Burnout
By Samantha Anderson
What is it, what does it look like and what do I do about it?
What is it?
Burnout is defined by emotional exhaustion and ineffectiveness in the workplace. It is the state of mind that comes with long-term, unresolved stress that can negatively affect your work, and spill over into every area of life including your home, and social life.
Occurring when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands, yet the stress continues and builds. You begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.
This is something that can affect everyone! Often associated with an overworked employee or from your job it can actually anyone who feels overworked and undervalued that is at risk for burnout. Think the hardworking employee that is juggling multiple tasks in the day, the stay-at-home mum that is keeping a house, kids, life in orders or the business owner that has not taking a day off in years!
What does it look like?
Most of us have those day where we need the strength of Hulk just to get out of bed. We feel overworked, overloaded, overwhelmed and unappreciated. Unfortunately, this is a reality of life we have good days and not so great ones. However, if this is your feeling most of the time you maybe in or heading into the fire of burnout!
Burnout is one of those things that can creep up on us. It is something that you may think is just a few bad days in a row and before you know it, you’re in the midst of something you don’t know how to get out of. At first the signs and symptoms are subtle, and it is at this stage that they need to be addressed to actively reduce stress and prevent a major breakdown in both your physical and mental health.
So what are these signs and symptoms? These are just some of the signs that you may notice
Physical
Feeling tired and drained most of the time
Headaches and/or muscle pain
Lowered immunity or frequent colds
Change in sleep patterns
Change in appetite
Change in bowel movements.
Emotional
Sense of failure
Self Doubt
Loss of motivation
Feeling helpless
Increasingly negative outlook
Feeling alone in the world
Decreased satisfaction with work or your daily life
Behavioural
Withdrawal of responsibilities
Isolating yourself
Taking you frustration out on others
Procrastinating
Skipping work
Coming in late from work or leaving early
Increase use of alcohol or drugs to ‘cope’
Causes of burnout
As mentioned, burnout can affect anyone in any role and any lifestyle. Why? Because it is not caused solely by stressful work or too many jobs on your plate. In fact, what you do in your free time has a huge role in causing (or reducing) overwhelming stress in your life. Some other factors – other than overworked – that can lead to burnout include:
Work related
Feeling like you have no control over your work
Lack of recognition or reward
Unclear expectations
Lifestyle
Not enough time relaxing or away from work
Lack of supportive relationships
Taking on too much for others
Not getting enough sleep
What can we do about it?
If you are relating to any, or all, of the warning signs of burnout that is coming, or you’re already past the breaking point, please know you are not alone.
Also, trying to push through the exhaustion and continuing as you have been, as you think you ‘should’ be, will only cause further damage. Now is the time to pause, time some time, pivot in a new direction and to look after yourself. Whatever it takes for you to feel healthy, vibrant and thriving again.
One of the best tips in dealing with burnout is to follow the “Three R’s”
Recognize. Watch for the warning signs of burnout.
Reverse. Unwind the stress and reverse the damage by actively managing stress or seeking support from others.
Resilience. Build a resilience to current and future stress by taking some time for yourself and do activities or things that take care of your emotional and physical health
Some of the options or tips that can help you shake the grips of burnout could be
1: Reframe the way you look at work – or your life
One of the most of effective ways to combat job burnout is to quit and find something that lights you up. Seems simple doesn’t it. Of course. For many of us changing career or jobs is far from practical and could bring more stress than not. Therefore changing the way we look at work or your daily tasks may need to change. Some tips are:
Find harmony in your life. It is not every day that we have the luxury or capacity to balance work and life. For us here on the farm I am thinking of harvest time, shearing or sowing. For others if could be the end of financial year, annual work event or client conference that takes a lot of time and energy. Remember that these times are short and we need to recalibrate with some quieter weeks or time periods.
Make friends at work. Having strong ties in the workplace can help reduce monotony and counter the effects of burnout. Having friends to chat and joke with during the day can help relieve stress from an unfulfilling or demanding job, improve your job performance, or simply get you through a rough day.
Take time off. If burnout seems inevitable, try to take a complete break from work. Go on vacation, use up your sick days, ask for a temporary leave-of-absence, anything to remove yourself from the situation. Use the time away to recharge your batteries and pursue other methods of recovery.
2: Re-evaluate your priorities
Burnout is an undeniable sign that something important in your life is not working. Why not try to bring a little more harmony into your life by including the following into your week – or better yet day.
Set boundaries. Don’t overextend yourself and learn how to say “no” to requests on your time. You need to priorities you and sometimes that means saying no to others.
Take a daily break from technology. Set a time each day when you completely disconnect. Put away your laptop, turn off your phone and stop checking social media!!
Nourish your creative side. Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout. Try something new, start a fun project, or resume a favourite hobby. Choose activities that have nothing to do with work or whatever is causing your stress.
Set aside relaxation time. Techniques such as yoga, meditation, and breath work all help the body to relax and move into a state of restfulness that is the opposite of the stress response.
Get plenty of sleep. Feeling tired can exacerbate burnout by causing you to think irrationally. Make sleep a priority and check out our blog on resetting your sleep patterns here
3: Make exercise a priority
Even though it may be the last thing you feel like doing when you’re burned out, exercise is a powerful activity to reduce stress. It’s also something you can do right now to boost your mood.
Aim to exercise for 30 minutes or more per day or break that up into short, 10-minute bursts of activity. A 10-minute walk can improve your mood for two hours.
Rhythmic exercise, where you move both your arms and legs, is a hugely effective way to lift your mood, increase energy, sharpen focus, and relax both the mind and body. Why not try walking the block at lunch or with friends in the afternoon? Going for a running or even breaking out some dance moves
4: Support your mood and energy levels with a healthy diet
What you put in your body can have a huge impact on your mood and energy levels throughout the day. Some of our go to tips are:
Minimize sugar and refined carbs. You may crave sugary snacks or comfort foods such as pasta or chocolate, but these food quickly lead to a crash in mood and energy. Try and minimise these food with low GI options, crowding out your plate with veggies or increasing protein into your meals to sustain hunger.
Eat more Omega-3 fatty acids to give your mood a boost. Some of the richest foods of Omega-3 are fatty fish (salmon, anchovies, sardines), seaweed, flaxseed, and walnuts.
Avoid nicotine. Smoking when you’re feeling stressed may seem calming, but nicotine is a powerful stimulant, leading to higher, not lower, levels of anxiety.
Drink alcohol in moderation. Alcohol temporarily reduces worry, but too much can cause anxiety when it wears off.