It’s pretty common to feel low on energy at times. We all do. Life is busy and schedules are hectic. But if you feel tired at all times, it’s a sign that you are exposed to stress way more than what your body and mind can handle. That’s when it becomes a problem commonly known as burnout.
Much worse than common fatigue, burnout can make handling day to day responsibilities a dreading challenge.
What is burnout?
Burnout is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. It lies somewhere between ‘too tired to work‘ and ‘not able to function at all’. And it doesn’t only affect your work but every part of your life. But the main problem is that you might not even realise that you have hit the burnout, especially if you are a fast paced person. You won’t notice that you are doing too much unless the boundaries of personal and professional life starts to blur out. Usually this state of burnout only come to our attention when it has already taken a toll on our physical health.
Burnout is not a medical condition, though symptoms might look similar to depression. The key difference between both is that burnt eases out after taking rest or time off, while depression is persistent. While burnout is specific to a specific aspect of your life, like work or family issue. Depression on the other hand affects every aspect of your life. However, burnout if not treated can raise risk for depression.
Signs that you are burned out
Exhaustion
Probably the most common symptoms of burnout is exhaustion. You are too tired to move a muscle, in fact too tired to even sleep. Your work efficiency is dropping and no new idea is coming to your mind. Ideas of work does not excites you rather it traumatizes you. And even basic everyday tasks are getting burdensome.
Demotivation
You don’t look forward to your day at work. You’re not trying hard and you know it. Challenges have stopped pushing you. Rather, they beat you down. Thoughts of being helpless are crawling into your mind and you can’t stop yourself in entering into a state of incompetence.
Irritability
Either you are taking everything personally or making mountain out of mole. You are getting intolerant of people around you, whether at work or at home. You’ve become highly sensitive to feedbacks and may even snap out at others. Your episodes of frustration might not be situation specific but it has become your general demeanor. And even a slightest cause of frustration can cause an outburst.
Hating your job
Job dissatisfaction is one of the most common symptoms of burnouts. Our jobs take up most of the part of our day. And when we are already overwhelmed and stressed out it’s perfectly possible to start hating our job. You might feel you are losing purpose and you are doing your work with lack of belief.
Wandering mind
A really tired mind is unable to focus. Burnout impacts brain’s ability to stay attentive and retain memories. If you are suffering from burnout, you get easily disturbed by ambient noise and are more prone to usual disruptions. Burnout alters neural circuits and makes it harder to block distractions. That’s why it’s difficult to stay on course.
Regain your life balance
Take a break
And you need to build the break rather than waiting for one. So the idea is to go for micro breaks spreaded across your entire day rather than taking one day off work. Long breaks requires planning, they need significant amount of time in hand. On the other hand micro breaks are more feasible because they last from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. And you can pretty much do anything what you want during these breaks. For example, getting up from your seat to fill in your coffee mug.
Check your screen time
Analyse your screen habits and set realistic time limits. Pay close attention to mindless browsing. Look for the cues that triggers this habit. Engage in activities that don’t require screen. And try to look for replacement of your screen. For example, reading newspaper instead of watching news, or using a pen and diary instead of digital notes. Usually people use screen to distract themselves when they are stressed. So engage yourself in hobbies that can take you away from screen.
Practice self-care
Let’s start with setting boundaries. Stop being a superhuman at both work and home. Body and mind both needs good rest to function. There is no point in pushing yourself when your mind is already giving up. Good diet, exercise, nature walks, spending time with friends are a few necessities that everyone needs, no matter what role they play in life. Keep a check on your emotions, look how you feel and do what makes you happy.
Be flexible
Flexibility allows us to see situation with a new perspective and make adjustments as needed. Rather than being stuck in a pattern which is not helpful it’s wiser to be open to new experiences. Make plans which are open to modifications. Ask for help and be open to feedbacks and suggestions. Prioritise your tasks, based on what needs to be done now and what can wait. And even this list should be flexible because prioritise do change.
Focus on what you CAN control
Invest your time and energy on what you can change rather than worrying about things that were never in your control. Because worrying about them is not going to change anything, however, it will only bring more and more stress. And what is the point of burning yourself when you know you can’t win no matter how hard you try.
Practice mindfulness
Inculcate the habit of staying in present. Focus on what’s in front of you and your current emotional state. This would help you to notice burnout before it’s too late. Usually when we are in autopilot mode it’s obvious to ignore what and how you are feeling. Mindfulness practice help you to bring your focus inwards in such times. So you can identify when you start to feel overwhelmed and can take care of your emotional well-being.
Making self-care part of your daily routine can prevent a burn out. Reach out to close ones and seek help when you need.
“When you’re at peace with yourself and love your self, it is virtually impossible to do things to yourself that are destructive.” - Wayne Dyer