Burnout

Anyone else feeling it? This feeling...like your slogging through swamplandia. The grey skies. The winter weather relapse. The seemingly never ending pandemic. The daily slog that feels like a 2 ton truck on your shoulders and mud and muck under your feet. The exhaustion. The lack of patience. The feel of being at the pathetic, frayed end of your rope.

It's called Burnout. 

Burnout is what happens when we don't take care of ourselves--or our jobs/responsibilities don't allow us to take care of ourselves. It's the state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It's feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.

(Yeah, that sounds about right.)

Burnout is characterized by...

- poor performance and reduced creativity (check)

- difficulty focusing (check)

- lack of motivation (check)

- feeling helpless/hopeless to fix things (check)

- exhaustion (check)

- headaches, stomachaches, or body aches (check)

- disillusionment or cynicism about your work/responsibilities (check)

Burnout can affect your energy levels, physical pain levels, appetite, sleep habits, and immunity. You may find you're starting to doubt yourself or feel like a failure. You may feel detached from the world around you. You might feel trapped or defeated. You may feel less satisfaction with accomplishments. And you likely have an increasingly negative outlook on most everything. 

Burnout has a way of seeping from one area (let's say work) into all aspects of your life (like family and home life). You may start withdrawing from responsibilities and isolating yourself from others. And you might start taking your frustration out on those around you (losing your cool and yelling at people--like your kids or your spouse...hello.). You might find yourself leaning on food or alcohol to cope. And you may start procrastinating or just skipping things altogether.

Burnout is different from plain old stress. 

Imagine stress as a whirling dervish. Stress is over-engaged, over-reactive, urgent, hyperactive, and anxious. 

Then imagine burnout as a sad sloth. Burnout is disengaged, blunted, unmotivated, and hopeless.

Burnout can feel a lot like depression (and it can lead to depression over time), though it is different. Burnout is situational. It shows up in response to our circumstances and how we're dealing with them. This is good news, actually. Because there are some very tangible things we can do to address burnout.

The first step is to recognize what's going on. (Freaking awareness, man. It's always begins with awareness.) If you can relate to much of what is written above--if you're thinking, yeah, that's me-- then you might be experiencing burnout. If that's the case, acknowledge that you've let things go too far. See it for what it is and then take steps to reverse it.

First, the obvious: if you can, Take a vacation or break, of some sort. Get away from your daily grind. Whether that means a trip somewhere, an overnight at a nearby hotel, a day off to do nothing, a spa day, an afternoon at the park. Take as much time as you can and spend it somewhere else, doing something else than is your norm. Just take some time away and recharge your battery.

Then, when you're a little refreshed, reassess the things going on in your life that are causing the burnout, and...

Ask for help. Reach out to people. Talk to a therapist or mentor or amazing best friend. Really talk it out. Seek advice. Lean on others. Also, try to be more sociable and find connections. Chat with your neighbor or your local barista. Meet a coworker for a cup of coffee or get out to lunch. Talk to your spouse. Feeling connected and supported can go a long way toward easing burnout. Even reading an inspirational book or listening to upbeat music can help you feel less alone in it all.

Reframe the way you look at your work/responsibilities. Try to find some value in the work you do. Focus on the aspects you like and the positive impact you're having on others or the world at large. Consider volunteering for a cause you care about, or donating some of that hard-earned money to help others. The trick here is to see and feel the value in all that you do. You are not a hamster on a wheel, you are a human who has real impact in the world.

Reevaluate your priorities and set boundaries. THIS IS A BIG ONE. This is where you look at how you got here in the first place, and what can you change so that it doesn't happen again. Revisit your goals and dreams and identify what you're neglecting. Set boundaries. This involves saying no to things and protecting your time and energy resources. Take a break from technology. Set a time each day and a day each week where you go tech-free. Maybe it's from 6-8pm on weekdays and all day Sunday so you can focus on your family. Set aside time to relax. And do something creative. Start a project or a new hobby. Paint a picture. Build a bookshelf. Learn to knit. Get crafty. Whatever suits your fancy.

Take care of yourself physically. This means getting plenty of sleep. (That's 7-9 hours, people. Every. Single. Night.) It means moving your body. Do something...go for a walk, do some yoga, try a new HIIT workout, lift swing a kettle bell. And it means fueling your body with healthy food. Eat some fruits and vegetables. Cut back on the caffeine and sugar. Start taking a probiotic and Omega-3 supplement.

And don't wallow. Wallowing doesn't get you anywhere. Burnout can make you want to sit on the couch like a bump on a log and just feel blah. (Raise your hands! WHo's with me?)  But you need to take action. Look again at all of the ideas above. Pick one and do it today. Even if you don't want to. Even if you feel like you can't. Just do it. Get outside and go for a walk around the block. Eat an apple. Listen to your favorite song. Say no to someone's demand on your time. Call your best friend from college. Chat with your mom.

And after you do one thing, do another. Make an appointment with a counselor. Book a hotel, or a massage. Set up a meeting with your boss to talk about managing your workload. Download an inspirational book to your phone and listen to it in the car.

Burnout is a real thing. And I'd be willing to bet that rates of burnout are at an all-time high right now. I know I'm feeling it. And so is everyone else in my household. But we CAN dig ourselves out of this hole. It IS doable. 

And the sun will shine again. The birds will sing and our spirits will lift. And we will find purpose and meaning in our daily lives. We just need to REALLY see where we let the car go off the rails, and then take action to right the train.

Until next time, take better care of yourself. Take time for yourself. Respect yourself and your time. Take breaks. And find your joy. This (burnout) too shall pass.