Burnout
I wonder if you think back over the past few years and reflect on how many times you pushed yourself beyond a reasonable point? Pushing yourself to that space where your body forces you to listen, to stop and to take a back seat and care for yourself? We can often make sense of this reaction when it leads to something like a cold or getting sick but what about when it has more of an emotional or psychological effect? When your mood starts to drop, when you notice your motivation has gone missing and your passion, empathy and love for what you do and those around you turns to frustration, irritation or disinterest?
This experience is known as “burnout”. Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It comes on when an individual feels overwhelmed, emotionally drained and as if they are unable to meet the constant demands of their environment. The challenge with burnout is that if these symptoms continue without recognition or behaviour change all areas of life including home, work and social life will be impacted. Burnout is a gradual process, it does not occur overnight but it can creep up on you, especially if you have been running on overdrive without regular body and mind check in’s.
If you recognise that you been functioning from a place of stress, where your body has been running on adrenaline/stress/survival mode and we are likely going to start to feel the effects of fatigue build up. It is important to recognise these symptoms may indicate burnout and to know what to do if these symptoms arise for you. Below I’ve included a table that summarises the difference between stress and burnout and then I have listed a few strategies to help get on top of burnout before it becomes problematic.
| Stress | Burnout |
|---|---|
| Characterised by over engagement | Characterised by disengagement |
| Emotions are over reactive | Emotions are blunted |
| Produces urgency and hyperactivity | Produced helplessness and hopelessness |
| Loss of energy | Loss of motivation, ideals and hope |
| Leads to anxiety symptoms | Leads to detachment and depression |
Strategies to manage burnout:
Socialising – make time to catch up and talk with a good friend or health professional. The goal of this is not for the other person to “fix” the problem but rather to just listen and hear what’s going on for you without judgment or criticism.
Set boundaries – this is all about learning when to say yes and when to say “no”. When we are starting to experience burnout we have to strip our world back to the bare basics and focus our energy on activities if we know they will energise us and feed us in a positive way.
Social media - take a break from technology. Set a time limit for yourself for the amount of time you will spend on technology each day. The goal here is to make sure you have time out of each day when you completely disconnect from the online world.
Hobbies – often when we are super busy we forget to engage in activities that nourish our creative side. Prioritise making time for something you enjoy and ensure this activity has nothing to do with whatever is causing your stress.
Relaxation – setting aside time to just relax and take a break e.g. taking time out of your day to practice a meditation or deep breathing exercise to ensure the body is having a break from the fight / flight response.
Sleep – reviewing your sleep patterns and trying to prioritise at least 8 hours of sleep.
Exercise – get your body moving every day!
Food – often your food choices will look more processed and less nutrient dense when you are under stress. If this has happened this is going to be a really important place to start – working towards eating a more wholesome, nutrient rich diet with less processed/high sugar foods; drinking more water and limiting alcohol intake.
