I was talking to a friend and she was saying she was short-tempered, frustrated, had a headache for weeks and just couldn’t deal with anything or anyone. She was wondering if she was depressed and I said, it might be burnout. Mainly because I was feeling the same way too!
Disclaimer- I am not a therapist. If you are feeling depressed then please see your therapist. It can be hard to tell because burnout and depression have some similar symptoms.
Burnout is a physical response to the problem of constant stress. It’s your bodies way of saying could you please pump the brakes.
Common signs of burnout (from the Cleveland Clinic):
Fatigue: It’s like fatigue has taken up permanent residence in your bones.
Apathy and disatisfaction: Why do I bother?
Mood changes: This is the I’m not myself and I’m irritable and snapping at everyone feeling.
Changes in eating and sleeping.
Tension Headaches.
Other physical symptoms.
I’m laughing at this list because now that I look back I can see, oh yes, this was my problem.
Looking at the list of ‘How To Recover from Burnout’ from the Cleveland Clinic I can see why so many of us struggle to implement these changes, especially since ‘have a mindful practice’ is one of them. Let’s just say if I’m already fatigued and irritated and you tell me to mediate then I am going to want to a) have an angry outburst and b) I’m not going to do it!
If you are doing all of the things and your body is saying hey please stop, but you are so used to living in this state that you don’t even recognize the signs, meditating isn’t going to help. You need to look at the underlying reason for driving yourself into burnout in the first place.
Things I have been doing that have been making me feel better:
Asking for help. Which is the hardest freaking thing for me to do. I’ve had to ask for help and everyone I’ve asked has done so. Which is a good reminder for the next time I’m resisting asking for help.
When I get home from work I don’t look at my phone and I set a timer and read for twenty minutes. The not looking at the phone has been key to help me decompress from the day.
I vent to trusted friends. Sometimes it helps to just let it out, especially to a friend who you trust, and especially to a friend who will let you talk it through and figure out your action plan without telling you what to do. Or, god forbid, trying to fix it for you.
Realizing what has been driving me so hard. Old beliefs, and subsequently, old habits reared their ugly head. I’m working it out.
So, how are you feeling? If you need help figuring out why you are driving yourself to burnout, or close to burnout, then feel free to sign up for 1/2 hour free coaching consult.
