Emma - Former Police Officer

“I don’t want people to have burnout to learn what burnout is”

”People don’t know what it looks like,” Emma comments as we kick off the conversation. She walked the path of burnout three times and is ready to share her story to help others. The first time she was just 25 and a dedicated police officer. 

 On a regular evening, she went grocery shopping and found the ingredient she was looking for was out of stock. She started crying in front of the empty shelf without knowing why. That’s when she couldn’t ignore that she was regularly sick anymore, had monthly cold sores, struggled to remember the day of the week and had already forgotten important events such as her mum’s birthday.

When her colleague suggested she took time off, Emma’s reply seemed obvious to her: ”I can’t! There’s no one to fill in!” 

Eventually, Emma consulted with a counsellor who pronounced the big word: burnout. Her supervisor organised for her to take 4 weeks of sick leave and made them appear as holidays on the weekly roster … so no one would know.

At the time she really appreciated the gesture and the privacy it offered. However, 15 years later, she looks back with a different mindset: ”We should not hide sickness, instead we should fight the stigma around it. I don’t want people to have to burn out to learn what burnout is! ”  

 Emma learnt a lot from her episodes of burnout and is more self-aware now. But she is concerned about the long-term effects such as early onset hormonal imbalance, heart disease or dementia. For that reason, she hopes that training can be provided to help everyone identify signs of burnout early and get the right support. More importantly, she wishes for a change in work culture so that it is not shameful to take time off to nurture your mental health but simply a right everyone doesn't think twice about taking. 

Recommended book: What happened to you? By Dr Bruce D. Perry

This graphic illustrates how Emma felt during her last episode of burnout, married with two kids, a household, a part-time job and full-time study.