subject: Are You Experiencing Burnout? [print this page] Burnout Burnout
Constant stress can create feelings of unhappiness, disappointment, and as if you are completely worn out. If this sounds familiar, you are burnout. When you are suffering from burnout challenges seem impossible to overcome, everything around you feels bleak and it is difficult to gather enough energy to do anything about your situation. Burnout does not stop there; it can begin to threaten your job, relationships, and your health.
Burnout can lead to mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion because of experiencing prolonged stress. Constantly feeling overwhelmed and being bombarded by work and life demands will cause you to lose your motivation. You will lose the same motivation that got you to the point of burnout in the first place. For many of us feeling bored, unappreciated, or overwhelmed, on certain days is not unusual, but when dragging yourself out of bed requires the use of heavy equipment you maybe flirting with burnout.
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of burnout is the first step to managing burnout and beginning the healing process. Reorganizing your priorities and managing what is stressing you out will allow you to have more time for yourself and if necessary seeking support. Recovery from feeling burnout is possible and important for your overall health and well-being.
There are many causes of burnout. Anyone feeling overwhelmed at work because of increased responsibility and no increase in pay or a mother raising three kids and an elderly parent are all at risk for burnout. Burnout can be work related because your job feels monotonous or unchallenging, it can be caused by your lifestyle, because you work too much without enough down time and never get enough sleep. Your personality can also contribute to feelings of burnout. If you are a type A personality, always striving for high achievement you are at greater risk for burnout. If you are a pessimist, who always needs to be in control and never delegates to others you may also begin to experience burnout. How you view the world and not managing your basic needs of sleep and relaxation will all contribute to feelings of burnout.
Preventing burnout is not as hard as you might imagine. You can prevent burnout by starting your day with a relaxation ritual. Take a few minutes to journal, meditate, or reading something motivational. Eat healthy, engage in physical exercise, and get plenty of rest. A healthy lifestyle inspires energy and resilience allowing you to deal with whatever comes your way. Establish personal boundaries and do not hesitant to say "no". Over extending yourself puts you at risk for burnout, and remember saying "no" to others leaves time for taking care of you. Take time during your day to disconnect. Turn off all technology and just "be" for awhile. Finally, express your creativity. Try something new, or just have fun.
Learning how to manage stress and practicing healthy lifestyle habits will help you to remain in control of your life and prevent the onset of burnout. We all are juggling multiple balls every day; just remember if we allow one to fall, it will always bounce back into place.
