5 Tips on How to Overcome Burnout in Your Life
Burnout is on the rise. A recent report from Indeed found that 52% of all workers are feeling burned out. Burnout is widespread and can result from overly demanding expectations, lack of control, lack of social support, taking on more than one can handle at work, school, or interpersonally with family and friends, or poor self-care, among other causes.
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Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress. Burnout can affect your quality of life and well-being in various ways. The consequences of burnout include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, anger, irritability, fatigue, excessive stress, increased likelihood for high blood pressure, withdrawing from family and friends, inability to do a job well, loss of motivation, increasingly negative and cynical outlook, among others. The good news is that treatment for burnout will also work to prevent burnout in the first place.
After communicating with Haley Perlus, Sport and Performance Psychology Ph.D., here are some of the takeaways to help you overcome burnout in your life.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, changing your daily nutrition, or adding any supplements to your regimen.
Table of contents
What Does It Mean for a Person to “Burnout”?
Burnout, in the context of mental and physical health, refers to a state of overwhelming exhaustion that can affect various aspects of a person’s well-being. Here’s a breakdown:
Mental Burnout
- Emotional Exhaustion: Feeling drained, overwhelmed, and unable to cope. This often leads to a lack of motivation and a decrease in productivity.
- Cynicism and Detachment: Developing a negative or indifferent attitude towards your work or responsibilities. This can manifest as irritability, frustration, and a lack of enthusiasm.
- Reduced Performance: Experiencing difficulty in concentrating, making decisions, and completing tasks. This can affect your efficiency and effectiveness in both personal and professional settings.
- Feelings of Helplessness and Hopelessness: A pervasive sense of inadequacy and lack of accomplishment. This can lead to anxiety and depression.
Physical Burnout
- Chronic Fatigue: Persistent tiredness and a lack of energy, even after adequate rest. This can lead to physical exhaustion that makes it difficult to carry out daily activities.
- Sleep Disturbances: Experiencing trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or having restful sleep. This can exacerbate feelings of tiredness and impact overall health.
- Frequent Illnesses: A weakened immune system, making you more susceptible to colds, infections, and other health issues.
- Physical Symptoms: Experiencing headaches, muscle pain, gastrointestinal problems, and changes in appetite. These symptoms are often a result of prolonged stress on the body.
Causes of Burnout
- Work-Related Stress: High job demands, lack of control, inadequate support, and long working hours.
- Personal Life Stressors: Balancing work and personal responsibilities, financial pressures, and relationship issues.
- Lack of Self-Care: Neglecting physical health, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and insufficient rest and relaxation.
How to Overcome Burning Out from Exercise
If you overtrain and don’t allow your body to recover fully, you will likely experience workout burnout. Also, if you use the same routine over a long period of time, boredom will kick in. If you overtrain, you are more susceptible to injuries that can take you out of your routine and make it harder to “jump back in.”
Setting realistic fitness goals for your age, level of condition, and work/personal schedule is critical. Many athletes or “weekend warriors” feel guilty if they take a break from training. It is wise to take around two days off a week from exercise.
There is a reason for the term “stress fracture.” While weight training is excellent for improving bone density and high-impact workouts are ideal for cardio, your bones get stressed, and in turn, that can lead to fractures.
Don’t obsess over numbers, reps, sets, etc. Focus more on how you feel after the workout mentally and physically. Switch up your workouts so that you don’t hit a plateau. If you need to, get a fitness partner, change your workout environment by changing gyms, put on some new music to listen to, or treat yourself to some new workout gear.
How to Overcome Burning Out at Your Job
To overcome burnout at your job, first, identify what you can change. For example, learning how to say no at work when you‘re already working on multiple tasks simultaneously can help lessen stress and frustration. Evaluating your commitments, setting boundaries, and learning when to turn down requests will help you get the rest you need to give yourself and others your best. Setting personal and professional boundaries is essential to bouncing back from burnout because if you feel taken advantage of or disempowered by your relationships, your self-esteem is impacted.
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Low self-esteem impacts stress levels, health, and personal relationships. Clear communication is critical in setting boundaries that empower yourself, give you more control, reduce stress, and put you on the road to better well-being.
How to Overcome Burning Out as a Parent
Recovery can take two forms. One form is practicing stillness. Stillness techniques include but are not limited to meditation, deep breathing, sleep (including naps), and simple, quiet time. Even just one minute of quality deep breathing can renew emotional energy. Variety is the second form of recovery that can treat and prevent burnout. Variety is essentially offering yourself an opportunity to recover from one task while engaging in another task that requires a different type of energy. For example, physical activity provides positive stress for your body while creating extraordinary recovery for your emotions and mind.
Stepping away from your computer for 10 minutes and folding laundry while listening to calming, peaceful, and happy music can provide mental recovery. If you take advantage of it, your mind will escape from the computer, and the music will help with emotional recovery (as long as you don’t focus on the pressure of getting chores down and, instead, enjoy crossing laundry off the list while enjoying your favorite music).
No matter what form of recovery you choose, take everything one step at a time and make small changes along the way. Tiny changes can have a ripple effect that eventually leads to significant results in your overall health.
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