Got burn out too. I've incredible hard time to have my brain to function properly even after 1.5 years of no work. Non functioning brain means (at 45 years old):
- you understand new concepts (in my case maths) very slowly (that is about 10x times slower than before)
- you memorize very slowly (I can reliably compare myself to 22 years old students, I need about 5 times more time to memorize a course than them; and I was a very good student at their age).
- anything even remotely stressful is tough. Remotely stressful = plan something to do the week end; cook a new recipe (I'm a good cook and I used to love cooking); do paperwork; listen to the kids for more than 15 minutes;...
So burn out is (as said by many) a completely different thing than "exhausted". Burn out means : your brain is fucked up for a very long period of time.
The hardest part for me is to think about the future. I just can't. And that generates a lot of anxiety... And that adds to the very bad shape...
- you understand new concepts (in my case maths) very slowly (that is about 10x times slower than before)
- you memorize very slowly (I can reliably compare myself to 22 years old students, I need about 5 times more time to memorize a course than them; and I was a very good student at their age).
- anything even remotely stressful is tough. Remotely stressful = plan something to do the week end; cook a new recipe (I'm a good cook and I used to love cooking); do paperwork; listen to the kids for more than 15 minutes;...
So burn out is (as said by many) a completely different thing than "exhausted". Burn out means : your brain is fucked up for a very long period of time.
The hardest part for me is to think about the future. I just can't. And that generates a lot of anxiety... And that adds to the very bad shape...