How To Avoid Burnout

Burnout seems to be everywhere, my clients are experiencing it, I've experienced it and so have members of my family.

Burnout is a real issue for those who have experienced it as it can extremely overwhelming. Burnout is not always easy to self-diagnose as you may end up saying things like “I’m just tired, or I feel off, of my energy is low” meaning you could end up ignoring it, rather than looking at ways to prevent it.

If not treated properly burnout can have a significant impact on your overall physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

Here are 5 Emotional signs and symptoms of burnout

1. Sense of failure and self-doubt.
2. Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated.
3. Detachment, feeling alone in the world.
4. Loss of motivation. Increasingly cynical and negative outlook.
5. Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.

All of the above signs and symptoms can show up at any time, but they can also be prevented if you decide to put yourself first put your own well-being, your own mental health and emotional health as a priority

So how do we prevent burnout and if we are in the burnout phase how do we make sure we get out of it?

First of all, we need debunk the myth that self-care is selfish. It’s not, self-care is life affirming and life supporting.

Secondly, you need to put boundaries in place for yourself.

Thirdly, you need to cultivate a healthy lifestyle routine, one that allows you to compassionate and kind to yourself.

So here are 5 practice tips to help you reduce burnout and get you back into a healthier state of mind, body and spirit.

1.Sleep

Sleeping is a great healer. It's important that you get a good 8 hours of undisturbed sleep each night. Ideally you should get to bed by 10:00pm and wake at 6am every morning. When we sleep our body heals itself, it builds our immune system and our resilience. As we move through the hours of sleep it will help us detox from the stress the strains of the day and will release any negative energy or toxins that have accumulated over the day. Sleep is the priority so start to train your brain and train yourself into healthier sleep pattern.

2.Mindful movement

Exercise or mindful movement each day when you get out of bed, is essential. I encourage you to take 10 mins to stretch or to participate in yoga, or even go out for a walk. Burnout is susceptible to high octane, high intensity exercise so weightlifting, running, spinning all of these activities are going to increase the stress on your body, your mind and your emotions. It will produce excess adrenaline that is not required when trying to overcome burnout, so focus on mindful movements and be gentle with yourself.

3.Meditation

Meditation does not need to be difficult it is a mindful practise of trying to quieten the mind and be in the present moment. Meditation requires you to connect with your breath, sit still and allow you to connect with yourself, moving you from activity into silence. Meditation is a practise, and it requires practise and commitment. All you need to do is to meditate daily, for 5 to 20 minutes per day, your mind will steady and slow down. It will help you reduce over analysing and help you relax, refocus and get the pause for breath that you really do need.

4.Connection

When in burnout you want to shut down, most want to hide away from the world and their network. Connection is very important; you need to reach out to a trusted friend or a family member and have a cup of tea and share how you’re feeling. Burnout drives us to be isolated, but what we need most in burnout or facing burnout is a friend, someone who can be supportive, listen and one who we can remain connected to. This will help ground us and feel part of something bigger than ourself.

5.Nutrition

Burnout entices towards comfort, alcohol, smoking and excess eating, as a way to find comfort, but it's essential that you don't reach for that extra glass of wine, more beers or shots. They may give you that quick fix, it may make you feel momentarily happier or energised but the next day you feel even worse! The best thing to do when facing burnout or in burnout is to eat healthy and to stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol has been proven to be a depressive and anxiety inducing.

The same applies to food, when you eat foods that only give you a quick fix such as chocolate, cookies and sugary treats you might think they’re helping you but it will only increase the stress to your body and put you in a high alert state. The best thing to do is eat three meals a day, have no alcohol at all and supplement sweet or sugary treats with more natural sweet flavours such as melon, mango passionfruit, apples, oranges. A healthy diet will give you a healthy mind and in burnout a healthy mind is essential!

If you follow these five steps regularly incorporate them into your daily routine, you will help yourself heal, and you will start to feel better.

You deserve to live a healthy, vibrant and happy life.