Have you ever experienced burnout?
I do.
And it was not pleasant at all.
It can happen often, especially at times when you are working a lot or simply have too many tasks and feel overwhelmed.
Fortunately, I escaped burnout and I think I found a good solution to avoid it.
What is burnout in the first place?
To be in burnout is to be emotionally exhausted. Basically, it’s a form of negativism that you are exposed to. It leads to decreased performance during work. It is caused by prolonged stress or an imbalance between expectations versus reality (ie when something is demanded of you, or when you impose something on yourself and have very high expectations of yourself and you see that you fail to fulfill them as you expect).
How does burnout occur?
Let’s see:
First, we should go to the cause that triggered the burnout. I mean let’s try to be aware of why the hell we ended up in burnout.
As I said above, exposure to stress over a longer period of time can cause burnout.
By the way, stress is one of the main factors causing health problems. When you are stressed, not only do you feel bad but harmful cells are generated in your body. Long exposure to stressful conditions can also cause autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, hepatitis, ulcer, sclerosis, and even cancer.
If you feel mentally exhausted, it’s a warning sign that something is wrong with your current lifestyle.
Stress can be caused by:
- different situations at work: excessive demands, conflicts with colleagues, financial problems
- important life changes: death of a loved one, divorce, moving
- current health problems
- finances: problems with bills, debts
- personal relationships: problems with the partner, family problems
- uncertain or dangerous situations
- threats to you or your loved ones
- unrealistic expectations
- pressure from different aspects of life
So there are many situations that can cause stress. And the idea of stress is this:
Stress manifests even if you don’t feel it directly. Stress can even be induced by a person next to you. For example, maybe you are quite zen and calm in yourself. But have you ever gotten angry instantly over minor things? I do. And this can be a sign that you are still exposed to stress.
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Stress can also manifest itself at the subconscious level, and here it is more serious. Various negative thoughts, worries, insomnia, and other problems can appear here. Including lack of appetite, low energy, lack of desire for sex, and so on.
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How can we cure burnout?
Well, once you’ve become aware of the problem and think you might be in burnout, or on your way to burnout, there are a few things you can do:
Equilibrium
Make sure you have a balanced life. That is, every day try to diversify the things you do: eat regularly, sleep well, do physical activities, talk, take time off to be yourself, and work. I basically lead a normal life but without excesses. No work until exhausted. Without watching movies until exhaustion. No screen time to the point of exhaustion.
Rest
Make sure you get restful sleep and get enough sleep. To get a restful sleep you should avoid sitting in front of screens 2 hours before sleep and eat your last meal (including snacks) 3 hours before sleep. Also, make sure you sleep when it’s night outside and you’re awake during the day. If you live in an area where the night is longer or the day is longer, adjust so that you get enough sleep every day.
There are many different studies and practices about how much we should sleep or what hours. Some choose to go to bed at 10 and wake up at 5. Others go to bed at 2 at night and wake up at 10. To each their own lifestyle. It would be ideal to try different sleep schedules (including the midday nap) and find the ideal option for you that helps you rest the best.
Here the lifestyle you adopt matters a lot. Discipline will help you respect your own chosen lifestyle.
However, rest does not mean only sleeping at night.
Rest can also mean a short break during work, a light refreshing walk, meditation or stretching exercises.
Therapy
I have not used it, but I am aware that this option also exists. Sometimes we need outside help. That’s why a therapist may be a better solution for some of us, especially if we may even be dealing with certain illnesses.
Lifestyle changes
Sometimes to get rid of all the worries and stress, it’s not enough just to work on yourself. You also have to change the environment in which you live (for example: the workplace). This might be the hardest, but remember:
“If you put a healthy apple next to rotten apples, they will all end up rotten”
The environment we live in influences our mood the most. Stress can also be caused externally. If we are always surrounded by stressful people or people who cause stress (toxic people), we need to get rid of that toxic environment as soon as possible.
I personally have been in burnout several times due to the fact that I wanted to do a lot of different things in a very short time.
That’s exactly why I ended up being mentally exhausted quite quickly, and that led to physical exhaustion as well.
Mental exhaustion is worse than physical exhaustion.
To get rid of this state of burnout I had to organize and plan my time better and add more margin for error.
Also, I started to refuse various external requests more often (invitations, requests, requests for services, etc.) and this helped me live a more balanced life.
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Do you know the saying “Don’t leave until tomorrow what you can do today“?
I believe that we must prioritize today’s activities very well. We do the most important and urgent ones today, the others we can leave for tomorrow or the next time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, burnout is a syndrome that can affect a person’s performance and mental health.
It can be caused by prolonged and unsustainable stress at work or due to an unfavorable balance between professional and personal demands.
Preventing and treating burnout may require lifestyle changes, including stress management, life balance, getting adequate rest, or therapy.
It is important to pay attention to the signs of burnout and take steps to prevent or treat it in its early stages.
Read also:
How to be calm in every situation
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