The Reality of Burnout and How to Combat It with New Methods

The Reality of Burnout and How to Combat It with New Methods

Member feature: by Tammy of VA Connect

 

So, the year is winding down and the silly season is around the corner. It’s no secret that this year has been a crazy rollercoaster ride and I think possibly one of the most stressful and challenging one for most of us.

The thing is, a lot of us do not listen to ourselves, our inner selves and when things become a bit overwhelming and intense in our lives usually the body starts to shout out and looks for help by giving off signals.

Do you listen to your signals?

You really should, because when we are on the ‘go train’, the express train shooting through life, no stops along the way, eventually the train will come to a halt and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Liken this to you, your body. When you are on the go constantly and taking on more and more things on to your person eventually you will come to a halt and not be going anywhere.

In this blog I explore the symptoms of burnout and some alternative methods to help you get through your stress and challenges and ultimately combating burnout in its entirety.

 

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE HEADING FOR BURNOUT?

Psychology Today published a brilliant article outlining the tell-tale signs of burnout and how you can possibly catch it early and prevent a complete body and mind shutdown.

Let’s take a step back and ask, what is burnout per se?

Well the following can be seen as the definition:

• Physical and Mental Exhaustion
• Cynicism and Detachment
• Feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment

Now let’s look briefly at some of the symptoms:

• Chronic Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Forgetfulness
• And things like chest pain, dizziness and so forth

These are just some of the signs but probably the ones that can also easily be mistaken for a myriad of other illnesses and disorders.

Now, if you have signs like this on a regular basis and/or it persists for a couple of days and/or gets worse you should seek professional help.  Worst case scenario is that you will end up in hospital and take months to fully recover from it.

 

WAYS TO HELP REDUCE STRESS AND ULTIMATELY AVOID BURNOUT

Stress is a definite contributor to burnout and so in reducing stress, taking time for yourself regularly and listening to your body’s signals you can avoid burnout all together.

Things which you can do to avoid going over the edge are; yoga, meditation, long walks on the beach, switch off from your technology for a few hours or better still, set an alarm that tells you it is now time to switch off technology and walk away for the rest of the day.

Something else which may prove helpful, especially if you have trouble switching off like I do, is music therapy. Listening to different sounds or classical music can help to reduce stress and almost rewire the brain altogether.

This article is one that I did research on and found it incredibly interesting how music can really play a role in reducing stress and also increasing your productivity.

 

CONCLUSION

Well, the conclusion is simple – listen to your body, take your cues from how you are feeling both physically and mentally and when things become overwhelming, do not feel guilty about saying ‘NO’ and walking away for a bit.

When you work from home it is very easy to fall into that bottomless pit of never knowing when or how to switch off, but it is so important that we do.

I love this quote by Paulo Coehlo – “When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself”. A truer word could not be spoken.

Love thyself – there is only one of you!

 

For more about Tammy and how VA Connect can help you, please do visit our members page.