Are You Suffering From Burnout?

Everyone is susceptible to burnout. It doesn't matter if you are famous, unheard of, rolling in wealth, or struggling to get by. Occasionally everyone feels the strain of doing too much and feeling stressed out about it. When burnout does hit, it can be so severe that you get sick, cynicism, and even depression. So, what you do to avoid burnout?

Know the symptoms

Psychology Today notes that burnout is due to chronic, high stress situations, and that symptoms present themselves over time in a variety of physical, behavioral, and mental ways. Knowing your symptoms and when they appear is the first step in recognising that feeling burnt out is just around the corner.

Some of these symptoms are:

• Fatigue

• Increased illness

• Loss of appetite

• Anger

• Detachment

• Lack of productivity

Write a list of the symptoms that you have that lead up to burnout, and when they occur so you can be ready to acknowledge the feelings, then schedule a little down time.

Figure out what is causing you to feel this way

We all have different triggers as to what makes us feel burnt out. Perhaps it's a coworker that brings drama to the office every day, too many things on your own plate, or maybe it's just time for a change of pace. Regardless of what your individual reason is, you should be aware of it.

To find the real reason behind your feelings, take a look at the situation you are in as objectively as you can. Try to find the reason behind the feelings, then deal with it accordingly. You might be surprised that all you need to do is set some personal boundaries, such as leaving work on time so you can relax with your family and friends. On the other hand, other situations might require a full vacation to unplug and get the downtime needed. The only way to know is to be honest with yourself.

Find solutions that work

Just as each reason for burnout is different, solutions are not one size fits all. However, there are some tweaks that you can do to help. After you've analyzed your situation, you're better situated to find what works to help you recover. Grace Conyers, a startup entrepreneur that focuses on helping the working poor start companies, helpsher clients create systems that help them take care of themselves while streamlining work, their daily lives, and that helps them keep focused.

This is just one way to approach dealing with burnout. However, every detail of the process should be tweaked for your own needs. Eating healthy is good for everyone, but if you really need your captain crunch frappuccino from Starbucks as part of your calming morning ritual, by all means, indulge with a smile.

Please share on social media if you found this post helpful. If you have a comment or question I would be happy to discuss. Read more on my blog rhettpower.blogspot.com.