This may be helpful to some people:
The 12 stages of burnout (based loosely on the Freudenberger & North model)
Stage 1: You feel there is a strong need to prove yourself.Stage 2: You keep working harder and harder to achieve this.
Stage 3: You begin to neglect your own needs more.
Stage 4: You are conflicted and blame others or the situation.
Stage 5: You change your values to focus on work more.
Stage 6: You deny the problems that arise due to work stress.
Stage 7: You withdraw from social life and your family as well.
Stage 8: Your behaviour changes, which upsets your loved ones.
Stage 9: Depersonalisation happens; you do not feel like yourself.
Stage 10: You feel empty and numb; substance use can occur.
Stage 11: You feel depressed, lost, and completely exhausted.
Stage 12: You mentally and physically collapse: full burnout.
Adapted slightly from here, accessed on 30 August 2022.
A fuller version with citation:
Phase 1: A compulsion to prove oneself—This phase is characterised by excessive ambition and perfectionism. The employee wants to excel at work with an almost obsessive fear of not giving more than his/her 100% to the job.
Phase 2: Working harder—The feelings from the first phase become exaggerated in this phase. The employee feels compelled to do everything on his own and to complete it urgently. He therefore tries to complete tasks rashly. He also finds it difficult to delegate tasks.
Phase 3: Neglecting their needs—The affected employees perceive this tough situation at work as normal and actually describe it as being comfortable. Social needs are seen as being secondary. In fact, colleagues who pursue their social needs are actually looked down upon. The lifestyle becomes more and more unhealthy and the first small errors start showing up.
Phase 4: Displacement of conflicts– More and more conflicts with colleagues or the spouse, issues like lack of sleep and first physical complaints go unnoticed. Issues like forgetting appointments, accumulating appointments, not showing up on time etc. become more frequent.
Phase 5: Revision of values—There is a change in the way they perceive things. They become insensitive and emotionally blunt, and also tough and calculative. The concept of time is disturbed and only the present is seen. People who were important in their lives earlier now become secondary. The personal horizon becomes narrow.
Phase 6: Denial of emerging problems—The affected individuals start becoming increasingly cynical and bitter, and gradually start cutting off from the outside world. Their behaviour becomes dominated by impatience, intolerance and latent and/or overt aggressiveness. Performance deficits as well as physical complaints become evident.
Phase 7: Withdrawal—Spouse, family and friends are now seen as a burden or even as being hostile. Criticism is not tolerated anymore. The affected persons describe a feeling of loss of orientation and helplessness. In order to feel good, they turn to other means of gratification (vicarious pleasures). They try to work more as required by the rules.
Phase 8: Obvious behavioural changes—Nothing seems to matter to them anymore. Martin Seligmans (1975) described them as being apathetic. They now start showing signs of paranoia—everything is seen as an attack. Any additional demand at work is seen as a burden; and they try to evade it.
Phase 9: Depersonalisation—Individuals in this phase describe a loss of contact with the self; they see themselves as machines that (have to) function. They see their lives as being meaningless and inescapable. They start neglecting their own health.
Phase 10: Inner emptiness—In this phase the individual feels completely dejected, blank, useless, exhausted, anxious or panic-stricken. Phobias and panic attacks can occur.
Phase 11: Depression—This stage is characterised by deep despair, self-hatred, exhaustion, the wish of not having to wake up again and suicidal thoughts.
Phase 12: Burnout syndrome—In this phase physical (disease), mental and emotional collapse occur; the situation is an absolute emergency.
Ponocny-Seliger, Elisabeth, Winker, R. 12-phase burnout screening development, implementation and test theoretical analysis of a burnout screening based on the 12-phase model of Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North.