From Exhausted to Elated
By Amanda Da Silva, B.Hkin, B.Ed, and M.Ed
5-minute read
You’re perhaps too familiar with the feeling of impending doom as you realize that you are unable to move forward yet cannot imagine what else to do or how to get unstuck.
You wish you could fall into a deep slumber and wake up to find every problem you’ve had has fixed itself. What a miracle it would take to wake up to a life you love and a job you don’t loathe. I’m sure you know it already, but you aren’t alone in this.
What is burnout?
The truth is, burnout has become an inherent part of our culture, so much so that we’ve grown desensitized to its nefarious effects and dire consequences. Burnout is a problem, even if we are reluctant to recognize it as such. In its basic form, burnout is a negative mental, physical, and emotional response that is provoked when the requirements or responsibilities you have do not align with the resources and abilities you possess.
It’s the inability to fully enjoy your successes, it’s the crushing feeling of fear and apprehension you get because you’re worried you don’t know what you’re doing, and it shows. Burnout manifests as the incessant thoughts that persuade you, you’re not enough. It’s the self-imposed limitations that prevent you from pursuing a purpose that honours your personal values because you’re haunted by an oppressive sense of realistic vs. idealistic dread.
It’s the fogginess and the inability to focus on the simplest task because all you can think of is running for the hills. You’re consumed by the irrepressible urge to run away from an environment and a culture that solely exists to impede your efforts and inhibit your path to finding meaning and fulfillment in what you do.
Telltale Signs of Burnout
One of the first things you need to do for burnout prevention is to identify it first.
By knowing when it happens, how it happens, and what causes your burnout, you will be more likely to prevent it in the future. So, how do you identify burnout? Is it feeling tired? Creatively exhausted? Or more on-edge?
Well, our burnout alarm depends on a lot of factors such as our ability to handle stress, so identifying burnouts depends on your stress ceiling. However, there are some universal signs that everyone will have when it comes to burnout.
Here are the five most common ways to identify a burnout incoming:
● Irritability: If you feel like you’re being cranky suddenly with your friends and family or even just with random people, you’re probably reaching your stress ceiling.
● Inability to sleep: When you’re just tired because it was a busy day at work, you will likely get a good night’s sleep and feel sleepy very easily, but if you’re so stressed and burned out, you won’t be able to get adequate sleep.
● Overall exhaustion: Being burned out is not just about mental stress overload, it’s also about emotional and physical stress. It gets to a point where it becomes hard to understand your own emotions or deal with anything/anyone.
● Frequent illnesses: We all know about spring allergies and winter flu but being burned out is more than just being sick, it’s being sick too often. Essentially, your body is so preoccupied with other things that are taking up so much energy that it has no room for immunity against diseases.
Overcoming Burnout
No.1: Know your limits
Being ambitious is very important but we all need to know our limits and challenge them modestly.
You can’t go from waking up at 11 am, being on your phone for 4 consecutive hours, eating a sugar-packed breakfast, and spending the majority of your day sitting around, to waking up at 6 am, meditating, staying off social media, completing everything on your to-do list, reading 50 pages a day, working out, and sticking to a healthy meal plan. You might want to do it, but you’ll probably be burned out quite quickly. Notice how this isn’t about what you can or cannot do, it’s about what you can handle. So, slowly ease into self-development.
No.2: Slow and steady wins the race
Burnout is very similar to losing stamina in a marathon because you sprinted the first mile.
Burnout happens because you’ve put too much on your plate and you wanted to go through it as fast as you could. The right approach is to do everything with consistency rather than intense vigour. There will come a time when you must step on the gas a little, but you should not be going as fast as you can for as long as possible.
No.3: Personal/professional boundaries
Burnout happens simply because we did not set proper boundaries whether personal or professional.
Burnout also happens to people who have a hard time saying no. Any project or invitation that comes up makes you say yes because of the fear of missing out or because you do not want to disappoint other people. In this case, you should set personal boundaries for your work and enforce them every single time. If you’re an entrepreneur, for instance, you may have a very hard time setting boundaries because you feel obligated to do everything yourself. Even if you work a 9-5 job, you may not always feel inclined to reject your co-workers’ calls for help or your manager’s last-minute requests.
With that said, if you want to prevent or overcome burnout, you have to draw the line somewhere.
No.4: Healthy habits
Your habits matter more than you think when it comes to stress and feeling overwhelmed. Therefore, make sure that your habits instill the notion of limiting your workload and preventing burnout. Not to mention, make sure that you have positive habits that can help you regroup and recover from everyday stresses.
No.5: Building in downtime
Downtime is an important part of your day.
A lot of people think of it as wasted time, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Your downtime simply refers to the time when you allow yourself to kick back and let go of all that pent-up stress. Try mentally stimulating activities that have the potential to incite some passion, enthusiasm, and genuine enjoyment. Doing this on a regular basis will eventually help you overcome the stress and frustration you’ve been harbouring.
Conclusion
Burnout is real and can take a toll on your health not to mention your productivity.
So, it’s important that you identify it when it arises. Know the symptoms, understand them, and act accordingly. Exercise, sleep, setting boundaries, and knowing your limits are all very important when it comes to preventing burnout.
Incorporating downtime into your day is also essential for your recovery.
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Hi! I’m Amanda Da Silva.
I’m a mother of two boys, a wife, daughter, teacher, entrepreneur, former CEO, and life-long learner. I’m all about personal growth, community 💕, and being of service. (Find out more about me here.) In addition to being passionate about personal development, I’m an educator and coach with 20-years experience teaching and leading in the BC school system. I have a B.Hkin, B.Ed, and M.Ed, specializing in leadership and administration. Creating community and leading thriving teams are two of my favourite things to do. I also love helping people live empowered and growth-oriented lives.
I hope you’ll join me as we build our success together! 🙌
