How to Deal With Burnout
Everyone deals with burnout at some point in their life. Stress and anxiety is a part of being human and it is perfectly normal to experience different levels of stress at different points in life. As children and teenagers, dealing with school, puberty or making new friends can cause stress. As adults, work, family life and various responsibilities all contribute to stress.
When stress becomes relentless and debilitating, it can often lead to what we call burnout. In this article, we look at different ways you can manage and cope with anxiety and burnout, regardless of what the root cause is.
3 Tips on Managing Burnout
So, most of us suffer from stress and consequently, burnout. Is there anything you can do about it before you reach crisis point? Absolutely. But first, here are three things you need to know about burnout:
1. Check your human fuel tank. Rest helps to keep you well, and when you don’t get enough of it, your ability to feel good about what you are doing is significantly hampered. This is called the state of exhaustion, and don’t we all know about it! Life overtakes us sometimes, but it can’t hurt to be aware of how empty (or full) our human fuel tank is.
2. Check your connection. Have you been feeling detached lately? Have you not been feeling as invested in things that you usually enjoy? Cynicism or depersonalization is the result of persistent stress and the inability to cope with it. It’s your body’s way of telling you that you are taking on too much right now and that you need a rest.
3. Check yourself. Stress can come from many different parts of life, and sometimes all at the same time. When this happens, you might feel your efficiency and focus slipping away. This can then lead to even more worries about self-worth in relation to productivity. These feelings of inefficacy can also happen when there is no feedback on the quality of your work, or if you feel significantly underappreciated in whatever position you are in.
3 Tips on How to Cope With Burnout
Now that we have a better understanding of the feelings relating to stress and burnout, it is equally important to focus on what we can do to keep ourselves from burning out. Here are three things that we can do whenever we start to feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of everyday life:
1. Have a Proper Sleep Schedule
Sleep is the holy grail when it comes to looking after yourself. You need sleep to allow your mind and body to rest and recharge. There is a close relationship between sleep and stress. Sleep allows us to reset from the stressful events of the day, while poor sleep carries over the worries of the previous day into the next, compounding its effects.
When feeling stressed or before making any big decisions, try to ask yourself, “How much sleep did I get last night?" If you feel that you did not get as much sleep as you wanted or needed, give yourself enough sleep tonight and check in with yourself tomorrow morning.
2. Make Time for Yourself
Notice that we said make time and not find time for yourself.
Making time for yourself doesn’t always have to mean shopping, retail therapy or going out for expensive meals. What matters is that you set the intention and block out at least two hours every week to do something that you enjoy.
This can be going for a walk, meeting up with a loved one, or even sitting in silence with your phone on airplane mode. You might not feel like doing it to begin with, but you will soon feel the benefit of spending time with yourself and checking in on how you are feeling.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
This may sound like a simple idea, but it is often one of the most difficult things to do. Society has always put a price tag on being independent and self-made, but this doesn’t mean all the best people have not needed help at one point or another.
When things start to feel overwhelming, and when life tends to overtake you, don’t hesitate to reach out to a trusted person. We all need a little help sometimes, and all it takes is one person to make a difference in the way we are feeling.
Final Notes
Stress and burnout are part of everyday life, and it is unrealistic to expect otherwise. However, the closer we pay attention to our bodies – by checking our fuel tank, connections and ourselves – the less likely we are to reach crisis point and suffer longer-term health conditions due to burnout. It also helps to keep a healthy sleep routine, make time for things we enjoy, and most importantly, ask for help when we need to.