Overcome burnout even when you're feeling consumed by it and learn strategies to prevent it from happening again.

Most likely, you have experienced burnout at one point in time. It can affect us mentally, emotionally, and physically. Mentally, you may experience brain fog and feel like you are overwhelmed with no way out. Emotionally, you may feel your motivation dwindling and an increase in negative feelings such as helplessness and cynicism. Physically, you may feel tired, more prone to getting sick, experience more headaches, or other aches and pains.
In summary, burnout is extremely detrimental to your well-being!
Burnout is so incredible common in our society today, yet it seems impossible to get most people to realize how serious it is until it is so consuming that it is difficult to get out. Or they think that it is just what life is. It isn't. Burnout occurs when you are in constant stress which causes your cortisol levels to stay high for extended periods of time, causing havoc on the body. I look at burnout as a symptom; a message your body is sending you to tell you that something needs to change.
Burnout often starts slow. Like an ember starting to burn, hardly noticable if you don't know what to look for or where. With more stress and increases of cortisol in your system, like with oxygen to a fire, the ember starts growing and turning into a flame. Soon enough, you could have a full fire on your hands if you do not have water nearby.
So, what can you do today to help with burnout? Break the stress cycle.
You have had a stressful day at work. Everywhere you look, there is a problem or a fire to put out. Then you get home and your day is festering in your mind. "Sheila should have done _____. Watch Tom forget to _____ and I will have to clean it up all over again." You can feel the stresses of work crouching in the trees waiting to pounce at the most opportune time. It is now time to get some rest, but your mind is still racing. You finally get to sleep, but toss and turn throughout the night to wake up to start the cycle all over again. Exhausted.
What if you break this cycle to give yourself a break? What would that look like that?
Let's redo the above scenario. You have had a stressful day, but you just pulled into driveway and you are away from the stresses of work. You are safe. You are home. You can feel the dangers (stresses) of the day fall away. Your brain can now get back to a place without cortisol rushing through your system. You can breathe.
This can take time to practice. Letting go of all the negative from the day can be extremely difficult. Unfortunately, it took me getting to a level of burnout and talking to a therapist for it to click.
You need to find a way to shift from your stressed state to a state where you feel safe. What tells your body that there is no immediate danger and it can relax? You can use priming techniques to create this habit.
No one can tell you what will work for you, but to help give you some ideas, a couple of my favorites ways include cooking, taking care of my garden and plants, and doing yoga. I have a FootUp stool I love to use when I get home where I can literally change my perspective and go upside down. It doesnt have to be a long drawn out process. It could take just a couple of minutes a day.
Want to read more about this topic? Check out “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle” by Emily Nagoski PhD. It has completely changed my thinking about burnout and stress.
Reference:
Amelia Nagoski, D., & Emily Nagoski, P. (2019). Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books.
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