Burnout
Entrepreneur burnout: signs and what to do
Exhaustion that rest doesn't fix, cynicism and falling performance are signs. See a health professional and reduce the load. In Brazil, CVV: 188.
bairogonzalez.com team, drawing on Bairo's story · Published
Burnout isn't the tiredness of one hard week. The World Health Organization describes the syndrome, in ICD-11, as the result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, with three main signs: exhaustion, distance or cynicism toward work, and reduced effectiveness. Entrepreneurs are especially exposed. In a survey by Endeavor Brazil with IDB Lab, of 118 high-impact entrepreneurs, more than 94% reported at least one mental health condition, with anxiety at the top and burnout cited by 37%.
If you recognized yourself, this isn't weakness. It's a sign that the load has gone beyond what a body can bear.
The practical path
- Recognize the signs. Waking up tired even after sleeping; irritation with customers and your team; the feeling that nothing you do matters; trouble concentrating; aches and sleep problems; using alcohol or other substances to "switch off."
- See a health professional. A doctor, a psychologist or your city's primary health unit, which can refer you to mental health care through SUS, including at psychosocial care centers (CAPS). Burnout can be treated, and the sooner, the better.
- If there is despair, ask for help now. CVV answers for free, 24 hours a day, by phone at 188 and by chat at cvv.org.br. In an emergency, call 192 (SAMU).
- Really reduce the load. List what only you can do and what can be delegated, outsourced, automated or simply set aside for a while. Many of a founder's tasks survive out of habit, not necessity.
- Share the decisions. A partner, an adviser, a mentor, an accountant you review the numbers with. Deciding everything alone, all the time, is one of the biggest sources of wear.
- Protect the basics. Sleep, food, movement, one day of rest a week without the work phone. It seems obvious; it's the first thing to be sacrificed.
- Look at the financial cause. In the same Endeavor survey, the company's financial problems were the most cited cause of distress. A clear cash flow and an honest conversation with creditors bring more relief than you'd think.
This page is informational and doesn't replace an assessment by a health professional.
How Bairo went through it
Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez's story has a point at which he describes himself as broke, broken and beaten, but still with a flame of hope and faith. Before that, he says, came going broke with many people depending on him, and being abandoned by people he had helped.
He says he found strength in faith and in silence. For him, the symbol of that silence is the 1420 MHz frequency, the hydrogen line, the band countries agreed not to use so that the universe can be heard. It's his experience, not a prescription: each person needs to find, with help, their own way back.
The Method step
This is the page for step 7 of the Seventh Attempt Method: go quiet and return to the circle. Silence comes before the circle. Twenty minutes a day without screens or conversation, and no big decision made at the peak of exhaustion. Returning to the circle comes later, when your body allows it.
Discover the Seventh Attempt Method