“I have reached burnout.”
Is that something you have said before? Have you actually experienced it? Awareness is the first step towards growth and positive change.
What is burnout? And what are signs that you might be experiencing it?
We can’t speak about burnout, without talking about stress.
Stress is a natural system within our bodies which alarms us when we are experiencing an overload of message units. When the pressure is on, our sympathetic nervous system is activated, driving us to take action! It is a healthy system, that drives us, fuels us and keeps us going in times when we need to be productive.
Small healthy dosages of stress, allow us to excel and maintain a positive level of motivation and drive. This is called Eustress (the positive stress which you actually want!).
When stress becomes chronic (daily dosages over a long period of time), the body starts sending warning signals: I am getting tired, I am not in the mood, I have a headache, I don’t feel like getting up, I am not motivated, I hate my job!
Yet unfortunately, we ignore these signs over and over again, till the body reaches a state of desperation and completely burns out.
Common signs of burnout:
- Exhaustion: feeling like you have no stamina to get up and work. You ALWAYS feel tired and fatigued, almost like your body is giving up on you.
- Isolation: feeling too tired to even socialize or connect with loved ones.
- Short temper: getting easily triggered and reactive to the smallest situations around you.
- Not being happy at work (basically hating your job): resenting going to work. Finding yourself often saying “I hate my job” and “I can’t do this anymore”.
- Struggling to get by: you wake up dreading the day, already experiencing stress while you are still in bed.
- Relying on addictive behaviours: relying on unhealthy anchors like smoking, drugs and binge eating and shopping to feel only “temporarily” better.
How to battle burnout:
- Know your stressors and manage them: there are many possible stressors for reaching burnout. For example, do you have support at work? Do you have support at home? Are you in a toxic environment? Do you invite a healthy routine into your life? By knowing what your main stressor is, you can deal with the problem and invite positive change into your life. Take a moment to write down all possible stressors and next to each write a possible shift you can make in this area.
- Rest: sounds simple, yet many of us fail to simple accept that we need to rest. Rest is as important as productivity. How do you rest daily? Do you take healthy breaks during the day? When was the last time you went on a vacation? What self-care activities do you integrate into your routine? Write down at least 3 different ways in which you can integrate more rest into your life.
- Ask for support: whether it is a colleague, your partner, a friend or a professional coach or a therapist, please do find support around you. You will be surprised by how many people actually want to be there for you! You just need to ask. Do not fight this alone, do less so you can BE more. Write down a list of people you can reach out to when you feel stress and burnout.
If you feel
- Stuck and tired of the same old habits and patterns
- You tried changing, but it too hard doing it on your own
- You need someone to guide you, support you in identifying your key stressors and building a plan towards a resilient, healthy and happy life
…Get in Touch.
Jana is a health & wellness coach and a Kundalini yoga and meditation teacher. She supports people in overcoming stress and living their life’s potential. Do not let stress block you from being the FULL VERSION OF YOU.
