Ways To Avoid Burnout
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Extreme or long-term stress can sometimes lead to burnout, which can feel like physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion. With the ease of theCOVID-19 pandemic, people have started to socialize again, spend time freely with family and friends, and have fun as we enter a new normal. Many people anticipate that their sense of burnout will diminish. Still, as the pandemic is subsiding, reports show that the burnout situation may not be going away as quickly as we think it is. Finding a healthy balance between work, home, and self-care is crucial to help prevent the daily toll from turning into burnout.
Symptoms of Burnout
Burnout can come in various forms and usually means our capacity to manage problems has reached its limit. Continuing to push forward can lead to impaired functioning in personal and professional relationships, lead to depression and start to impact your physical health. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed below, it might mean you are experiencing some degree of burnout (or heading that way)...
Physical
● Feeling chronically tired despite good, regular sleep (6-8 hours per night for adults)
● Lowered immunity or increased susceptibility to infection
● Frequent headaches, back pain, or muscle aches
● Change in appetite or sleep habits
Emotional
● Self-doubt
● Feeling helpless and hopeless
● Detachment
● Decreased motivation
● Increasingly negative outlook
● Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment
- A lack of joy in things that you used to previously enjoy, either at home or at work.
Behavior
● Withdrawing from responsibilities
● Isolation
● Procrastination
● Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope
● Taking out frustration on others
● Skipping class/work, coming in late, or leaving early
How to Avoid Burnout
An important part of avoiding burnout is realizing when you’re heading that way and pulling back. Everyone experiences day-to-day stressors, setbacks, and disappointments. Depending on the situation, these may last for weeks, months, or longer. The presence of difficulties in life does not necessarily equal burnout, but when life’s demands outweigh our ability to feel in control of managing them, burnout can set in. This blog will discuss some tips for living a healthy lifestyle – despite inevitable stress – and doing so without experiencing clinically significant burnout.
1. Set Boundaries for home and work:
It is crucial to have boundaries for a work/life balance. Seek to balance your time between home and work as evenly as possible (this will vary from person to person and job to job). Learn from the experience and avoid committing to too much at work. It’s much easier to add onto your plate than it is to subtract once you’ve already committed.
Dr. Elizabeth Looney Di from Flagler Health +Primary Care at Greenbriar has put together some ways to set boundaries and establish a consistent work schedule to avoid burnout:
- Map out time for various activities, including taking vacations when needed and spending time with loved ones to relax and rest adequately. Vacation isn’t just good for you mentally, it’s good for your career. Research shows that people who take at least 11 days of vacation time a year are more likely to receive a raise than those who do not (1). A reasonable hypothesis as to why? Individuals who use their paid vacation are more likely to be well-rested and productive and less likely to resent their jobs or become burned out.
- Limit your availability by not checking work emails outside of business hours or setting aside specific times for work-related tasks.
2. Learn About Stress
The more enlightened you are about human stress responses, the better equipped you are to manage them. Our stress response is intended primarily to keep us safe (think: fight or flight at the time our ancestors had to flee from natural predators). Several physiological changes occur, including increased cortisol levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, weight gain, and other issues. Learning about this process allows you to be more proactive about your need for stress relief.
3. Set Priorities
When managing any tasks, you can lose sight of what's essential. To achieve what you want, figure out your true priorities and a roadmap to get you there. Working with a life coach is a powerful way to establish better habits, effectively manage your time and energy, and clearly understand your priorities to achieve all you want while living life.
4. Practice self-care
Self-care is anything you can indulge in to take care of yourself to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally well. Its benefits regarding physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being are enormous.
Research suggests self-care promotes positive health outcomes, such as fostering resilience, living longer, and better managing stress.
What does self-care look like? Here are some self-care practices that can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle:
- Eat a balanced and healthy diet.
- Engage in regular physical exercise. Even 30 minutes a day of brisk walking counts.
- Spend time outdoors.
- Drink enough water to stay hydrated (until you don’t feel thirsty anymore).
- Practice good sleep hygiene to ensure adequate rest.
- Take a shower or practice personal hygiene regularly.
- Make an appointment with your primary care doctor for regular check-ups and ensure that everything is functioning internally.
Being exposed to continual stress can lead to burnout. Some symptoms of burnout include exhaustion, anxiety, decreased work performance, and isolation from friends and family. Setting work/life boundaries and establishing healthy habits such as regular exercise, time outdoors, and your own personal self-care routine may help provide a buffer. However, if you feel like you’re heading towards burnout or depression, schedule a consultation with one of our experts to begin your journey toward better mental health. Take action today for a happier and healthier tomorrow.