“Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long.” -Michael Gungor
Do you feel stressed at work? That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Experiencing some amount of stress is inevitable, and stress can be a good thing when it drives you to meet your daily challenges or goals. That’s right. Good stress is vital for a healthy life. However, it is important to constantly check with yourself to ensure that stress doesn’t become overwhelming to the point that you become burned out.
Burnout is a state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion that is brought on by prolonged or excessive stress. If this state of burnout continues, a person can begin to lose interest or motivation, which probably led them to take on a certain role or responsibility in the first place. The negative effects of burnout can tumble into every aspect of your life, including your home, social life, and physical well-being. This is why it is important to recognize the signs and symptoms and deal with it right away!
Are you on the road to Burnout?
- You feel tired and drained most of the time
- Experience lowered immunity, frequent illnesses
- Frequent headaches or muscle pains
- Change in appetite or sleep quality
- Detachment, feeling alone in the world
- Feeling helpless, trapped, defeated
- Isolating from others or lashing out at others
- Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done
Causes of Burnout
Anyone who feels overworked and undervalued is at risk for burnout. The causes for burnout can stem from stressful work situations to family and financial worries or responsibilities…lifestyle and personality traits play a big role as well. Believe it or not, what you do in your downtime and your outlook on the world can play just as big of a role in causing overwhelming stress as work or home demands.
So, what can you do to cope with or prevent burnout?
- Turn to other people– Stop trying to carry everything on your own! Turn to those closest to you and open up about how you are feeling. When our problems feel insurmountable, our outlook turns bleak and it is difficult to see past them. Social contact can be an antidote to stress and talking to a “good listener” is one of the fastest ways to calm the nervous system and relieve stress.
- Reframe the way you look at work- Focus on aspects of your job that you enjoy. When you change your attitude towards your job, you can regain a sense of purpose and control. In finding a proper work-life balance, also focus on the things in your life that bring you joy: family, friends, hobbies, or voluntary work. Take time to discover what things or activities really move you. When you find something that motivates you, use it as a drive to do things for reasons that are important to you.
- Set boundaries– Don’t carry more than you have to at once, and learn how to say “no” to requests on your time. Remember that saying “no” can allow you to say “yes” to other commitments that you want to make. Self-care is essential to preventing burnout, so set time aside for relaxation and allow yourself to get plenty of sleep every night.
- Make exercise a priority- Exercise is probably the last thing on your mind when you feel stressed or overwhelmed. However, exercise is an effective way of boosting mood, increasing energy, and sharpening your focus. Incorporating time for exercise shouldn’t become another task to add stress to your plate. It can be as easy as taking a ten-minute walk during a break. Find an activity that you enjoy doing such as walking, running, weight-training, swimming, or even dancing. When you find what moves you, exercise will become your best friend for stress management.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott
References
Thank you for this!