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Have you ever had to deal with burnout?
It’s that overwhelming feeling of exhaustion, not having any energy, and a general disdain for doing anything. Do you know what we are talking about now? Sure you do! After all, many of us have been there before.
At some point in your life, you may feel like you have no lust for life. Nothing excites you anymore, and you don’t feel well-rested no matter how much you sleep.
You could be struggling with burnout.
It is a condition where severe stress causes physical, emotional, and mental strain which prevents you from functioning properly. Usually, this chronic stress stems from pressure at work.
Many people miss the symptoms of burnout because they are too busy and tired to identify them.
It’s not uncommon to have someone else tell you that they are worried about you, and you need to slow down. Honestly, most of us won’t react in the best way when we are told these things which is probably a sign of burnout in itself.
In some cases, you might identify your burnout yourself, but like many other people, you might ignore it in the hope it will go away, but sad to say, it won’t.
Start by being truthful with yourself about the signs of burnout.
Being tired to your core is one of the biggest signs that you are experiencing burnout. You constantly feel exhausted even if you are sleeping eight hours a night and eating nutritious meals.
Physically, you have dark circles under your eyes, your body feels restless, and your limbs might ache or feel heavy. You can’t wait to get back home and rest when the day ends.
Mentally, you can’t think clearly, and you do strange things that you question later. Emotionally, you feel agitated, anxious, or cry easily.
When it comes to work, you feel cynical. Getting to the office and dealing with customers is a mission. You might mutter all kinds of negative words under your breath when someone says something you don’t like.
Opening your emails or taking a call results in irritation. You could even consider quitting completely despite the reasons behind your feelings being superficial (such as having annoying employees).
The previous symptoms make you question yourself. You start to think something is wrong with you or that you aren’t good enough. You blame yourself for being a bad person, disappointing other people, or not doing your job well enough.
All of this negativity spirals out of control, and your self-confidence takes a huge blow. The more you feed your brain with negative information, the more you start believing it as the truth.
If left unchecked, burnout breaks you down a little bit at a time until you have no energy to realize its effects on you. It could lead to a full-on breakdown or depression.
Anxiety and the fear of failure frequently accompany burnout. You don’t have to let this get the best of you. Learn how to overcome your fears and beat anxiety by Winning the Game of Fear. Sign up for the virtual training today!
You can only treat burnout if you identify the symptoms and accept your current situation. Be honest with yourself and question how you are feeling instead of coming up with excuses for what is happening in your life.
It can be a sobering experience to finally name what you are experiencing. Burnout is real, but you can do something about it.
So you’ve come to the realization that you are suffering burnout; now, you have to deal with it in a constructive manner. It’s time to take action and regain control of your life.
Spend a few minutes daily to check in with yourself. Ask yourself, “How am I feeling today?”
Name the emotions you are experiencing, identify negative self-talk, and acknowledge any overwhelming thoughts that pop into your head.
Write down your feelings to help you monitor them. Make it a habit to check in at a certain time each day, such as when you wake up or at the end of the workday. You could even do it more than once a day.
By identifying your feelings and acknowledging your thoughts, you can determine if you are in danger of burnout.
A high workload, whether from your employment or daily errands and responsibilities, causes stress which can result in burnout. For this reason, it makes sense that you should lighten your load to avoid or ease your stress.
Identify ways to decrease your workload and responsibilities. For example, determine whether a meeting could be replaced with an email, delegate tasks to colleagues, and accept help from anyone who offers it.
Your body and brain need sufficient rest during phases of burnout. It might seem like the worst time to work in breaks, especially if you are feeling stressed, but doing so will improve your productivity, as you allow yourself to recover.
Schedule breaks into your schedule—even if it’s just five minutes at a time—and doing something that makes you feel good about yourself. Go for a brisk walk, play with your pets, or meditate.
Longer breaks can be spent taking a nap or doing your favorite hobby. Read a book, listen to music, or join an exercise class. If possible, add in a short vacation away from the hustle and bustle.
You don’t have to do everything alone, so reach out to those around you for help. Ask your close family, friends, and colleagues to look out for you and encourage you. Chat to them about what is going on and be mindful of their feedback.
If possible, make use of support structures at work since this is where a lot of stress comes from. Ask for assistance to complete your projects or initiate brainstorming to improve the current systems that will ease the workload for everyone.
In some cases, you may feel you need more drastic intervention. Consider talking to a professional therapist who can help you overcome your obstacles and deal with the signs of burnout.
Burnout diminishes your self-confidence and makes you doubt your abilities. You need to stop self-sabotaging yourself because you are a talented individual who can do much more. Our free training will show you how you can start Winning the Game of Fear and turn it into fuel for motivation.
Burnout and mental health go together. If you improve your mental health overall, then you can avoid burnout or cope with it better. Here are a few of our favorite ways to build our self-image in a productive, calming manner.
Innercise™ routines are scientifically proven mental and emotional practices that focus on strengthening your brain. Through self-reflection, visualization, and building positive habits, you regain control of your life.
It will help you to find internal motivation and boost your willpower. You start to perceive challenges as opportunities for improvement.
Innercise™ only takes a few minutes of your time, but these workouts have lasting effects. You will learn to switch off negative thinking; cope with stress and fear; and find the motivation to accomplish anything.
Learning expands the potential of your brain by creating new neural networks. This process strengthens your mind, makes you feel good about yourself, and helps you to cope with stress.
Add educational activities to your breaks in between work. Read informative books, watch a documentary, or enroll in a course on a topic that interests you.
When you are stressed or highly emotional, your brain is flooded with adrenaline resulting in fight, flight, or freeze reactions. You cannot think logically when this is the case, and you end up making rash decisions.
As soon as you feel overwhelmed, stop what you are doing and focus on your breathing for a few moments. Breathing deeply sends oxygen to your brain and suppresses chemicals linked to negativity.
Take six deep breaths to slow your heart rate. Forget about everything else for the moment. Breathe in through your nose and allow your lungs to expand as much as possible. Exhale through your mouth.
