BURNT OUT? HEAR ME OUT!!!

Image Source: https://timdenning.substack.com/p/youre-not-burned-out-youre-doing

Are you going through a phase where you have less energy to do things, not as excited as before to do the job, can’t feel happiness to its fullest or are you feeling like you have lost that spark in your life. Is there any problem? No. Are you happy? Mmm…. Not much but I’m not sad. This situation right here can indicate that you are most likely burnt out. Before you think that you have some serious problem let me assure you this is common scenario for almost everyone.

Being burnt out can feel like you are mentally, emotionally and physically tired, mental tiredness being the common one.

What is burn out?

It is a state of physical, mental or emotional exhaustion. This term was coined in 1970s by a psychologist. It does overlap with depression symptoms. So identifying it is important and leaving it untouched can lead to a number of mental as well as physical impact on the person says a clinical psychologist.

Stages of being burnt out

1. Emotional exhaustion: You feel it difficult to connect emotionally with something or to feel things emotionally. You were so passionate about your work but now you just don’t feel that burning passion. So that you wont be able to complete work on time, procrastinating during task. Sometimes you also get angry and take it out on your co – workers.

2. Depersonalization: This doesn’t apply to your family members but to the people who you see constantly in your work place. You won’t be able to keep an emotional connection or closeness towards them. It doesn’t mean that you are hating them. At times you can even experience self doubt or behavioural changes which will be noticeable by your loved or close ones.

3. You won’t feel happy or proud in personal accomplishments. Decreased ability to appreciate your accomplishments. This gradually progress and if left untreated it can have a negative effect on your health.

What are some major symptoms of being burnt out that we feel?

  • Decreased productivity
  • Decreased creativity
  • Can’t do things with same quality that we used to have.
  • Finding no meaning in things or work which were once meaningful to you.
  • Feeling tired even when you are physically well.
  • An interesting factor is that in some people when they are burnt out there will decreased immunity, fall ill more often.
  • Work related anger burst outs

Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/healthy-lifestyle–433471532895231200/

Remember that all these symptoms are not going to run up to you on a fine morning. Instead they develop gradually.

Causes of burn out 

  • Difficulty or failing to manage stress.
  • Taking the example of a perfectionist. Obviously they do things perfectly but when they expect that from others and reaching the bar they set is impossible for the rest of them, this can gradually lead to burn out.
  • You work your best but don’t get the appreciation that you need, goes undervalued. Working in a job that gives you pressure instead of pleasure.
  • There are some statements that says that the era that we live in expects productivity, to be more productive which itself can lead to burn out. A 9-6 job doesn’t end with 9-6 but a 9-9 or 10 may be even more. Systems like these play an important role in burn out.

Overcoming it

  • It is funny to say to avoid stress because it is something very next to impossible in this generation. What we can do instead is that try to keep the level very low. Analyse your situation or the things that gives you stress and incorporate activities or whatever it takes to help you manage, lower, make you stay away from it as far as possible or deal with it in a better way.
  • No matter how important the job is understand that nothing is more important than your health be it mental, physical or emotional. So always make some time for you in between all the mess that you are going through. If you say that oh I will rest after all these things quiet down a bit then listen people that is never going to happen. What is going to fall shut is your health and nothing else.
  • Sometimes there is nothing more toxic than social media. Take breaks from it, if possible from any screen that you may find. 
  • Sleep hygiene – As far as it is possible go to bed on time, wake up on time maintain a sleep routine. Get the same amount of sleep every day. Make it a must for you and you can and will find ways to do that.
  • Exercise regularly and eat healthy like foods with omega 3 fatty acid and avoiding sugary foods, foods with saturated fats.
  • Find and try out some new activities that are meaningful to you that makes sense to you. Follow your long forgotten deep buried yearning passion. The skills or interests that you had to shove down 6 feet under to make a living, to satisfy your parents.
  • Many a times the anxiety and stress that we feel is due to the choices that we make in our life. In cases like these, avoid any such choices or may be rethink your choices. 
  • Keep quality relationships. Don’t try to make friends with everybody you meet. It’s not about the quantity but the quality is what matters. Forcing relationships never work. True friends, true love or any other true relationships are never forced but it happens on its own.

Don’t confuse burn out with laziness. A way to differentiate it is that if you were lazy you wouldn’t have felt a passion or enthusiasm towards that work. Feeling burnt out happens to all, everybody at some point must have felt this. They say artists express their feeling through their art. A famous singer goes like “everybody is tired and healing from somebody or something we don’t see just right” and oddly enough everybody can relate to it. We all are healing. It doesn’t mean that you have to recover fully. Just knowing that you are hurting is the very first part in healing. Remember in order to heal any wound, identification or locating it is the first step in healing. 

Written by Gayathri Gopinadh

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