Is this normal pregnancy fatigue or more (like Burnout)?

Hey Mama! So you're pregnant and still hustling your ass off in the office or the hospital. You are freaking tired.

Not just physically tired with big old swollen ankles but also just emotionally and mentally spent. So many times, you just pushed it off as, "I'm just tired because I'm pregnant."

But I want you to consider: Could you just be experiencing a more magnified version of burnout?

I say this because looking back, I best identified when I was burning out in my physician career when I was pregnant or postpartum during maternity leave. I don't know if it was because of the pregnancy brain or what but things got a lot more clear during those periods of my life. I wish at those times I would have acknowledged that what I was feeling was burnout NOT just pregnancy.

Answer the following questions and see if maybe you fall into some criteria for BURNOUT:

Are you physically exhausted to the point that even adequate amounts of sleep does not rejuvenate you?
Are you emotionally exhausted when you leave the office or hospital that no amount of self-care or energizing activities helps restore this?
Does your brain feel so fatigued that you are to the point that you don't even open your medical journals or attempt to learn anything new because you're just trying to get through the mental tasks of your day?
Would discouraged, dissatisfied, and disengaged describe how you are feeling?
After all the patient care is done, do you just sit down in front of your computer and instead of thinking about the person that you're charting on, you're just trying to get the notes done?
During clinical hours, have your patients turned into tasks that you need to get through?
With some soul-searching and getting really honest, are following statements true for you?
- I do not find fulfillment in my job.
- I do not love my job.
- I do not find practicing medicine energizing.
- I don't know how long I'll be able to keep doing this.

So how did your answers come out?

If you answered any of these yes, I would challenge you to say that you're not just experiencing pregnancy fatigue but instead you are experiencing some burnout.

If you're interested in talking with me more about these, click HERE. Or check out my program Doctor Me First to see how you can stop progressing towards burnout and towards a life that is all about thriving!