'd experience. I mean, I knew the emotional toll it took on someone to care for others all day. On the days I did my internships, I was more tired at the end of the day than if I had done 8 hours of manual labor. So, I know that dealing with other people's emotional baggage can tire you out, but HOLY SHIT. I learned what burnout feels like. I worked a total of 57.5 hours for week 1 and I have already agreed to 8 hours of overtime for week 2. Every one of my paychecks has had overtime on it except my first one. I usually work 4 days a week since I work extended shifts, but this last week, I worked 6 days and this week, I'm working at least 5 days...who knows if they'll ask me for more overtime. Even though I'm exhausted, I'll take it and I'll say YES, like a dumbass. As much as I heard about burnout, I still didn't understand how it felt. I just assumed it meant you got over exhausted and I guess I assumed right because I'm downright BURNT the hell out. I'm EXHAUSTED. I have to work 3pm-11pm on Thursday and then be back at work by 6:30am on Friday...I joked that I should just sleep in the Handicapped room at work that night. I took the kids to their doctor's appointment this morning. They were done and at school by 9am and I came home and I slept until 2pm, got up, took a shower and went to work and I'm still beat after sleeping all day. I'm off to bed now, but I'm done. I'm spent.