Are you feeling tired? Unable to do much? Don’t really feel like doing anything at all? Have people thrown around the word ‘lazy’ when talking about you? If this sounds familiar, then welcome to the world of burnout. Laziness and burnout can often get put into the same box; however, they are not the same thing. Burnout is the state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion, caused by stress that is difficult to handle. Whether it be because of work, the kids, or poor self-care, burnout is a common problem, and now is the time to solve it! Burnout can be caused by many things but can also be resolved through important techniques. Take this time to think about your life and focus on your own wellbeing while we walk through the world of burnout. What would you do if you could start fresh today with no burdens or responsibilities? The constant pressure to perform multiple tasks perfectly is one of the main causes of burnout. On the surface, these may not feel like burdens, however, they are responsibilities. On the other hand, you may have plenty of burdens in your life that you aren’t actually responsible for. In life, you are responsible for many things; your kids, your work, your own personal wellbeing. These are the things that, even though they may cause immense amounts of pressure, are parts of you that you want to do your best at. However, when it comes to burnout, it’s the burdens that cause real damage. When you feel pressure to do something you don’t want, and actually don’t need to do, it takes a toll on your emotional, physical, and mental health, which ultimately leads to burnout, which in turn, leads to you not being able to handle your responsibilities.
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
By distinguishing and cutting out the burdens in your life, you will be one step closer to defeating burnout! As mentioned before, feeling burnt out can be confused for many things, for example, laziness, weakness, and even being a quitter. Feeling burnt out is your body’s way of telling you to stop, and your body is never wrong! Why go through life feeling miserable and suffering when you clearly need to re-examine certain aspects of what you’re doing, just so you can seem tough? There is no such thing as a weak person. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Someone might get burnt out because of work problems, while someone else might become burnt out because of issues with the kids. Just remember, if you find yourself displaying the symptoms of burn out, you are not lazy, weak, or a quitter. You are only human.
DIG DEEP
So, what is the best way of facing burnout head-on? By figuring out what is stressing you. It’s easy to say, ‘The kids are really stressing me out!’. However, once you dig a little deeper, you’ll realise that it isn’t the kids stressing you out, it’s the fact you haven’t prioritised time to yourself and now feel overwhelmed by all your responsibilities having had no time to rest. You could also say, ‘This work assignment is causing me so much stress!’, but is it really the assignment, or is the stress coming from the fact that you didn’t leave enough time to do it because you were busy doing more fun things? Self-awareness is a skill that comes with time and practise, and often makes us look at ourselves in a less flattering light. We may not want to admit it, but sometimes we create way too much unnecessary stress for ourselves. So, take some time to think about what is really causing you to feel stressed, and stop burnout in its tracks.
MOTIVATE YOURSELF
Next up, we have a key word that is thrown around without much thought. Motivation. Getting motivated isn’t as easy as some people make it out to be. A year ago, you may have found getting out of bed in the mornings easy, because there were plenty of things you were motivated to do, but now, no matter how hard you work, you can’t quite find the motivation to get excited about the day. These are clear signs of burnout, and your permission to take a much-needed break (if it’s possible). Finding a new motivation is difficult to do when you’re stuck repeating the same soul-crushing tasks every day. If possible, take some time to find yourself again, and most importantly find your passion. We all have things we don’t want to do every day, but being motivated by something personally important, no matter how big or small, can make doing those difficult things much easier.
GET TALKING
Finally, going through anything in life alone is never the way, and this is the same when you’re suffering from burnout. Communication, communication, communication. The inability to speak up and say no to things that are creating stress is one of the main causes of someone burning out. Being tasked with unnecessary jobs, getting blamed for other people’s mistakes, and not feeling heard or appreciated can cause anyone to shut down. Talking to the people in your life about how you’re feeling can lessen the load that you’re carrying. A burden shared is a burden halved! The people who love you will do what they can to help when you’re struggling. Utilise their help and allow yourself to be saved every once in a while. Communicate your wants and needs to the people in your life, and trust that it’s ok to take a break.
WORDS BY: PIA LOUISA
