As you can see I wasn’t very active and enthusiastic about the blog recently. In nearly one month and a half I managed to post only four times. And I must confess and first of all admit it for myself – that’s not because of some lack of time as I try to persuade people around me and additionally myself. I don’t know what happened to me and what caused this state, but I couldn’t make myself sit and write a single line just because I didn’t want to
At one particular moment I was about to consider that I had some kind of light version of depression but then I realised –
I can’t say that I was familiar with this concept long ago. Formerly I thought that I was under a lot of stress, or probably that I plunged into depression again. I caught myself making lame excuses for my poor performance at work. Teacher must be such a creature flying over the classroom full of enthusiasm and energy, and everything I wanted the last couple of weeks was only to let my head sink onto the table, close my eyes and black out and not hear all that nonsense that some of my students produce. I got nervous, hysteric, sometimes even rude, passive, and only when I discussed my problem with one of my colleagues a year before I found out about burnout syndrome.
I feel like I’m loosing my grip over some certain things in my life, that includes first of all my job, but also influences my private life. I feel like I have no control over my work, feel lack of recognition, lack of reward. I set high goals to myself and people around which are impossible to meet. The need to be in control, but I can’t. I know that I have perfectionist tendencies and one day that’s going to crush me, but I can’t do anything to fix it. Nothing is ever good enough. I set chaos by myself instead and there is no one to blame. And what’s more terrifying that I’m being expected to be too many things to too many people. And I don’t want to. I just want to be myself.
So I began experiencing exhaustion, lack of motivation, frustration, and even cognitive problems. The last one is the worst. I started forgetting everything, I couldn’t concentrate on anything, could mix up the names of my students, could forget words in my native language, and many other things. I didn’t want to wake up in the morning and at the same time I had very bad sleep during the night, waking up frequently because of nightmares. And I still do.
I know that I’m not alone with that and that is exactly the reason why I’m writing this post right now. Burnout can lead to serious problems with health, relationships, at work.
So what exactly is burnout?
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. Often it’s caused by excessive and prolonged stress, but burnout is not caused solely by stressful work or too many responsibilities. Other factors may contribute to burnout. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. Burnout reduces your productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.
Burnout is a gradual process that occurs over an extended period of time. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it can creep up on you if you’re not paying attention to the warning signals. The signs and symptoms of burnout are subtle at first, but they get worse and worse as time goes on. So -> you may be on the way to burnout if:
Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
You’re exhausted all the time.
The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.
You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.
The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life—including your home and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.
Start the day with a relaxing ritual. Rather than jumping out of bed as soon as you wake up, spend at least fifteen minutes meditating, writing in your journal, doing gentle stretches, or reading something that inspires you.
Adopt healthy eating, exercising, and sleeping habits. When you eat right, engage in regular physical activity, and get plenty of rest, you have the energy and resilience to deal with life’s hassles and demands.
Set boundaries. Don’t overextend yourself. Learn how to say “no” to requests on your time. If you find this difficult, remind yourself that saying “no” allows you to say “yes” to the things that you truly want to do.
Take a daily break from technology. Set a time each day when you completely disconnect. Put away your laptop, turn off your phone, and stop checking email.
Nourish your creative side. Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout. Try something new, start a fun project, or resume a favourite hobby. Choose activities that have nothing to do with work.
Learn how to manage stress. When you’re on the road to burnout, you may feel helpless. But you have a lot more control over stress than you may think. Learning how to manage stress can help you regain your balance.
Stay well and take care of yourself,
Tasha Ray
Burning out was originally published on Keep it simple
