Recognising burn out and how to deal with it

“If you feel “burnout” setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective.” Dalai Lama

Spring is in the air and the excitement of seeing bursts of sunshine and buds on the trees definitely lifts our spirits but winter has a way of hanging around, and often we can feel more exhausted than ever in the first few months of the year.

Whatever is happening in our lives, we all have issues to deal with, both at home and at work.

We don’t always feel we can share our problems, often seeing it as an admittance of failure but guaranteed that every single person you come across will be trying to cope with a difficult circumstance of some kind.

Often, it’s not easy to realise that we, or friends, family and colleagues, are suffering from burnout as a result of dealing with these stressful situations.

So what is burnout, how can you recognise the signs and what can you do to help yourself and those around you to get back on track?

The feeling of burnout is nothing more than your body and mind shouting for a time-out following a heavy bout of stress. This can come over a period of time and isn’t always easily recognised.

It’s the equivalent of running up and down the stairs and suddenly feeling the acid burn –  it’s when your inner self says, ‘I appreciate you have a lot to do but before you drop, let’s just review this situation.’

It’s not always obvious we have burnout, you don’t have to suddenly find you can’t move or that you want to cry, it can often reveal itself in ways that you take for granted but as they start to mount help is needed.

Some of the burnout signs include:

Not finding the thought of the day ahead exciting in the slightest.

This can come from physical and mental exhaustion. The routines that we often find ourselves in can lead our brains to say ‘What? Again? The same walk, same meeting, and the same breakfast?’

Try mixing things up even just a little bit to give your brain a jolt, you will feel like you are taking control and explain to others that may be involved in your routine that it’s important to you.

Losing interest in something you used to love.

If you find that going out with your favourite person now seems like a chore then that could be a sign of burnout. Why are you not wanting to see them? Is it financial reasons? Are you physically tired? Are there areas of conversation you don’t want to talk about that you know will come up?

Often these situations are great ways to work out what the issue is and it’s likely that it’s a deep-rooted concern that is affecting all areas of your life, often without you even realising it because you’re hiding it away.

Rolling your eyes (internally or externally) at friends, family or strangers.

There are days when we wake up dancing like a chirpy character from a Disney movie and other days when we feel more like Severus Snape. If you feel irritated all the time it could be a build up of several factors but try to work out what the main issue is.

Could your annoyance be something that someone has said that’s triggered irritation and in which case what was the part of the comment that burned?  That’s the area of focus to either fix or genuinely forget and move on

Lack of concentration

You may tune out when people are talking because you’re worrying about something or you choose to look through videos of dogs dancing in the snow rather than getting your report done. It’s all ways of your brain shouting ‘Nope, not doing it, you’re pushing me too hard so I’m just going to do nothing now’.

The best way out of this is to allow yourself time to do nothing. Set a timer to get that chore or work project done and you will feel more focused, then if your reward is taking a walk, eating ice cream or scrolling through social media for ten minutes you will feel better that you’ve done what you needed to. It’s impossible to do everything so just focus on what is vital but also include something you enjoy.

Feeling physical aches

It could be your head, muscles or stomach and these are all signs that you may be needing to take it easier. If you think that the pain has been going on for longer than normal then do not hesitate to seek medical advice.

The symptoms of burnout whilst not fun are actually your body and brain asking you to take a step back in order to survive. Aches and other symptoms from burnout don’t have to be caused by a hundred meetings, it could simply be that someone you love is not well and you’re finding a way to cope with that.

Overall, the best way to deal with burnout is to respect yourself.

For example, set aside time every week to look at your list of things to do and cull it, review your diet and as well as including healthy options be sure to include treats, get better at saying no to things you can’t or don’t want to do, and understand that you need sleep and downtime every single day in order to keep going.

Secondly, be sure to find supportive people that you trust.

When you surround yourself with people who care and respect you it takes a weight off. Just one or two of them will do wonders and it just means you can speak freely without pretending to be something you are not.

You should be able to say without hesitating, ‘I’m not coping’ without judgment or overbearing influence because everybody needs support, and it is the key to moving forward and getting that spring back in your step.

If you would like further information about the accredited coaching that I offer, and how you could be supported and coached in all aspects of your life then please get in touch here.