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How to Prevent Burnout
What is burnout?
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.
It is characterised by three dimensions:
- Exhaustion
- Cynicism
- Feelings of reduced ability
Because of the consequences it can have on one’s life and state of mind, it’s important to prevent and mange it right away.
Symptoms of burnout
Physical Symptoms:
- Feeling tired and drained most of the time.
- Frequent headaches or muscle pain.
- Lowered immunity, frequent illnesses.
- Change in appetite or sleep habits.
Emotional Symptoms:
- Sense of failure and self-doubt.
- Loss of motivation.
- Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated.
- Increasingly cynical and negative outlook.
- Detachment, feeling alone in the world.
- Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.
Behavioural Symptoms:
- Withdrawing from responsibilities.
- Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope.
- Isolating yourself from others.
- Taking out your frustrations on others
- Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done.
- Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early.
Dealing with Burnout
It’s critical to have a plan of action as soon as you begin to notice the warning signs of burnout. The following 4 tips can help prevent and manage your symptoms and increase your overall sense of well-being:
1. Turn to other people:
- Reach out to those closest to you, such as your partner, family, and friends.
- Be more sociable with your coworkers. Developing friendships with people you work with can help buffer you from job burnout.
- Limit your contact with negative people.
- Connect with a cause or a community group that is personally meaningful to you.
- Find new friends. If you don’t feel that you have anyone to turn to, it’s never too late to build new friendships and expand your social network.
2. Reframe the way you look at work:
- Try to find some value in your work. Even in some mundane jobs, you can often focus on how your role helps others, for example, or provides a much-needed product or service.
- Find balance in your life. If you are dissatisfied your job, look for meaning and satisfaction elsewhere in your life: in your family, friends, hobbies, or voluntary work.
- Take time off. If burnout seems inevitable, try to take a complete break from work.
3. Re-evaluate your priorities:
- Set boundaries. Don’t overextend yourself.
- Take a daily break from technology.
- Nourish your creative side. Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout.
- Set aside relaxation time for techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing.
- Get plenty of sleep.
4. Focus on your health:
- Make exercise a priority.
- Minimize sugar and refined carbs.
- Reduce your high intake of foods that can adversely affect your mood, such as caffeine, unhealthy fats, and foods with chemical preservatives or hormones.
- Avoid nicotine and alcohol.
Original Article from HelpGuide.