What is Stress?
Stress is generally caused by a trigger that is separate from us – for example, a certain situation or challenge that causes us to release adrenaline. This in turn triggers a whole host of physical symptoms that are designed to help us to respond to a life-threatening situation – raised heart beat, shallow breathing, tenses muscles, etc.
Stress usually impacts on sleep, mood, temper, appetite, exercise, relaxation, dietary choices, headaches, digestive problems, fatigue, etc. Short-term stress often resolves once the stressful situation has gone. However, chronic stress is long-term, and is often the result of a never-ending series of challenges, toxic work environments, or situations that feel inescapable. Chronic stress can lead to burnout as well as physical health problems.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. When you reach burnout, you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet the constant demands placed on you. It’s more than just feeling tired or stressed; it’s a deep sense of being overwhelmed to the point where it affects your ability to function.
Signs of Burnout:
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Emotional Exhaustion. You feel drained and unable to cope. You may feel that you really don’t care about anything or anyone, and can feel you have no energy to do anything, even activities you once enjoyed.
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Cynicism or Detachment. You can feel disengaged or disconnected from your work, relationships, or other responsibilities. You may develop a negative outlook, feeling that your efforts don’t matter or that you’re stuck in a rut but lack the motivation to resolve anything.
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Reduced Performance. Because you’re exhausted and don’t care, your productivity often declines. Concentration and decision making can go out of the window and you may struggle to do anything effectively.
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Physical Symptoms: Chronic fatigue, insomnia, headaches, stomach problems, and frequent illness are often signs of burnout because long-term stress stress weakens the immune system.
Coping with Stress and Burnout
Fortunately, we can do things to help us to cope with stress and burnout, and these can also prevent them occurring in the first instance.
- Make time to recharge your batteries – do the things that make you happy and help you to relax: hobbies and interests, relaxing, time with friends and family.
- Learn to set boundaries – we often have a hard time saying no to our boss, work colleagues and family, but this is an important skill to develop. Saying no or setting limits are ways in which you can protect your own time for the activities you need to do to help you to function.
- Delegate – another important skill to help you to protect your time and mental load.
- Talking – it really can help just to talk about how you feel. I know it’s not going to solve the problem, but it can help you to feel less alone, and that in itself can help you to actually feel a little better.
- Rest – we need to prioritise R&R (no, not Rock n roll!). Prioritising downtime, relaxation and sleep can help you to recharge both physically and mentally.
Remember – it’s not selfish to prioritise yourself. If you are not showing up as the best version of you, you can’t possibly give other people your best.