Burnout

• Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.
• Burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.
  The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life including your home, work, and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.
• Are you on the road to burnout?
  You may be on the road to burnout if:
• Every day is a bad day.
  Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
  You’re exhausted all the time.
  The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either dull or overwhelming.
  You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.
• Signs and symptoms of burnout:
• Most of us have days when we feel helpless, overloaded, or unappreciated when dragging ourselves out of bed requires the determination of Hercules. If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may be burned out.
  Burnout is a gradual process. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it can creep up on you.
  The signs and symptoms are subtle at first, but become worse as time goes on. Think of the early symptoms as red flags that something is wrong that needs to be addressed. If you pay attention and actively reduce your stress, you can prevent a major breakdown. If you ignore them, you’ll eventually burn out.
• Physical signs and symptoms of burnout:
• Feeling tired and drained most of the time.
  Lowered immunity, frequent illnesses.
  Frequent headaches or muscle pain.
  Change in appetite or sleep habits.

• Emotional signs and symptoms of burnout

  Sense of failure and self-doubt.
  Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated.
  Detachment, feeling alone in the world.
  Loss of motivation.
  The increasingly cynical and negative outlook.
  Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.
  Behavioral signs and symptoms of burnout.
  Withdrawing from responsibilities.
  Isolating yourself from others.
  Procrastinating, Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.

• It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain roBurnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.
  The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life including your home, work, and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.
  Are you on the road to burnout?
  You may be on the road to burnout if:
  Every day is a bad day.
  Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
  You’re exhausted all the time.
  The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either dull or overwhelming.
  You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.
  Signs and symptoms of burnout:
• Most of us have days when we feel helpless, overloaded, or unappreciated when dragging ourselves out of bed requires the determination of Hercules. If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may be burned out.
  Burnout is a gradual process. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it can creep up on you.
  The signs and symptoms are subtle at first, but become worse as time goes on. Think of the early symptoms as red flags that something is wrong that needs to be addressed. If you pay attention and actively reduce your stress, you can prevent a major breakdown. If you ignore them, you’ll eventually burn out.
  Physical signs and symptoms of burnout:
• Feeling tired and drained most of the time
  Lowered immunity, frequent illnesses
  Frequent headaches or muscle pain
  Change in appetite or sleep habits
  Emotional signs and symptoms of burnout
  Sense of failure and self-doubt
  Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated
  Detachment, feeling alone in the world
  Loss of motivation
  The increasingly cynical and negative outlook
  Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment
• Behavioral signs and symptoms of burnout:
• Withdrawing from responsibilities
  Isolating yourself from others
  Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done
  Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope
  Taking out your frustrations on others
  Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early.
• The difference between stress and burnout
• Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress, but it isn’t the same as too much stress. Stress, by and large, involves too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and mentally. However, stressed people can still imagine that if they can just get everything under control, they’ll feel better.
  Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations.
• Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.
  Burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.
  The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life including your home, work, and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.
•  it isn’t the same as too much stress. Stress, by and large, involves too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and mentally. However, stressed people can still imagine that if they can just get everything under control, they’ll feel better.
  Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress feels like you’re drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up. And while you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens.
  excessive stress feels like you’re drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up. And while you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens.
  taking longer to get things done
  Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope
  Taking out your frustrations on others
  Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early.
• The difference between stress and burnout
  Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress, but it isn’t the same as too much stress. Stress, by and large, involves too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and mentally. However, stressed peoplett can still imagine that if they can just get everything under control, they’ll feel better.
  Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress feels like you’re drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up. And while you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens.

Ways to deal with Burnout

To deal with burnout, turn to other people

When you’re on the road to burnout, you can feel helpless. But you have a lot more control over stress than you may think. There are positive steps you can take to deal with overwhelming stress and get your life back into balance. One of the most effective is to reach out to others.

Social contact is nature’s antidote to stress and talking face-to-face with a good listener is one of the fastest ways to calm your nervous system and relieve stress. The person you talk to doesn’t have to be able to “fix” your stressors; they just have to be a good listener, someone who’ll listen attentively without becoming distracted or expressing judgment.

Reach out to those closest to you, such as your partner, family, and friends. Opening up won’t make you a burden to others. Most friends and loved ones will be flattered that you trust them enough to confide in them, and it will only strengthen your friendship. Try not to think about what’s burning you out and make the time you spend with loved ones positive and enjoyable.

Be more sociable with your coworkers. Developing friendships with people you work with can help buffer you from job burnout. When you take a break, for example, instead of directing your attention to your smartphone, try engaging your colleagues. Or schedule social events together after work.

Limit your contact with negative people. Hanging out with negative-minded people who do nothing but complain will only drag down your mood and outlook. If you have to work with a negative person, try to limit the amount of time you spend together.

Connect with a cause or a community group that is personally meaningful to you. Joining a religious, social, or support group can give you a place to talk to like-minded people about how to deal with daily stress—and make new friends. If your line of work has a professional association, you can attend meetings and interact with others coping with the same workplace demands.

Find new friends. If you don’t feel that you have anyone to turn to, it’s never too late to build new friendships and expand your social network.

The power of giving

Being helpful to others delivers immense pleasure and can help to significantly reduce stress as well as broaden your social circle.

Set boundaries. Don’t overextend yourself. Learn how to say “no” to requests on your time. If you find this difficult, remind yourself that saying “no” allows you to say “yes” to the commitments you want to make.

Take a daily break from technology. Set a time each day when you completely disconnect. Put away your laptop, turn off your phone, and stop checking your email.

Nourish your creative side. Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout. Try something new, start a fun project, or resume a favorite hobby. Choose activities that have nothing to do with work or whatever is causing your stress.

Set aside relaxation time. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing activate the body’s relaxation response, a state of restfulness that is the opposite of the stress response.

Get plenty of sleep. Feeling tired can exacerbate burnout by causing you to think irrationally. Keep your cool in stressful situations by getting a good night’s sleep.

Aim to exercise for 30 minutes or more per day or break that up into short, 10-minute bursts of activity. A 10-minute walk can improve your mood for two hours.

Rhythmic exercise, where you move both your arms and legs, is a hugely effective way to lift your mood, increase energy, sharpen focus, and relax both the mind and body. Try walking, running, weight training, swimming, martial arts, or even dancing.

To maximize stress relief, instead of continuing to focus on your thoughts, focus on your body and how it feels as you move: the sensation of your feet hitting the ground, for example, or the wind on your skin.

Support your mood and energy levels by eating a healthy diet

What you put in your body can have a huge impact on your mood and energy levels throughout the day.

Minimize sugar and refined carbs. You may crave sugary snacks or comfort foods such as pasta or French fries, but these high-carbohydrate foods quickly lead to a crash in mood and energy.

Reduce your high intake of foods that can adversely affect your moods, such as caffeine, trans fats, and foods with chemical preservatives or hormones.

Eat more Omega-3 fatty acids to give your mood a boost.

The best sources are fatty fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines), seaweed, flaxseed, and walnuts.

Avoid nicotine. Smoking when you’re feeling stressed may seem calming, but nicotine is a powerful stimulant, leading to higher, not lower, levels of anxiety. Drink alcohol in moderation. Alcohol temporarily reduces worry, but too much can cause anxiety as it wears off.