Have you ever felt tired, overwhelmed, and irritable? Did it happen at the same time as you having trouble sleeping, some weight gain, and a headache that seemed to last forever?
You were likely burnt out, but you’re not alone.
Burnout, thankfully, has gotten much more attention in the last year. Then, with the pandemic, it got an even louder voice but I see a few problems with this newfound popularity that I’d like to create some clarity around. As a burnout expert, I follow a lot of people that are talking burnout all the time, and sometimes, I cheer, out loud, at my desk because someone wrote something so perfect. Other times, facepalm.
Here are two current reasons behind my facepalms.
1. I read an article on Linkedin about how fostering a sense of connection is necessary for burnout prevention. The article was aimed at doctors and it told them to create stronger connections to their friends, family, patients, and coworkers. And it’s true, having strong community ties is a burnout prevention factor, so yay! Right? Er, no.
Here’s my facepalm: The rate of burnout in doctors as of Jan 2020 is 42%, we can only imagine that number has gone up since COVID. When you’re burnt out, one of the symptoms that you cannot see is a loss of brain cells in the frontal cortex, a portion of which is responsible for your ability to create and foster connections.
So, if you’re in the 50ish percent of doctors who are already burnt out, you’re literally currently UNABLE to create better connections with anyone because you need some time to calm your nervous system so your brain cells can regrow. If you’re NOT in the 50% of burnt-out doctors, you probably ALREADY have strong connections and it’s one of the reasons you’re not burnt out.
See where the facepalm comes in? The people who need help are getting suggestions they can’t implement and the people who don’t aren’t getting any suggestions because they’re not reading burnout articles!
2. Instagram. Oh, Instagram. I saw a post that said, and I quote, “Burnout is a choice, take care of yourself first!”. LOL. Facepalm.
Burnout is ALWAYS a combination of internal and external factors. The internal ones are things like beliefs, thought patterns, perfectionism, ignoring your emotional states, trauma adaptations, etc. The external ones (equally as important!) are micromanaging bosses, lack of praise (yes, we need this from other people to feel good – no, I don’t care how confident you are), lack of autonomy, working in a helping profession, and even such ‘small’ things as fluorescent lighting – seriously.
Sometimes, your recovery needs to look like a TON of self-care, sometimes, it needs to look like changing your job, or your relationship, and while both of those things could be boiled down to ‘self-care’ that’s not how this message came across to me.
You can be the best eater, with amazing exercise habits, love your job and still burn out. Burnout is a result of unprocessed chronic stress. Chronic stress remains unprocessed either because it’s not recognized or because it’s accepted as normal. In my burnout story, both of those things were true.
So, if you don’t recognize that you have this low level of stress always hanging around, you’re not going to up your self-care, because you don’t see a reason! If you do know you’re stressed but think that it has to be that way because you’ve absorbed familial or cultural values that center around hard work and individualism, you’ll think that stress is just ‘normal’ and therefore not be inclined to do anything about it.
The truth is, we all need to insert some stress-relieving practices into our lives. When we’re burnt out, those might be taking 3 deep breaths a few times a day, or taking up yin yoga. When we’re NOT burnt out, it might look like upping your exercise and creating a meditation practice. Either way, here’s what I want you to remember: if you are truly burnt out, the most necessary practice for you is REST. No number of tips, tricks, hacks, or otherwise is going to allow your body to continue without getting the rest it so deeply needs and deserves.
So many of us have been burnt out, but I propose that we #endburnoutculture and create a culture that understands that rest leads to productivity, creativity, healing, and fulfillment.
If you like this article, check out: https://stories.harnessmagazine.com/look-at-me/
