So moving on to what can help with burnout - as most of us have discovered and mentioned tonight, we don't know we're at burnout until we're there (often because we feel like we have no choice but to keep up our level of energy focusing on someone else).
A lot of the literature and resources related to ‘burnout’ is in reference to the workplace. However, across all different causes of burnout, there are some consistent tangible things that is helpful – some of which is likely to be obvious. Such as:
- Increasing social activity – this is so important. Sometimes it’s even useful to think about which friends / family you want to socialize with depending on what you’re after. For example, one friend might be really fun to spend time with when you want to forget what’s going on. This can be useful because often burn out comes about due to putting all of our energy into one thing. On the other hand, if you want someone to talk to about what you’re experiencing, catching up with a friend or family member who is always a good listener and you find insightful is helpful.
It’s important to get the right balance.
- Balance out the little things you can control – the little things add up – so while it might be obvious to get more sleep and eat a healthy diet, often we don’t feel as though there is a link and let this area go. Burnout means that we focus less on myself and more on someone / something else. It’s totally understandable why getting quick take away seems to be better use of your time, rather than putting the energy into cooking.
If you’re anything like me, the moment I know burnout is creeping in, is when I start buying take away more frequently
- Doing something purely for us - such a challenge!!! This might look like taking time alone, being binge watching a fav TV show, a hobby, sitting and having a cup of tea alone for 10 mins
Those three things seem to be the most common ways to manage burnout.
There are two more that I want to talk about in a moment, but just to start with - I have a feeling you guys may find the above points really obvious - would that be a fair assumption?
Does that mean they don't work for you or that you're just not finding the time / capacity / motivation to make these changes?
