I first experienced burnout many years ago when working through university. At the time I thought it was nothing more than stress, however, it’s only now that I realize just what I was putting myself through. I persevered until it became impossible. What I ended up with was a severe relapse followed by a breakdown that would change the course of my entire life.
Jen (the writer behind the blog, Diffusing the Tension) lives in Northwest Indiana with her husband and two children (ages 4.5 and 3). She has bipolar disorder and frequently writes about her experiences with that. In her spare time, she is OBSESSED with true crime. She is also a bookworm, TV junkie, and fitness nut.
Jen has written for Nyxie’s Nook before! You can find her other articles here!
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“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.”
Helpguide.
So, not only is it an emotional experience, but it is physical and mental as well. And it is caused by too much stress. With this mounting stress, you begin to stop caring about things you once enjoyed.
Sound like you?
I’ve been through it myself. Very recently in fact. And I figured out a bunch of ways to feel better. So keep reading and I will share them with you! First, let’s look at 16 common symptoms of burnout.
Again, this is all according to the HelpGuide article I linked above, so check that out for more info.
If any of this sounds like you, then keep reading because I’m going to share my best strategies for beating stress that I use in my own life.
Stress has a lot of really bad effects on your body, so it’s important to get rid of it as quickly as you can. According to Healthline, chronic stress has the following effects on you. Spoiler, none of them are pleasant!
This is one of the best things you can do for your mental health, period. There are so many ways you can make it work for you, but here are a few of my faves.
I love writing down things I’m grateful for. This helps keep me grounded and reminds me of all the good things in your life. And try to dig as deep as possible. For example, rather than “I’m grateful for oxygen” say, “I am grateful that each day, I am taking steps to better my health by XYZ.”
Another thing you can do is write a list of all your negative thoughts, and then in another column write a positive counterstatement. For example, “I hate the way my toddler treats me” can become “I recognize that my child is acting their age, and I CAN get through it.”
Just write whatever you find helpful, and you will see benefits.
THIS. All of this.
Seriously, you need to ask for help. I know it feels yucky sometimes. After all, society tells us that we need to be able to do it all, and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. But keep in mind, your bootstraps are currently on fire, so you need to call in reinforcement.
One of the best things I have ever done, at the advice of my therapist, was to explicitly tell my husband, “I need you to be more helpful with the kids.” Full stop. And guess what? He said yes. So, what is holding you back from asking for help? There is no shame in it!
It’s important to be able to tell the things that are making you feel this way. For me, it’s poor sleep and my kids misbehaving. I know those ones are pretty common for any stressed out mamas reading this.
To be able to spot these things, if you’re unsure, write down every time you exhibit signs of irritability or lack of motivation. What event immediately preceded this?
Reading has so many positive benefits for mental health. One is that it makes you more resilient. Reading about how characters battle different things in their life helps your own brain to be more elastic.
You don’t even have to burn through 100s of pages a day. Even just reading for 15 minutes a few times a week can be massively helpful for your symptoms of burnout. Plus, it probably means you are alone and relaxing, which is always a bonus!
Okay, this one I’m maybe not so good at. If you’re like me, and you just can’t quiet your mind no matter what you do, start slow. I like lying down on my bed with my eyes closed for a couple minutes and trying to focus on one phrase. I usually use a positive affirmation like, “I am a good mom.”
If you want to go more in depth, you can try a guided meditation video on Youtube. There are tons to choose from, and they tell you exactly what to do.
Here is an example:
Straight up, you need better self-care. That’s the thing about self-care: everyone needs it whether you are burned out, depressed, anxious- or emotionally healthy. We all need to take care of ourselves on a regular basis.
Start by writing in your planner, or setting a reminder on your phone, “I will spend 15 minutes today on myself.” Do this daily. 15 minutes really isn’t that long, so it is easy to work into most people’s schedules. Start at 15 minutes, and work your way up to at least an hour a day.
Remember: self care is not selfish.
You only get one life. Do you want to spend it miserable, cranky with your children, or pushing your spouse away? Or do you want a life full of fulfillment, and joy, and laughter, and calm?
It’s simpler than you think, you just have to dedicate yourself to this on a daily basis. You have to ask for help. You have to recognize the things that stress you. And most importantly, you have to give yourself a little grace. After all, you’re just one person. You can get better, but it takes time.
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Thanks for sharing, Jen and Nyxie! I think lockdown is contributing to a feeling of burnout in my life right now - always good to read some reminders of how I can get some control back :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment pet! We really appreciate it.
A hugely important subject to discuss. I think an awful lot of people may recognise themselves in this list but have never related it to burnout.
Thank you to you and Jen for sharing x
Thank you so much for popping in and reading! x
Oh man... I feel like I might be suffering from burnout a little bit. Maybe it's time to take a little staycation.
I remeber learning this in highschool when I was diagnosed with depression. It is a topic that has to be interduced so early on because more and more kids and teens suffer from burn outs. Amazing post.
It's definitely time to unwind if you're feeling like this. I know it's not always easy to do but we need to every so often. x
Great post! This is very useful thank you!
Thank you for reading :)
Such in important post! I feel like most of us can relate to these feelings of burnout and don't have many resources to turn to. This is that great resource that's needed!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment.
I tend to suffer from burnout every now and again and I find it's so difficult to bounce back. A few weeks ago I pretty much ticked off everything on the list! Journalling and making time for self care have been quite helpful over the last few weeks and I've also found that staying away from social media has helped too. Thank you both for sharing :) x
Thank you so much for reading. I've been clocking off from social media a lot too and it's been so, so helpful! I hope you're keeping well. x
I suffer burnout every now and again and I try my best to get back on track as quickly as possible! A great post lovely x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you for reading, pet! x
I definitely suffer from burnout every now and again! It usually crops up when I haven't given myself a day off in a while and although I work from home and work for myself, I definitely still need some down time!
It's not easy to give ourselves days off especially if we work at home. I've never taken the full day off but I've been clocking off at 1 a lot lately and it's been so helpful. Yes, things have fallen behind but they aren't overly important.
Yup, I've felt these lately. It's tough being in quarantine. We've been venturing out a bit, but still not like it was. So it can be hard and I do find myself feeling burnt out.
This is so important sometimes we don't realize that we are burned out thank you for sharing this