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It might be a term most commonly associated with your 9-to-5 work, but chronic conditions are 24/7, and they can cause burnout, too. In my new column for HealthCentral, I delve into the causes of chronic illness burnout and share tips on how to reduce the impact:

“I AM SICK and tired of feeling sick and tired.

To be fair, feeling oh-so-done with the symptoms of my rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a normal part of my life, but this goes deeper than the usual irritation. I feel exhausted, unmotivated, and alternate between wanting to hide in my bed for several years or sneak out in the dark of night and escape to Bora Bora. I know what depression feels like and this isn’t it. It’s also not a flare of my RA symptoms or a longing for more fun. It wasn’t until I read an article about burnout that the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place and I realized that’s exactly what I have. Not because of my job—I almost wish it were, because you can get another job—but because of my RA. They say that naming your problem is the first step to solving your problem, but how do you solve burnout from a chronic illness that accompanies every part of your life?

Many of the articles I found defined burnout as an occupational phenomenon, but the more I read, the more I began to understand what was going on with me. There were so many similarities that I couldn’t help but laugh in that gallows-humor kind of way. These are just some of the things I saw cited as causes of burnout. Let’s take a look at how they make sense in the context of living with RA:

Lack of control. Living with a chronic illness often feels like someone else is in charge. When I can’t predict how I’ll feel in the morning (or a few hours from now), it undermines my ability to live my life the way I want to.

Dysfunctional workplace dynamics, such as working with a bully. I don’t think I’m alone in sometimes seeing my RA as the very definition of a bully. It often makes my life painful and scary and without the ability to transfer to another body, there’s no escaping.

Lack of social support. I’m lucky that the people in my life are pretty understanding of my RA and the things I need to do because of it. But due to the pandemic, I have been isolating myself as have so many others who are immunocompromised. So far, it’s been 2 ½ years with no end in sight and it gets harder by the day.”

Read more about how you can fight back against RA burnout on HealthCentral.